Hello guys,
I am dealing with a shoulder injury for already way too long, about 3 months now (consulted about it with Austin) and finally I improve. This is a long story but irrelevant. Because of the shoulder injury, I only press, don’t do the bench at the moment, and I increase the weight really slowly, according to symptoms.
Long story short, I am pressing 70kg for 3 sets of 5 for already ~4 weeks. My PR is 90kg for 3 sets of 5, so 70kg is not heavy and definately adapted to, since I’m doing the same weight for already about 4 weeks.
Yesterday at the second set, a small pain at the elbow started at the stretch reflex at the bottom (Press 1.0) and nothing more. I have done the third set, but afterwards there was a small pain at the posterior side of the elbow, where the triceps tendons are attached (Olecranon?).
At the dinner after the training it was a bit painful to put the elbow on the table, but it got worse.
I woke up from pain at my elbow. It was really, really painful. Extending the elbow is very painful, but also fully flexing it. The flexion movement doesen’t hurt, only the position where the elbow is fully flexed. Pain is only behind the elbow.
It was way too painful for me to handle, I could barely drive to the pharmacy. I used only my right arm and took Ibuprofen 800mg. After ~1 hour pain went down but it’s still very painful. It feels like it’s swollen, but it doesen’t appear to be. Yesterday it was painful to touch only the tendon itself, now it’s painful to touch anywhere near the tendon. And extending the elbow against a ressistance it very painful.
Does it sound like something common?
What, in general, characterize injuries that you feel only the day afterwards? Is it typical to tendons, cartilage?
Shall I continue using Ibuprofen? I took it at first to reduce the pain, and wanted to get an idea whether it sounds relevant to the Ibuprofen protocol of 800mgX4 for 5 days.
An update,
I’ve seen an orthoped and got an X-Ray. I’m not sure it has been done the best way possible, but it’s here: link1 , link2
The orhoped said the bones are fine, and no tendon rupture. She also did some range of motion tests, and touched behind both elbows to try and diagnose.
She said there’s no fracture, and that the tendon is attached. It didn’t seem as she’s confident with her statements. She said it’s a muscle damage, which to me, would be weird. The pain is not like a muscle-pain and it’s where the triceps attach to the elbow, not the muscle itself.
Anyway, I would guess it’s nothing more than a damaged tendon.
Right now, 7 hours after 800mg Ibuprofen for the second time, pain is definately tolerable. I can drive and use my left arm. Definately not lifting at the moment, but it seem to improve in terms of hours (maybe it’s the Ibuprofen that kill the pain and not a real improvement. 800mg affect me quite much in terms of pain killing, but now it’s already 7 hours after the second time I took 800mg).
How shall I rehab that condition? Ibuprofen? what about training?
I have found only protocols for a muscle belly damage (the starr protocol), but no general method for a tendon damage.
Your x-rays are clean, so you should feel confident with the information that your orthopedic surgeon provided you regarding no evidence of fracture or tendon rupture. Muscle damage, outside of the norm typically expected with resistance exercise, is unlikely in this case.
The fact that you are reporting improved use of your arm and a decreased perception of pain 24 hours later is a good sign. It does not sound like there is any injury or damage that requires rehab.
Sometimes the best approach to sudden painful episodes, in the absence of obvious trauma, is to wait and see if the condition improves just as quickly as it arose. Anxiety and worry about managing this discomfort immediately is not helpful to your cause.
Report back in a week, if you like, and let us know how you are doing.
