Monday, November 24, 2008

Need some input from the workout junkies

So I've been having an odd issue when I lift weights recently and I'm hoping some of my lovely readers might be able to help me figure it out. Whenever I start doing bicep, tricep and chest exercises I get a wierd pain in my elbow. I mean literally in the ball and socket joint. It's only there while I'm actually doing the exercise, and it's a sharp pain that happens as I bend the joint. It tends to fade after the first set of reps, and by the third I can't feel it at all.

Could this just be a sign that I need to warm up more? Am I using weights that are too heavy? Advise me, people. It's not a sharp enough pain that I feel like I'm injuring myself but it's odd enough to make me wonder what's going on.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um hi, I'm new but asked my partner about this (he did weights pretty obsessively for about 20 years) and he said:

"Any ideas?

Not really. Did it start out of the blue or has it always been there? Could be a slight sprain/strain that might go away with rest and feels better as the muscle/tendon warms up? Does it happen with light and heavy weights?"

Cassandra Says said...

Hmm. It did start out of the blue. I suppose it could be a sprain, it's been less painful the last few times I worked out. Maybe it just needs time to heal? Only happens with heavier weights.

Anonymous said...

"Yup sounds like a sprain/strain to me, be interesting to see if it goes away.

HEAVY weights will make your joints ache while lifting sometimes though."

What do you reckon? Is it an achy pain? Joint pain always freaks me out but it's inevitable if you're lifting heavy enough.

Nothing has changed in terms of diet or how much cardio/stretching you're doing? Temperature?

Anonymous said...

Oh and further to that:

Me: What do you suggest? Just not doing heavy weights until it goes away or what?

Him: Yup pretty much, maybe strapping it might help give the joint more support during exercise.

I'm a bit like this with my body (hence the interest in medicine) but if you like you could also keep a log of what kind of pain/how much/how often it hurts, the weights you're doing and any relevant external factors to see if you can pinpoint anything.

Otherwise it's safe to presume you need to go light on it for a while and hopefully it'll go away. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm a little confused. Your elbow is a hinge joint, not a ball and socket joint. Your shoulder is a ball and socket joint.