Self-diagnosed "Golfer's elbow"

[MrSoupCan]

Hey all-

I've recently been doing more chin-ups and finishing workouts with curls (I know, I know..). Now, the inside of my left elbow has started barking. I even felt it today benching during my last set of fahve. Internet says to "rest". Anyone have experience doing just the compound lifts and forgoing the bicep-intensive moves and having the issue improve? Thanks...

[Stefan Rott]

It may seem silly, but this realy works:

YouTube

I had to deal with it few years ago and again last year, this FlexBar (I have a green one) was the only thing that worked for me.

[Nockian]

It was squats which caused it for me. It's then more noticeable when doing chins and curls. Once I got the proper technique it went away over time. Rest doesn't help. It stops the pain, but once the lifting starts, the pain returns. I tried the flexbar which seemed to help a bit, but I hadn't got the squat technique sorted, so it probably wasn't ever going to solve the problem.

[Nick D'Agostino]

Hey MrSoupCan, a simple way to think about this is that the total load you are exposing your elbow to is exceeding its capacity to adapt. From your brief description, I believe it is a good idea to dial back and make some small adjustments but not to stop loading the area. I would stop doing curls for 2-4 weeks and then gradually add them back slowly 1x/week for 3 working sets for like a month before you increase the dose. For the next 4-6 weeks, I would also switch to pull-ups and do them 1x/week for 3 bodyweight sets 1-2 reps shy of failure. As Nockian alluded to above, the squat grip is often a contributing factor to this problem. I would post a video in the technique forum and ask for some feedback. A key aspect to the grip is also to make sure you feel like the weight of the bar is on your back and not resting in your arms. Either resting or training through the pain without a load management intervention rarely resolves this type of issue. Your mindset when the pain appears should be to nudge it. I hope this helps!

[MrSoupCan]

I learned some good stuff. I didn't think about the squat grip. Thanks all for the replies.

[Stefan Rott]

It's difficult to correct the form issue that caused the ellbow pain when the pain just doesnt go away.. For me, it was a wrong squat grip an doing chin ups with a too wide grip. My ellbow got worse and worse, even with a changed squat grip an not chinning at all. This shit is obstinately. I tried everything: PT, massages, static stretches, none of this really helped but this crazy rubberstick... 3x/day, 12 reps. Healed in about 1-2 weeks, no shit.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Did you correct your squat and chins grip?

[Stefan Rott]

Me? Yes, I did. This bothered me years ago. But the correction of the grip didn't make the pain go away. After I got rid of the pain, it just didn't occur again (because of the correction).

[Nockian]

It's difficult to correct the form issue that caused the ellbow pain when the pain just doesnt go away.. For me, it was a wrong squat grip an doing chin ups with a too wide grip. My ellbow got worse and worse, even with a changed squat grip an not chinning at all. This shit is obstinately. I tried everything: PT, massages, static stretches, none of this really helped but this crazy rubberstick... 3x/day, 12 reps. Healed in about 1-2 weeks, no shit.

I didn't need the rehab once I had the grip sorted, the pain just subsided. It's not completely gone, but it's at such a very, very low level that I'm totally happy with it. Might as well give that rubber stick another go to clean out the last of it.

[Culican]

It may seem silly, but this realy works:

YouTube

I had to deal with it few years ago and again last year, this FlexBar (I have a green one) was the only thing that worked for me.

Worked for me too. I didn't even take time off training.