Working out with elbow pain can be a real nuisance, especially since almost every upper body exercise requires this joint. So how can you maintain your exercise regimen while nursing this injury?
Today, we’ll be covering how you can maintain your exercise routine while fighting the elbow pain.
There are a number of reasons for elbow pain to occur. If you’re “lucky” enough, it could be due to tight muscles around your elbow joints instead of chronic pain. Unfortunately, many people suffer from tennis elbow and lateral tendinosis, which is a degeneration of tissue.
Lateral tendinosis is a lot more serious than inflammation of the joints because tennis elbow is chronic unless you surgically correct it. Collagen in the elbow joint wears thin and scar tissues are formed in the tendon, ultimately leading to pain from the friction between the elbows.
The reason this happens is due to wear and tear over the years, but this doesn’t mean you have to stop your workout routines just to nurse your elbow. Tennis elbow involves the tendons being inflamed due to the overuse of the forearm muscles. While it is best that you avoid straining your forearm muscles to begin with, you could always continue your training and just avoid locking out your elbow joints during the end of the movement.
During the concentric portion of the exercise, don’t force your elbow into its maximum range of motion. Keep your joints controlled, but free. In addition to this, you could achieve the same tension in your muscles by focussing more on your negative reps instead of letting gravity pull the weights down.
Always warm up your elbow joints before moving on to heavier compound exercises such as the shoulder press or the bench press. Even simple exercises that involve the elbow joints such as a bicep curl may cause elbow pain if you’re not warmed up properly.
Finally, utilizing equipment such as an elbow wrap can really help to compress the tissues around your elbow, allowing for a more stable movement during your workout. If you ever feel a sharp, acute pain during specific exercises, stop immediately and consult a sports doctor to rule out any tears in the muscles. This will ensure that you don’t aggravate your current injury and cause excessive problems for yourself.
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