HOW i recovered from my bicep/forearm tendonitis.
i have been lifting weights for almost 7 years now. this past couple of years is when i really got serious about it. everything was going great until this last year i got bad tendonitis at the bottom of my bicep into my forearm. it progressively got worse and worse to the point where it hurt like hell to simply lift a pile of clothes from the laundry room. i thought i had done permanent damage and would be stuck with this injury for life, it was very depressing.
after lots of reading and researching, i came to the conclusion that i got this injury from doing certain exercises (hammer curls, reverse-grip curls, etc) that would always hurt while i was doing them, but i thought i just had to push through the pain to get growth. i finally stopped all lifting of bicep and back exercises. it still did not get better, so i made some appointments with the doctor and completely stopped lifting weights all together until my appointment (one full month.)
at first, the doctor told me to take a bunch of anti-inflammatory medicine for a week straight (aleve, aspirin, etc). i tried it, it did not work. he also told me to get back into lifting, just take it slow on bicep/back exercises.
i started lifting again, and i stayed very light on bicep exercises (were talking, curling 10lb dumbbells). it still did not improve. i lifted light for about 5 weeks, the most i was ever curling was 20lb dumbbells. pain still was throbbing.
as of now, my tendonitis is completely healed. i feel absolutely no pain at all, no matter what lifts im doing or what daily activities im doing. i am back to lifting as heavy as i can on bicep and back exercises. i blast the hell out of my biceps until i can barely bend my arms, with no pain.
here is how i recovered 100%....
taking the month off of lifting was key to the healing. all of my muscles needed time to recover, especially my tendons (all of them). i started doing negative bicep exercises (if you dont know what negatives are, google it.) i stayed very light still on the weight of curls. i iced my tendonitis everyday, twice a day. this was the BIGGEST thing in recovery. tendonitis is inflammation, icing it calms the inflamed tendons. i started taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin twice a day. i started eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. getting nutrients from these foods was essential i believe. i took fish oil 3 times a day. i was patient. every time i was lifting bicep/back i wanted to push my limits and see if i could get my weight up faster but i had to resist this. i curled 15lb dumbbells in the gym for weeks (and it was very embarassing for a guy who shoulder presses 90lb dumbbells with ease). i stopped doing exercises that hurt. no more reverse-grip curls, no more hammer curls. my motto now is if an exercise hurts or doesnt feel quite right, i stop doing it immediately. no matter how much someone is yacking in your ear how its "THE BEST EXERCISE FOR MASS$@&*(!" its not worth injury.
i truly thought that i was stuck with this injury for the rest of my life and thought that it would impair my weightlifting forever. i spent a lot of time trying to find out how to recover from this injury, so i hope this can help people out there that are suffering from the same injury.
if i can answer any additional questions, feel free to reply to this thread.
Wrist Tendonitis & Bicep/Elbow Tendonitis
My name is Alan and I want to thank bring_the_mosh for this very informative thread...I have searched the internet for long long hours and I think his is the best...Even over doctors advice...Doctors just want to get you in the office and take your money to tell you you need cortison shots or surgery....I think sugery or shots are the last thing you should do...The shots actually will weaken the tendon if you get to many.
So here is my story...I am 36 and have been working out off and on since 14...I am 5' 8" 175 and very muscular..I beat elbow tendonitis once and am now dealing with wrist tendonitis right now. I am the type of person that panics if I do not workout...I feel guily and yells at everyone because I am so depressed. I am addicted to working out.
Here is my first bout with tendonitios..I thought I could work through the pain like everyone does at first..I tried wrapping it then I tried icing in between workouts however it just continued to get worse each workout...I stoped doing curls and still tried to workout everything else and it wouldnt get better...As much as I hated to I had to stop working out. I wanted to kill myself man...I thought life was over...The worst part is I have a big home gym so my workout partners would come over and workout and I had to sit there and watch with ice on my elbow....But I took 3 weeks of completely and each day I noticed it getting a little better...The day I could not take no more I could not lift a pencil...The next day I could...Then few days later I could brush my teeth...I waited until I could do everything and move my arm in every spot it use to hurt in and feel absolutely no pain...Thats your body saying ok now I am healed...If you start back to soon you will waste all the time you took off and double your recovery time...Listen to your body and it will tell you when it is ready.
Sum up I took 3 weeks off and took Glucosamine and eased back into it with light weight and slow reps. Your body will tell you when its ready so listen to it not some doctor that is trying to scam money out of you.
I know I developed my elbow/bicep tendonitis from working out with alot bigger bodybuider who was loud and thinks you have to go super super heavy to grow...Yes heavy makes you grow but I was letting him pick the weight I did and not what my body was telling me was ok to lift....a true rep should take 3 seconds which is very slow...Use lighter weight do not jerk and feel the burn (Growth) by slowing down with a tad bit lighter weight...screw the actual weight...its the intesity with which you lift!
Here is what I at 36 am dealing with now...I was working out for 9 months straight then took 5 months off and started back again and into my 4th month I started to feel a pain in my wrist...Especially when I turn is like a cork screw...I tried using a wrist strap and wrist brace but nothing helped...So I tried icing and nothing so I read where I should not do upright rows , hammer curls, reverse curls, close grip bench press, or incline flys...So I removed all those from my routines and it felt a little better for a week or two but as my lifting countinued it eventually continued to get worse..So here is what I have done thanks to bring_the_mosh and my own past experience..I am on day 13 of absolutely no working out...I went from not being able to lift a pencil to doing everything I normally do however even at day 13 I still feel pain if I put my hand in the position of holding a mouse and push down on the mouse with pressure I feel a little pain...That pain right there is my body saying not yet...So as much as my old 36 year old addicted self wants to workout I am not going too...I am going to wait until there is no pain then wait 1 week after that then ease back into working out...I will remove all the above exercises I mentioned and wrap my wrist...I will only do barbell exercises so my wrists and not bending alot...You break your wrists alot with dumbells...Just picking them up and down off the rack is awkward on the wrist tendons if the dumbells are heavy....Once completely healed I will use dumbells again..I will repost in about 3 weeks to let everyone know how my working out again is coming along.
I am very scared on this one because now I am older at 36 and It hurts in the mouse position and I have been using computers every day for 10 years straight...I hope its not carpal...I dont think it is because of the way its getting better...Anyone else has any input please post.
Thank you bring_the_mosh for taking the time to share your experience with us :)
Alan