Tendonitis and the Effects on Your Routine by Marc David
Tendonitis and the Effects on Your Routine. What turns out to be a small, yet annoying pain in your joint, can
quickly turn into something much more debilitating. At first, you just
think it might be a pulled muscle. Maybe I did a bit too much weight?
But the intermediate to advanced bodybuilder knows what muscle soreness
feels like after a workout. This isn't it. But there is a potential
solution.
My biceps routine, which was progressing quite nicely, turned into a
non-existent routine (curling a 30lb dumbbell was impossible) after I
was "officially" diagnosed with acute Tendonitis in my right arm (just
below the elbow joint). The doctor said that this particular Tendonitis
doesn't heal. It can get less painful but the micro tears and damage are
permanent. As usual, the recommendation was to 1) quit whatever
aggravates it 2) use a cream that gives some heat to the area. Rather the follow rule #1, because if you are a hardcore bodybuilder,
just quitting the exercise isn't how this injury happened in the first
place. I found something that worked. I didn't want to quit doing bicep
curls. Bicep curls are one of the most recommended exercises for
building mass. It's a simple, basic movement that works. I did stop doing biceps movements until the pain subsided. Once the pain
was significantly less, I decided to adjust my form, have a spotter
assist on certain bicep exercises and used a topical cream (Biofreeze by
AST). I changed the movement to go strict on any and all bicep
exercises. My arms are now tight to the sides with constant tension on
the muscle. Using a spotter for dumbbell bicep curls helped me eliminate
the natural tendency to flare out the arms to get that weight to the
completion phase of the exercise. Heavy weight with the arms slightly
out tends to put a lot of pressure on that tendon. Taking a break from the exercises allowed me to heal enough to think
rationally about the adjustments I needed to make in my routine. Going
back to strict form, using a topical (heat) cream and having a spotter
assist with a few of the bicep movements has all but eliminated (in a
medical sense) my Tendonitis. I suffer no more pain from bicep movements
because of these modifications.
Comments
Post a Comment