What to train to reduce pain in arms from holding onto heavy weight too long?

[CanadianBeefcake]

Hi everyone. I was just wondering if you could throw me some ideas of why this is happening currently to me. I hit the gym 3x a week and hit all major muscle groups within a week. Here's my problem: I carry heavy weights over a long distance at least 4x a week and get pains in my arms just below the side deltoids and lower arms, just below the elbow joint. Is there a lift technique I can add to strengthen these fibers? I'm pretty certain it's the smaller muscle fibers running out of fuel and screaming in pain for relief.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

[Turkish Juicer]

It is not the smaller muscle fibers (whatever that may mean), it is your tendons that ache.

Lifting weights, whether heavy or not, is simply a taxing process regarding your joints & ligaments.

People who have relatively high sensitivity for pain feel it more, others less.

If you have been lifting for a few years, it may be about time to look into ESWT, which is one of the most contemporary and effective PT applications. For the record, I take a month off every year and go through 5-10 sessions of ESWT per elbow, scarring gone, problem solved.

[tigerspawn]

Trukish is right the pain you are feeling is your tendons and not the muscle.

[CanadianBeefcake]

Thanks for the replies guys. I looked around and no one in my city offers ESWT treatment. Apparently Toronto is the closest city. Just to clarify what I meant by smaller muscle fibers is: you know how muscle tissue comes in many forms, I believe some are fast twitch and others are slower but can withstand longer stresses. That is what I meant. I thought maybe I needed to exercise differently to hit some specific muscles to increase my tolerance of holding onto weights longer.

Thanks again.

[CMB]

Canadian,

I have had the same problem in the past. My forearms, right below the elbow, used to kill me during my workouts. What I found works best for me is giving my entire upper body a rest.

If I worked out chest, I would do legs the next day. The day after that I would do back. They day after that I would do cardio and core, etc... the whole point being my arms ALWAYS had at least a one day break between workouts and this worked tremendously well in mitigating the pain. Also, it helped improve the rest of the workouts as well because my forearms were killing me nearly as much!

[Brazensol]

May I ask what ESWT is?

[Turkish Juicer]

May I ask what ESWT is?

Ask Google.

[austinite]

May I ask what ESWT is?

shock therapy

[MajorPectorial]

Cut n paste king to the rescuueeee.

Procedure

The procedure used to be performed in an out-patient setting, under local anesthesia, taking up to 30 minutes. Now with newer technology, it can be done without anesthesia in the physician's office in less than 10 minutes. Research indicates that there is significant reduction in intensity of application pain with the use of castor oil rather than ultrasound jelly.[2] The positive effect ofcastor oil can be explained by its cavitation-free quality. The patient is afterwards able to walk out, the major complaint being of a thumping feeling on the heel. Because re-inflammation is being introduced, the patient cannot take anti-inflammatory medication afterward, nor should the area be iced. Acetaminophen with codeinemay be utilized.Contraindications for this procedure include:neurological and vascular disease of the foot; history of rupture of the plantar fascial ligament; open bone growth plates; pregnancy, implanted metal in the area (bone screws and pins); and people on medication that interferes with blood clotting such as coumadin and prophylacticaspirin.

[AnabolicDoc]

ESWT stands for Extracorporeal Shock Waves Therapy. Extracorporeal means outside the body and "shock wave" refers to sound waves emitted by an ultrasound machine. ESWT is a different application of the same technology used to break up kidney stones, known as ESWL = Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy. In ESWL, the sound waves are used to break up the kidney stones whereas in ESWT the sound waves are used to induce inflammation with the desired result of strengthening the targeted tendon. I don't have any personal experience with its use.

[Brazensol]

I looked it up and it is rather expensive. ~$1,000.00 a pop from I could find.

[largerthannormal]

Could be something more simple like inflammation of the tendon or muscle. Ive had the same thing for years. All my weights dropped considerably. Doc put me on 15mg of Melixocam ( much more potent than ibuprofen without the pain meds) and after 3 years the problem was fixed in 3 days. every few months i have to take it again and its fixed...

I may not be right but may be worth it to look into.

[Brazensol]

Could be something more simple like inflammation of the tendon or muscle. Ive had the same thing for years. All my weights dropped considerably. Doc put me on 15mg of Melixocam ( much more potent than ibuprofen without the pain meds) and after 3 years the problem was fixed in 3 days. every few months i have to take it again and its fixed...

I may not be right but may be worth it to look into.

Well I just happen to have some Meloxicam in my arsenal. Got for another issue but I never took it. I'll have to give it a try. I've got forearm tendonosis that is slowly getting better with TB-500 and being very careful with the weights. Would love a complete cure. Then I could get serious about lifting again.

[CanadianBeefcake]

Thanks for the replies. I do a full body workout over the week: monday, wednesday and friday. I make sure to allow enough rest period between gym days. Looks like I won't be upping my weight numbers for a while, hopefully this will allow my tendons to heal.

Thanks again for the help.

[600@50]

A more conventional treatment would be to alternate ice and heat on the area for 30-45 mins along with ibuprofen. This works great on connective tissue.

[CanadianBeefcake]

Great tip 600@50, thanks. Tendons in the elbow area feeling better today.

[MajorPectorial]

cuz i suffer with my shoulders i have to take.amox+nuproxen(alternated ny)/diclofenac.

Im now investing in msm powder/crystals. Pretty cheap n heard good things. N my rotar cuff areas pretty mych always hurt

[600@50]

Great tip 600@50, thanks. Tendons in the elbow area feeling better today.

Glad you're feeling better. Just don't get over zealous working out and keep irritating the tendon. Gotta give it time to heal.