fleblebleb Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 About a month ago I was in deep shit with my elbows, due to continuous keyboard hammering and mousing, and pulling too hard at the gym for a week or two after not climbing much for two weeks while preoccupied with work. Both the biceps and the forearm muscles that bend the finger and wrist were continuously sore and simply lifting my hand was sometimes enough to feel pain in the elbow joint. I took two weeks off everything, then started doing weights exercises for all the muscles that straighten the arm - the opposing forearm muscles, triceps, shoulders and pecs - and aided instead of free climbing. I'm also stretching a lot. Note that I can't really lay off the keyboard, but I try to mouse with my left hand now since the right elbow was (is) in the worse shape. I don't use the computer any less than I used to. My elbows are much much better now so this seems to be working for me. I've also become super motivated to improve my footwork. I'm going to start alpine climbing again this weekend, and free climbing steep rock in two weeks or so. Anybody else have a similar condition and advice for tackling the problem? If anyone is really into yoga or stretching I'd like to hear from you. Is there some kind of 'encyclopaedia of stretching' book that isn't ridiculously expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attitude Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 You could spend less time spraying... Stretching also available at REI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bDubyaH Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 when i was climbing at the gunks 3 days a week it took a serious toll on my left elbow. got to the point i had to drop down to 2 days a week then 1 day a week. so i took a few of the winter months off and worked out like mad. all i lifted was the counter (to climbing) muscle groups, chest, and triceps mostly...worked out really hard on the triceps. when i went back to climbing 3 days a week i had upped my bouldering by two grades and routes were going down easy...sometimes a break is a good thing. now i do yoga which helps me keep from getting to the point where i can't climb anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted February 28, 2003 Author Share Posted February 28, 2003 Attitude said: You could spend less time spraying... Stretching also available at REI. I thought about that. But nah, then I'd just have to spend more time working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted February 28, 2003 Author Share Posted February 28, 2003 bDubyaH said: ... now i do yoga which helps me keep from getting to the point where i can't climb anymore. I don't know anything about yoga. How do I find out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 This group is good. You can take a several week class or do drop-in and pay per class. All levels. I do it regularly and find it great for flexibility and strength. It's a good supplement to other training. http://www.yogaseattle.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bDubyaH Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 i learned from videos. got pretty into it for a while...but i always get too distracted with climbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted March 2, 2003 Share Posted March 2, 2003 I'm sure you've heard these two, but they seemed to be the key to my elbow/wrist problems: 1. Take time off. I tried to decrease how much I was bouldering/gyming, but it didn't do any good until I just stopped climbing for a couple of weeks. (I think the thing is that once your on the wall/rock, it's just too hard to hold back!) 2. Ice. I'm sold on icing. For three days I iced once/day in the evening. No problem immediately afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinker Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 Hey Fleb, I was having similar problems. I purchased one of those 'anatomically correct' keyboards for my work system and it seems to help greatly. I also did a quick rearrangement of my work station setup to make sure everything was optimal. No longer do my arms and wrists hurt/ache driving home after work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtenay Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 "Stretching" by Bob Anderson is one of the most commonly referred to books on stretching. RE: yoga, some of you might be interested in reading the article at the following link: http://www.bodyresults.com/E2YogaForClimbers.asp and also http://www.bodyresults.com/E2YogaStretch.asp for tips on how to get started. Any of you who would like to be notified of new articles as they're uploaded can subscribe to the Body Results' free montly newsletter by sending an e-mail to trainer@bodyresults.com with "Subscribe CC" in the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyclimb Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 drink a ton of water. When i climb day in and day out for long periods of time i get soreness/pain in my left elbow. My cure is too drink so much water i am pissin on the wall while climbing. Oil for cars, water for humans. Do yourself a favor and lube up next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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