Elbow Tendonitis: How It Occurs and What to Do About It | Jordan Burnett

[stef]

"Address the problem NOW and save yourself some heartache down the road. Do not fall into the trap of missing training or completely avoiding movement patterns. An injury like this must be trained through in order to make it heal effectively. Take it from me, layoffs do not work."

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[Jordan Perkins]

Thank you for the article. This is one that I could apply directly to my training...somewhat. I have a question about the Pin Firing method. I used to have flare-ups of Golfer's Elbow, usually aggravated by supinated grip rows or high volume chinups (10 sets of 2, 8 sets of 3). I have since dropped those 2 movements in exchange for strapped rows and pronated lat pulldowns, and I have adjusted my squat grip to consciously keep my wrists straight (they used to be in a high degree of extension which exacerbated the pain). Currently, I have no such elbow pain whatsoever!

That being said, I am re-evaluating my training and simply love doing chinups. Because of the flare-ups, I am very hesitant to incorporate them into my program. My question is this: even though I am not experiencing any pain currently, would the use of the pin firing method with chinups make the pain never return? I believe I am remembering another, similar video Rip put out (a snipitof SS Radio) that claimed the tendinitis never goes away unless you train it to get stronger.

Even simply remembering the pain is enough to turn my stomach. And the fact that my bench press weight plummeted because I could not tolerate the tendinitis make me even more hesitant it would ever get better.

Thank you all for your insight!

[milon]

I am 52, my sleep is not good and that is why i am not recovering between sessions. For the Deadlift i use the hook grip with an olympic bar (Which is thinner than a powerlifting bar) and i made blisters on my two thumbs. On 29th of July 2020 i had to attempt a PR for the Deadlift. It was a very hot day at my home gym and i was very tired. But i had to complete the workout for that day. Even for the warm-up sets it was painful to hold the bar with the hook grip. For the work-set (PR) when i tried to lift the weight, my back rounded and i decided to drop the bar before it got over the knees. I supposed that this happened because i was tired or/and because of the grip not being strong enough and i could not focus on my back. After resting for 6 minutes i attempted a second set with a mixed grip. The lift was successful with good technique and with no pain. BUT the next day i had some issues around the elbow of the hand that was supinated for the DL. I don't have severe pain. When i bend the hand more than 90 degrees i feel discomfort and i can't point exactly were this comes from (Lower bicep or upper forearm) and i also feel discomfort at the front upper and back upper forearm. After a few days i did my normal Bench pressing routine. The next day after that i felt more irritated. I rested for 2 weeks without doing anything but walking. The first days of the 2 week period, i felt better when bending the arm (More than 90 degrees) but after that it was not getting better. It remaind the same. So i decided to get back to training. I used lighter weights (About 60-70%) that made me feel some discomfort but not much pain, for a set of 5 reps and trying to add 5 pounds in a Novice Linear Progression. Some hours after each workout and the next day it gets more irritated, but after one more day it gets into the same situation as before working out. That's my strategy. That's how i keep on going for the last 10 days. What do you think about that. Can you tell me with your experience what is the problem and what to do? I have not been to a doctor yet, because the only doctor's we have on this Greek island are Shitty Doctors that will tell me to stop training! The next days i will get a diagnosis and will update you with that.

[Steve R]

Taping your thumbs will let you hook grip with as much weight as you can lift using an opposing grip. I don't know if you can get vet tape where you live but it is a crepe-ey self-adhering tape similar to medical tape. Once you develop a slight callus without tape there's no point to getting bigger calluses because they will tear off at some point. Tape your thumbs with whatever you can get your hands on.

[Elle]

Thank you, this is very very timely for me.

One thing I'm wondering: how to modify the squat if it's too painful to get through? I had to bail on my session last night because the act of stretching into proper low bar position was agony. Comparatively the bench was a relief.
Obviously I need to work on my low bar position, and I have been, but right now I can't even get close.

[Frank_B]

One thing I'm wondering: how to modify the squat if it's too painful to get through? I had to bail on my session last night because the act of stretching into proper low bar position was agony. Comparatively the bench was a relief.
Obviously I need to work on my low bar position, and I have been, but right now I can't even get close.

Elle,

I dealt with a flare up of this right before COVID-19 started. I found that doing chin-ups prior to squatting actually worked best for me. Then the world collapsed. I'm not a coach, and that may not be recommended, but it allowed me to get in position for the squat much easier and with a lot less pain. Once everything shut down, I cured it with the tried and true method mentioned here and on the podcast, since all I had was a pull-up bar.

[Nockian]

Thank you, this is very very timely for me.

One thing I'm wondering: how to modify the squat if it's too painful to get through? I had to bail on my session last night because the act of stretching into proper low bar position was agony. Comparatively the bench was a relief.
Obviously I need to work on my low bar position, and I have been, but right now I can't even get close.

The alternative is high bar. I’ve heard that Allan Thrall used low bar with thumbs under the bar which helped. Low bar isn’t comfortable, but the set doesn’t last very long, so, if you can do it, then you should despite the pain.

[Bryan Stevens]

Hello. I could use a little guidance/feedback.

I was having pretty severe golfer's elbow which I think was caused by my squat grip and exascerbated by playing an actual round of golf.

I am 60 years old, 5'8" and 185 lbs. I'm on my 4th or so round of Novice LP due to various reasons. My squat is up to 220, deadlift 275, press 118 and Bench 180 (If any of that matters)

Oh, and I did have about 3 sessions with SSC Steve Hill, 2 when I first started and one "tune up session" about 18 months ago.

So I followed Rip's rehab protocol to the letter. Since I can do a max of 7 correct chins right now, I have done 20 sets of 2-3 chins for 5 straight workouts, in addition to my regular LP lifts. My elbow is better but still hurts a little.

Finally...my question: Should I continue the "pin firing" for additional sessions since I still have pain? Of just give it some more time to finish healing? I am doing my best to focus on my squat grip position as much as possible but I am about 10 lbs from my lifetime PR weigh and my main focus is getting that bar back up.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks,

Bryan

[Dust Devil]

Like every other article on elbow tendonitis I've read, this one doesn't address triceps tendonitis, which is a problem that I had.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You've got to try pretty hard to get triceps tendonitis.