Thread: Damn tennis elbow!!

Cortisone is a short-term fix at best. I've had shots in both knees and both shoulders. Eventually, you will have to deal with the problem medically. Have you talked to a doctor that specializes in sports medicine?

Originally Posted by MDR

Cortisone is a short-term fix at best. I've had shots in both knees and both shoulders. Eventually, you will have to deal with the problem medically. Have you talked to a doctor that specializes in sports medicine?

Thats my next step. I got a number for one from my buddy who is my chiropractor today. By the time I got home from the gym the office was closed. I'm gonna call tomorrow and try to get it soon. I took 4 days off, iced it 3-4 x aday along with some aleve. Went back in gym today. I got through 4 sets of inclines ok, by the time I got to flat bench I could barely lift 185 off the rack. When I'm used to warming up with 225 @15 reps. It was killing me!Feels ok now that I'm resting it. I took the deca route last year. But, still had to take time off from most of everything. Then came back, was weak and felt like I was starting all over again. Iv'e read docs usually give 3-4 cortisone injects a year. Last thing I want is to end up hurting it more and needing surgery. However, I'd still like to get a halfway decent workout without feeling like I wanna scream from the pain. I just upped my cycle to 650mg of sust and 400mg of masteron ew. Now the question to myself is, if I do have to take time off, should I lower the mg's or keep everything like it is? Don't wanna waste good gear if I'm not working out balls to the wall! Maybe cut back on the mast to avoid sucking out too much water?? Iv'e also been taking 4500mg of glucosomine w/chondriton and 3000mg of fish oil ed

What did you end up doing about the knees and shoulders MDR?

My understanding of tennis elbow is that it is a repetitive-use injury. Probably the best way to fix this is to take some time to rest the injury. With the number of times you have experienced similar issues, I wonder if something could be wrong structurally. If not, as I said before, cortisone can help short-term. I ended up needing knee surgery in both cases, but the cortisone and other treatments did get me through to the end of the season (I was playing football at the time). I got a shot in each knee every week for the last six weeks of the season, along with painkiller injections on game day and draining after. Not a lot of fun. So far I have avoided shoulder surgery, but it could be a possibility in the future. In any case, I would get it checked out by a specialist and see what they can do to help you. Don't mean to digress too much into my own experiences, but all that cortisone was likely pretty unhealthy, and a bit like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. Not too effective in the long run.

Originally Posted by MDR

My understanding of tennis elbow is that it is a repetitive-use injury. Probably the best way to fix this is to take some time to rest the injury. With the number of times you have experienced similar issues, I wonder if something could be wrong structurally. If not, as I said before, cortisone can help short-term. I ended up needing knee surgery in both cases, but the cortisone and other treatments did get me through to the end of the season (I was playing football at the time). I got a shot in each knee every week for the last six weeks of the season, along with painkiller injections on game day and draining after. Not a lot of fun. So far I have avoided shoulder surgery, but it could be a possibility in the future. In any case, I would get it checked out by a specialist and see what they can do to help you. Don't mean to digress too much into my own experiences, but all that cortisone was likely pretty unhealthy, and a bit like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. Not too effective in the long run.

No. Thanks for sharing your expirenence bro. I'm listening! That sounds pretty rough! I hear ya on the band aid part though too! Time off seems to be the choice. That is torture for me though! Did it last year! I never got that stuff before! Getting old kinda sucks. I had a shoulder issue last year also. It was hurtin bad and had a shooting pain going up my neck. Thought it was a nerve. Took about a good month off. Lost a lot of strength! But, felt better. Until just last week. Started a little test only in april.

I know what you mean. Iime off, especially when it's forced, can really suck. I have a friend who's had both shoulders done twice. Injuries happen. Way back when I was in college, it seemed like hardly a day went by where the team doc wasn't sticking a needle somewhere. He did enable me to finish the year, though. Got so I hated going in for treatment, though. All that shit gets very old after awhile. Hope you get through all this without too much trouble, and don't end up losing too much time in the gym. Good luck!

^^^i have a problem like that where the pain drives me nuts but i get someone to help me wrapp it real tight as to lessen the pain. its a injury iam not willing to let stand in the way of my show coming up. but you seem like your in much more pain then me. theres a injection jugger was talking to me about in a post i asked the dr he said wats that i even spelled for him and he didnt know jugger said it helped him but i got a cortisone inject instead no more it can cause more damage to tendons, ligaments, cartilidge than was first present. i hope you get better both you and mdr. i just train through all kinds of shit. but it cant be as bad as u guys though. good luck guys.

Originally Posted by unclem

^^^i have a problem like that where the pain drives me nuts but i get someone to help me wrapp it real tight as to lessen the pain. its a injury iam not willing to let stand in the way of my show coming up. but you seem like your in much more pain then me. theres a injection jugger was talking to me about in a post i asked the dr he said wats that i even spelled for him and he didnt know jugger said it helped him but i got a cortisone inject instead no more it can cause more damage to tendons, ligaments, cartilidge than was first present. i hope you get better both you and mdr. i just train through all kinds of shit. but it cant be as bad as u guys though. good luck guys.

Iv'e survived worse. Last year was bad. With the left elbow and shoulder. It did all go away though with time off. Was frustrating! This year I started out early with just 325 sust ew for about 8 weeks and aromisin 3 x ew. Thought that would shake off the excess. Then added a few things here and there. Kinda seems when I go for the cutting and do masteron I start hurting? Maybe I should keep a little deca in the mix. 5 or 600mg right now would probably be nice!

yeah deca is good at that dose for aches and pains.

Originally Posted by unclem

yeah deca is good at that dose for aches and pains.

Sure is! I got 2 freebies coming. Paid items from recent order came. Still waiting on blend 10 that I won on here. 100 t prop, 100npp and 100 mast I believe. Hopefully tomarrow's mail will have something I like!

Originally Posted by MDR

My understanding of tennis elbow is that it is a repetitive-use injury. Probably the best way to fix this is to take some time to rest the injury.

I worked in a bindery and suffered tennis elbow from loading paper in the machines 13 hours a day. Couldn't squeeze a wash cloth without pain or turn a doorknob. They put me on light duty for a time and sent me to physical therapy. Using the air jacks they provided was also advised, but throwing the paper on the conveyors was always quicker (though more damaging, obviously).

Good luck. I know it is crazy painful.

Originally Posted by unclem

^^^i have a problem like that where the pain drives me nuts but i get someone to help me wrapp it real tight as to lessen the pain. its a injury iam not willing to let stand in the way of my show coming up. but you seem like your in much more pain then me. theres a injection jugger was talking to me about in a post i asked the dr he said wats that i even spelled for him and he didnt know jugger said it helped him but i got a cortisone inject instead no more it can cause more damage to tendons, ligaments, cartilidge than was first present. i hope you get better both you and mdr. i just train through all kinds of shit. but it cant be as bad as u guys though. good luck guys.

Hell, I was just talking about old stuff. I'm actually pretty healthy these days. Considering all the work I've had over the years, It's kind of amazing, actually. Sometimes my body feels like I'm 70, but usually I feel fine. Thanks for your good wishes as always, Unclem. Oh and I can't agree more about cortisone injects. Long-term, you really pay the piper for the damage done.

You DO NEED to take time off for it to heal and it will probably come back again!
Make sure you don't overload the joint too much and use correct form. Hope things go well with ya.

Originally Posted by Jay Q

You DO NEED to take time off for it to heal and it will probably come back again!
Make sure you don't overload the joint too much and use correct form. Hope things go well with ya.

Thats what I say too! I'm not taking any time off this year. I'll do what I can and go lighter when I have to. I looked into seeing a sports/medicine doc. $180 just for him to see me, and say how's it goin! Then I have to wait 2-3 weeks to get in! I'll tough it out. As much as I hate going light, I geuss it's better than not lifting at all. I would think keeping it moving and keeping the blood circulating should heal it faster than just complete rest.

Originally Posted by Jay Q

You DO NEED to take time off for it to heal and it will probably come back again!
Make sure you don't overload the joint too much and use correct form. Hope things go well with ya.

I got this crap in my right arm elbow. I can relate. It sucks and hurts like hell sometimes. I tried taking time off from lifting but shit it came right back. So now I just push thru and take advil for the pain. I'm 40 so maybe age has something to do with this as well.

Originally Posted by ScorpionKing

I got this crap in my right arm elbow. I can relate. It sucks and hurts like hell sometimes. I tried taking time off from lifting but shit it came right back. So now I just push thru and take advil for the pain. I'm 40 so maybe age has something to do with this as well.

Yeah, I'm pushing 40. As much as I hate to agree, I'd say, maybe you might be somewhat right and have a point. I don't wanna turn 40!! LOL!! I just upped the glucosomine and chondriton. 2000mg a day. It's been a couple weeks and seems to be helping now. I used to give it to my dog who had arthritis. Seems to take a couple weeks to really feel some relief. I'll see what happens monday when i hit the bench and do chest again. It seems not locking out the elbows on everything I do helps too. Maybe that is the cause sometimes. A trainer did mention that to me before. Locking the elbows out and resting between reps with heavy weight will tear stuff up

Age does have a role to play as well so don't be surprised if it comes back, but adequate rest and some physiotherapy should help. Working through the pain might be good for your muscles but not for your join as eventually it will get worse with time and you might even regret not resting it. It's not about blood circulation, it's about stabilizing the joint and not using it for it to heal (though you shouldn't stabilize it for too long as you might risk joint stiffness), if your insurance doesn't cover a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon then might as well rest it or go light as you're doing and see what happens!

I had tennis elbow years ago. Back then, rest was considered the best therapy. The doctor recommended stretching a couple of times per day. The stretching exercise did more to help it heal than anything else. I had to continue stretching my arm for many months AFTER the pain abated to prevent the pain from returning.

Unfortunately, a bad case of tennis elbow can be a nearly permanent injury. The doctor may tell you to limit training till this injury heals. This isn't what you want to hear, but continual use will most likely make the injury worse. (which means MORE pain and a longer recovery time later!)

Good luck with finding relief from the pain. Tennis elbow can be a persistent, painful condition!