Thread: Mild Elbow Injury

Was doing some deadlifting today and came away with a bit of elbow pain. I didn't feel anything until a few hours after lifting. I didn't notice any issues while lifting either -- nothing out of the ordinary. I was able to get my assistance work in with no problem (and felt no pain afterwards) too. There's pain at the insertion of my bicep but I cannot tell if it's a muscle-related issue or if it's related to connective tissue (or both).

In terms of pain, its like a 2/10 when it's at rest but when I flex my arm it's like a 6/10. The pain really isn't an issue, it's just that my arm is relatively dysfunctional in terms of flexion/extension. For example, to brush my teeth, I cannot just bend my elbow to my mouth, rather, I need to rotate my shoulder so that my bent elbow is pointing towards the sky. In terms of training, I'd probably be at about 10-20% or worse -- I couldn't really put in any pulling or pressing work.

I don't think it's a bicep tear because everything looks intact (my bicep hasn't contracted like an accordion) and I'm still able to extend/flex a bit. However, I do notice that my bicep looks like it is flexed even when I'm at rest.

Does this sound like a situation that requires heat? cold? compression? Any ideas?

I don't intend to head to a doctor unless things go south. However, I obviously don't want to miss any gym time.

Sounds like doctor time. No real sense in getting a complete tear before you decide to do something. That would mean missing even more gym time.