What to do for "climber's elbow/arm"??

[maryk]

..if that is such a thing.

 

Not exactly "tennis elbow" I'm told, but something is going on with my arm and it's not going away and it's really starting to bug the crap out of it b/c it's making me lay-low.

 

Pain is mostly with lateral pushing (left arm pushing right), but not necessary down. Area of acute pain is base of triceps near elbow AND just above the inside (medial) part of elbow. Once the arm starts hurting bad (onset with gym climbing), my whole arm (upper and forearm) ache with pain and weakness.

 

I've been laying off of it, taking "Bextra", icing it, masaging the tendons, and I've even done a little acupuncture. I had a MRI yesterday (not necessary I know, but Doc loves them), and it looks like nothing is showing up in the film. It's been at least 3 weeks and none of this seems to be doing much help.

 

Is what I've got the basic arm pain a lot of climbers get, and if so what do I do about it?

 

Many thanks! ~~mk

[erik]

balance your muscles!!!!

 

push ups!!!!!!

 

 

[maryk]

I think I answered my own questions - read through a bunch more old posts (I did look before I posted, but I guess not long enough!). It looks like I do have a pretty common injury....and that I'll be putting my winter SG membership on hold Unless anyone else has any specific comment or question, sorry for the redundant post.

[willstrickland]

Glassgowkiss might be your best bet for good info on this condition...and there are some MDs on this site as well. You might PM him directly, if he doesn't scare you off with his spray-rage, he's probably got good input due to his line of work.

[Bronco]

maryk:

 

I had a very similar injury this fall (pain in the lower left tricep then inside elbow pain) and it lasted about a month. The injury occured because I started this insaneo rope climbing regiment. Stopped the rope climbing for about a month and RICEd it until it hadn't hurt for about a week. I'm back to climbing with no problems. Ice immediatly after a hard workout though. Good luck.

[Mtguide]

Hi Maryk;

 

Sorry to hear of your problem.Please refer to the previous thread in this forum entitled "tennis elbow"(10/21/03);in which I posted comments.I've been through the whole experience several times.That thread elicited a number of posts which have excellent advice.First thing i can tell you is that if it's hurting as much as you describe,please,for you own sake,what ever it is that makes it hurt--STOP DOING IT NOW, and give this thing a chance to heal.You can read all about it in my post on that thread,as well as the others.Listen to your body,and best of luck.

[maryk]

Mtguide said:

Hi Maryk;

 

Sorry to hear of your problem.Please refer to the previous thread in this forum entitled "tennis elbow"(10/21/03);in which I posted comments.I've been through the whole experience several times.That thread elicited a number of posts which have excellent advice.First thing i can tell you is that if it's hurting as much as you describe,please,for you own sake,what ever it is that makes it hurt--STOP DOING IT NOW, and give this thing a chance to heal.You can read all about it in my post on that thread,as well as the others.Listen to your body,and best of luck.

 

Yep - I saw your earlier post and agreed with everything there. I haven't been climbing on it - and it only hurts mildly when I'm not using it, but it definitely gets bothered pretty easily with nearly any activity. Skied the other day and that bothered it! Anyway, thanks y'all...

~~ mk

[Courtenay]

Rest it, ice, anti-inflammatories, e-stim, strength and stretch the opposing muscles... And if it doesn't start getting better in a few weeks, you may want to see a PT for specific exercises to get you moving in the right direction. I've even had good success with clients using different grips (i.e. PVC piping or washcloths around handles) just to give the gripping muscles a break. Works for me every time. Work around it in pain-free movement patterns as much as possible. Worst thing sometimes is not doing ANYTHING, as the limbs need blood flow and added nutrients to help heal. Anytime I stop doing something entirely is when things keep getting worse. Hope that makes sense. Good luck.

[glassgowkiss]

well you can have a bunch of things. you can have a simple triceps pull. but you also might have nerve pinched by peck minor or scalenes muscle.

actually don't ignore it, find out what it is. from the symtoms you are describing might be more of a nerve issue. might be triceps tendon tendonitis.

so there is no clear guidelines for this, untill you find out what it is. if it's a nerve, don't use ice. it's the only time the ice would not be recommended.

my advice is don't look for advice on internet. go and haver it checked out. i would not go to a regular family practice md. rather then that go to sport medicine doc, pt, dc.

[Dave_Schuldt]

I had the same problem. Took 9 months to go away. I will never climb in a gym again, however, I can handle the UW rock just fine. Your climbing days aren't over, you can discover the wonderfull world of slab climbing. Think Darrington and Static Point. This is ski and mountain bike season anyway.

Good luck and a speedy recovery.

[maryk]

Folks ~~

 

If anyone is wondering -- apparently the problem is a nerve thing. Edema of the ulnar nerve the radiologist said after reviewing the MRI. I still think overused, tight, tense muscles are also a part or at least contributing to some of the pain as well, and much of what many of you have said still applies. Nerve edema (inflammed, fluid-filled from aggravation, pulling...), I'm told, is mostly corrected with rest. I'm supposed to keep my arm in a sling, ice it for brief periods of time, not use it for at least another week or two (it's already been over 3), and take a round of "methylprednisolone," a mild steriod used to relax and reduce pain in nerves. The sling is the hardest thing to stick to! Things like cross-tendon massage will probably only make it worse, so it's a good thing I did have it looked it b/c I thought the problem was all muscular based. The doc said normally the ulnar nerve is the size of a piece of spaghetti and mine is now the size of a pencil. ??

 

Anyway, just wanted to close the loop. Thx for the advice and replies ~~mk

[Norsky]

..if that is such a thing.

 

Not exactly "tennis elbow" I'm told, but something is going on with my arm and it's not going away and it's really starting to bug the crap out of it b/c it's making me lay-low.

 

Pain is mostly with lateral pushing (left arm pushing right), but not necessary down. Area of acute pain is base of triceps near elbow AND just above the inside (medial) part of elbow. Once the arm starts hurting bad (onset with gym climbing), my whole arm (upper and forearm) ache with pain and weakness.

 

I've been laying off of it, taking "Bextra", icing it, masaging the tendons, and I've even done a little acupuncture. I had a MRI yesterday (not necessary I know, but Doc loves them), and it looks like nothing is showing up in the film. It's been at least 3 weeks and none of this seems to be doing much help.

 

Is what I've got the basic arm pain a lot of climbers get, and if so what do I do about it?

 

Many thanks! ~~mk

 

Either do more crack climbing (I find it theraputic for my elbow pains) or climb through it!

[Jedi]

I know the problem VERY well. It is also known as Golfers Elbow, of all things. Technically known as Medial epicondylist. I had it in both elbows because of my job. I let it go on for a couple years. I tried all kinds of physical therapies, anti-inflamatories, steroids packs, injections....... Problem was, I had to work. SO I never let the tendon heal. Tendons take a LOOOONG time to heal. I let the tendon get so inflamed, it rubbed the unlar nerve. Then the unlar nerve became damaged and inflamed over time.

When I had surgery (last ditch effort), the surgen took photos of the nerve because he had never seem such damage. This guy was very talented as he graduated from Brown and taught at the Mayo clinic.

Anyway, it took a couple years to become pain free and I still can not touch the skin located over unlar nerve (area know as funny bone).

 

Result, I will never onsite 11d and crank 10b trad. I am happy just to be climbing again 6 years after sugery. Can climb 5.9 and that will be my limit but I try to stay away from crimpy climbs. I don't climb sport and stay away from the gym.

 

Rest is the key thing. Stay away from straight bar curls (worst out of the curl exercises) and things that involve the tricep.

 

Jedi

[randygoat]

Jedi? Surprised to see a southerner like you here Guess there are a few of us Neicers here ,eh?

 

Anyway, I had been having some seriuos elbow/arm/shoulder pain that got real bad by the end[well for me atleast] of last ice season. My elbow pain was not on the inside of the elbow but near the outside, either side of the joint extending into the fore arm. Also the outside of the Bicep and inside of the tricep[got it?]. I had an MRI done and they found a bone spur on the shoulder, which I am currently recovering from surgery on. Thing I am worried about is that ,my shoulder feels better in a way allready, but the elbow/fore arm pain has actually gotten worse. I don't rock climb a whole lot, so taking off the rock season is no big deal, but I do Mt.bike fairly hard.

 

I guess the point of my babble is just that i am concerned about the shoulder not being the only injury that I had and that maybe I had also injured the arm and/or elbow as well.MRI was looking for a shoulder injury ,not an elbow.

 

Does any of this ring a bell for anyone else?

[Coondog]

Rest is the key thing. Stay away from straight bar curls (worst out of the curl exercises) and things that involve the tricep.

 

Looks like i'll be taking 3-6 weeks off from hard climbing... good thing its mid-july... wanted to reiterate that my PT said "eliminate straight bar curls from your future, period" and also no more pull-ups on hangboard -- if you want to do pull-ups, get rock rings so you've got some give for your arms to rotate.... help preserve your fragile tendons...

 

stupid tendons -- don't they know it's (warm, dry, tasty) climbing season?

 

i'm going to ice my shoulder with empty beer bottles now...

 

--cd.