Arm Crackin' and Elbow Pain

[Mr.City]

Hey guys,

I've been suffering from some weirdness with my right elbow joint for over a week now. I noticed some discomfort in my right inner elbow while doing chins. It was very mild and continued to go through it. The next day my elbow felt stiff, the joint made clicking and grinding noises, and it would occasionally crack loudly. The crack feels pleasant and not so pleasant at the same time. It doesn't affect my squats, presses, bench, cleans. Doing a deadlift with a mixed grip with the right palm facing out does not feel too pleasant either. There's some discomfort during chins, but nothing horrible. Most of the pain comes the negative portion of a curl. Sometimes there is an ache in the outer side of the elbow as well.

Is this Tennis Elbow? It's not too bad that I can't train through it. I am just very curious about what this is so I can understand it better.

[nisora33]

That location is the site of medial epicondylitis sometimes. I've had pain there before, specifically while performing chins, so I switched to either neutral or supine-grip pull-ups for a while until the pain went away. See which grip feels best between the two, and try that for a while until it feels better.

-Stacey

[Mr.City]

My elbow aches in the morning now, and sometimes both sides of the elbow, inner and outer, are sore. Did this happen with you, Stacey?

[jshreck]

Sounds like you irritated a tendon and that cracking and grinding feeling is more than likely increased fluid in the tendon sheath that is being pushed around as you are bending the elbow. You may need to back down for a few days to let it calm down. Continue to train-just don't do anything that causes discomfort in the area. If you have discomfort-you are going to develop more inflammation and it will take longer to heal and go away.

Jerry Shreck
www.varietytrainer.com
www.bestfitnessproductreview.com

[The Sun]

I got the same pain, but it also pops up when squatting. how can I heal it up? cutting squats leaves me only with deadlifts, and sounds like a bad idea.