Forearm pain HELP!!!

[Stephan]

I have been dealing with a problem for the last 16 months. I have what seems to be tennis elbow and golfers elbow in both arms (pain is a little worse in left arm). The pain starts about 2 inches above my wrists and goes almost to the elbow on the front side of my arm. On inside of my arms the pain is directly in the elbow area. Pulling exercises is what causes the pain pull downs, rows, bicep curls, tricep push downs set it off as well. Pretty much the only exercises I can do for upper body are bench press, incline press, military press. I have been to the orthopedic doctor more times than I can count, they gave me an MRI of each elbow(nothing showed) they have given me 3 cortico steroid injections in each arm, they did physical therapy (art therapy) massage etc for 8 weeks. I have taken cissus long term, fish oil glucose/condrotin, prescription Motrin. Nothing worked pain stayed consistent. After I exhausted all options I wondered if steroids help.I ended up starting a cycle of tren ace/ test prop 500mg per week. The pain was gone almost instantly, I went from curling 30lb barbell with shooting stabbing pains in my forearm and elbows, to curling 100lbs with no pain at all. I ran the cycle for 12 weeks, I have been off the cycle for a little over 2 months, the pain is starting to come back again, it's not real bad yet but I know it's a matter of time. Does anyone know what I have going on? And how come tren/test made it go away? I hate to think I have to stay on steroids long term to not have this problem. I have an appt with a rheumatologist (arthritis doctor) tomorrow, should I ask for a steroid like prednisone? I just want to be able to work out. I am 29 years old, 5'11, 183lbs 7 percent bf. I have attached pictures of where the pain is in my arms. I have been lifting heavy for 10 years and have ran 4 cycles over the last 10 years.
Please help

[Stephan]

Hmm, I was really hoping someone would have something to suggest

[MickeyKnox]

Sounds like tendonitis.

I currently have this but it was severe about a year ago. In fact, i have had this twice. It's typically cause by a mucsle imbalance and lifting too much weight for your tendons to support. Try lifting lighter weight and taking it easy for about 9 months. This what i ahd to do both times. I was actually reduced to lifting ten lb weights to work my biceps/forearms.

Dont "work through" it. Take time off from biceps and/or life lighter weight. It takes along time to heal tendons. They're not like muscles that heal up fairly quickly.

[Stephan]

Do you have any idea why the pain was "taken away" while I was on cycle?

[MickeyKnox]

Do you have any idea why the pain was "taken away" while I was on cycle?

Not a clue. From what i understand pain is CNS related, so that's a interesting one for sure.

[kelkel]

Steroids (some) have anti-inflamatory actions, not the same as cortico-steroids but they work to some extent. That is why your pain left you. I somewhat suffer from the same forearm pain in one arm, brought on by heavy squats IMO. I've iced it so much it's now lost feeling in that area of the skin. It'll come back eventually as I've done this before. I also wear one of the tennis elbow bands to keep vibration out as well as use topical DMSO gel with aloe. Seems to help.

[Stephan]

So, what your basically saying is I am helpless and nothing is going to make it better

[Stephan]

Thanks for all the wonderful advice

[600@50]

I have to agree with MK in that it's probably tendonitis. But something else you can look at is trigger points. They can mimic other common ailments such as tendonitis or a sprain. There have been cases where trigger points were diagnosed as a rotator cuff tear or even cardiac issues. I have an infraspinatus trigger point that causes pain in the front delt.

http://www.triggerpoints.net/forearm-and-hand.htm

[redhawk01]

i've been dealing with the same problem for at least 3mos. it started getting worse 2-3 weeks into my cycle. started in my right arm, then a week later to my left. dumped all db excercises, switched primarily to machines to take the stress off forearms. kinda works. too hard headed to take a decent break. on the gear, take advantage. spring break is near, and so is a 2 week break from lifting.

[WMSuperSport]

I've been battling the exact same thing for over a year. Most days I tough it out but some days it's hard to lift much, even grip hurts. I was told possible radial tendon(or something close to that) and tennis elbow. I had hernia surgery nd took 2 month off work and lifting. It quickly came back but isn't as bad. Hopefully someone has some info to fix this.

[optionsdude]

The band-it forearm strap helps tremendously for activity. If I wear it at work or while lifting it keeps the pain under control. This won't fix it but make the pain manageable. I have been seeing someone for active release work as well which helps. I have also been using the theraband flexbar tyler twist and reverse tyler twist and it seems to be helping a little as well.

[Far from massive]

Another thing that is almost always helpful make sure to keep the wrist straight during any curling type movements bending the wrist inward like you do during a forearm curl will put all kinds of pressure on the injury compared to doing the same movement with a straight wrist.

[WMSuperSport]

I used to use the braces all the time when it was pretty bad & they help. Lately its been better, but still shows up.

Any info out there on how to fix it permanently, other than 6 weeks of rest?

[WMSuperSport]

Ttt..

[FONZY007]

I have been dealing with a problem for the last 16 months. I have what seems to be tennis elbow and golfers elbow in both arms (pain is a little worse in left arm). The pain starts about 2 inches above my wrists and goes almost to the elbow on the front side of my arm. On inside of my arms the pain is directly in the elbow area. Pulling exercises is what causes the pain pull downs, rows, bicep curls, tricep push downs set it off as well. Pretty much the only exercises I can do for upper body are bench press, incline press, military press. I have been to the orthopedic doctor more times than I can count, they gave me an MRI of each elbow(nothing showed) they have given me 3 cortico steroid injections in each arm, they did physical therapy (art therapy) massage etc for 8 weeks. I have taken cissus long term, fish oil glucose/condrotin, prescription Motrin. Nothing worked pain stayed consistent. After I exhausted all options I wondered if steroids help.I ended up starting a cycle of tren ace/ test prop 500mg per week. The pain was gone almost instantly, I went from curling 30lb barbell with shooting stabbing pains in my forearm and elbows, to curling 100lbs with no pain at all. I ran the cycle for 12 weeks, I have been off the cycle for a little over 2 months, the pain is starting to come back again, it's not real bad yet but I know it's a matter of time. Does anyone know what I have going on? And how come tren/test made it go away? I hate to think I have to stay on steroids long term to not have this problem. I have an appt with a rheumatologist (arthritis doctor) tomorrow, should I ask for a steroid like prednisone? I just want to be able to work out. I am 29 years old, 5'11, 183lbs 7 percent bf. I have attached pictures of where the pain is in my arms. I have been lifting heavy for 10 years and have ran 4 cycles over the last 10 years.
Please help

I actually tore my forearm muscle there

[lovbyts]

Steroids (some) have anti-inflamatory actions, not the same as cortico-steroids but they work to some extent. That is why your pain left you. I somewhat suffer from the same forearm pain in one arm, brought on by heavy squats IMO. I've iced it so much it's now lost feeling in that area of the skin. It'll come back eventually as I've done this before. I also wear one of the tennis elbow bands to keep vibration out as well as use topical DMSO gel with aloe. Seems to help.

The band-it forearm strap helps tremendously for activity. If I wear it at work or while lifting it keeps the pain under control. This won't fix it but make the pain manageable. I have been seeing someone for active release work as well which helps. I have also been using the theraband flexbar tyler twist and reverse tyler twist and it seems to be helping a little as well.

Another thing that is almost always helpful make sure to keep the wrist straight during any curling type movements bending the wrist inward like you do during a forearm curl will put all kinds of pressure on the injury compared to doing the same movement with a straight wrist.

In bold above, I did all three and it helped a lot. I almost forgot I ever had this issue too about 3 years ago.

[Rusty11]

Sounds like tendonitis.

I currently have this but it was severe about a year ago. In fact, i have had this twice. It's typically cause by a mucsle imbalance and lifting too much weight for your tendons to support. Try lifting lighter weight and taking it easy for about 9 months. This what i ahd to do both times. I was actually reduced to lifting ten lb weights to work my biceps/forearms.

Dont "work through" it. Take time off from biceps and/or life lighter weight. It takes along time to heal tendons. They're not like muscles that
heal up fairly quickly.

I've had the same pain for a couple of months. I really don't want to take your advice! But, "working through it" is making it worse. But, nine months...ugh. Of course, I know your correct. Just don't like it one bit.

[WMSuperSport]

/\/\/\ exactly I hate it too. Guess I'll do alot more legs, less back & bi's. Sux

[Rusty11]

Funny how bicep/hammer curls hurt like hell on even half my usual weight, but I can go all out with preacher and concentration curls. Maybe my pain is coming more from the elbow as opossed to the forearm. Since focusing on those, pain has diminished a bit.

[makingwaves]

Rusty? What's your progress?

I have same issue. Been trying ice, band, nsaid, changed workouts, skipped workouts for 2 weeks. In the past it worked in a few weeks but this time it just will not give up.

[Brazensol]

I have been having good results with TB-500. Might want to look into it. Keeping wrist staight helps and I also wear a compression? brace (elastic band that fits over forearm/elboe/bicep) and this also helps while lifting. One thing I had to stop doing was rows of just about any kind which makes it kind of hard to get a good back workout. Also no heavy curls. And straight bar curls just absolutely tears it up. Ouch.

[WMSuperSport]

My pain really limits my pullups & curls, which sucks because those are the two groups I really need to improve on.
I want to just push through it, ignore it, and keep gaining results, but....

Is there a possibility of causing injury by lifting 100% through the pain? Or does one need to keep the weight low and reps high to avoid a catastrophy?

Thanks a million to people like yall who are cool enough to share your knowledge/experience with others!

[Rusty11]

Rusty? What's your progress?

I have same issue. Been trying ice, band, nsaid, changed workouts, skipped workouts for 2 weeks. In the past it worked in a few weeks but this time it just will not give up.

I laid off everything except concentration curls for a month and pain was much better. I'm currently doing the HIT routine posted by marcus. For biceps, it calls for conc. Curls and bb curls. I would say that 95% of the pain is gone. BB curls no longer hurt and I'm hitting PRs. Resting from most bicep exercises for a month or so seemed to do the trick for me. Also, I don't use it, but read a lot of good things about TB-500.

[probuild42]

I get pains in my joints too!! mostly knees and elbows. I started a thread called "joints" in. Times Roman suggest MSM 5g a day. I haven't started taking it yet but I am going to try it. You may want to read the thread. I found a few other threads on MSM supplement and seems to work for alot of guys. There is also a link on the thread to great site to buy MSM cheap!!! hope this helps.

[WMSuperSport]

Finished an animal stack. Didn't help

[yosimitesam]

Have the same issues with my elbows. Have always had them since I began powerlifting. As one reply said, when you bend your wrists back during a movement, you're jamming your radius into the tendon that attaches to your elbow causing inflammation. Ice, NSAIDS and rest help, but that won't get you bigger or stronger.

Try compression on your joints when lifting. Elbow sleeves make it hard to curl with, but they're great using during squats and any pressing movement. You can also find specific forearm supports at places like elite fitness or APT gear. The over the counter tennis elbow supports can help during the day when you're not lifting, but can be too restrictive when doing things like curling and even pressing. They can also cut off your circulation, making them near worthless. I started using a cheap ACE elbow support that has a sleeve I can slide my arm into. Pull it up to about 2" from your elbow joint, and then use the top and bottom straps to secure the support. You can now adjust to comfort and useability without it being too constrictive.

Another way to make it go away is to pay attention to how you're doing squats. Don't support the bar and weight with your wrists. Lock the bar into place with your trap muscles and only use your wrists to guide the bar while doing your sets. Another way to help (if you have access to these or have the money to buy them) is use bars that bow like a Buffalo Bar, a cambered bar or Safety Squat Bar. If those are out of the question, then a really inexpensive and effective fix is buy a Sting Ray that you can attach to any bar. This will let the bar rest on your traps and free your wrists and elbows from supporting all the weight. It's mostly for high bar squatters, but hey, if it keeps you squatting pain free, then it may be worth looking into.

NSAIDs and supplements are only marginally effective for me. However, I've found taking a little 11-OXO can help with the anti-catabolism, which should help with both the recovery and pain.

And, as some have said, pressure point massage, stretches and strengthening exercises can also help.

Good luck and feel better.

[w8liftr]

Watch your estrogen levels. If they get too low or you're taking too much AI that could cause pain in the joints As for me I have chronic golfers elbow as well and taking PES erase made it worse.