Bicep Tendonitus (why God why?)

[natural-mike]

I know this has been done to death, I know your all probably saying "check the search you weak bald bastard" but damn it < I'm frustrated and I don't knwo what to do.

I got the bicep tendonitus almosta year ago from Squatting, it got to the point where I was on VIOXX daily and 6 IBuprofen before workout, plus capsicain on my arms with neoprin elbow wraps pulled up around my biceps, and ice before and after the workout. It just wont heal, I had hernia surgery I took off lifting totally for 3 months but as soon as I come back it starts up again, it has gotten to the point where I can only do 2 or 3 sets of an exercies and its over, I went to doctors, MRI's they all sya the same shit "STOP Lifting" some say "STRETCH" I can stretch my ass off it wont do anything. I try so hard to fight the pain believe I handle it liek a warrior but its ridiculous and because of it I have not done a bicep curl motion in months so its not a question of over-working my bicep. And hammer curls for the brachialis can bring tears to my eyes, yet MRI's just show inflamation.

Someone first hand me a tissue to wipe the tears because I know I'm b*tching like a baby. Second give some advice.

I knwo this post has been doen to death but damn, I'm sorry, just frustrated as hell.

Natural-Mike

 

[GRIMMER]

I feel your pain. I had a very bad problem with it a while ago. Here is what i thnk was causeng the problems for me. For back movements , Rows , i was going to heavy and when i woud let the bar down it would come down to fast because the weights were heavy and just pull the sht out of my brachiallis and bicept tendons. I stopped rowing heavy sets of 6 and went back to sets of 10 orso with a weight that i could control. I was also doing way to many skull crushers which in tun killed my tricept brachialllis ( if there is one) so i haven't done DB skulls in 6 months. So in short , asses how yur doing your rowing or pulling movements as well as tri work. Just my advice. I recently took 6 weeks off and haven't had a problem since i have been back

 

[powerlifterjay]

Well one thing that helped me is when squatting i moved my hands to the very end. I used to get it bad. That helped some.

Also take the Ibu and Ice it alot too. But curl real light for awhile. But use only dumbells. I use 35 sometimes for 3 sets of 12 or more. But other times i will skip all bicep work for a month or so and lighten up back some and that will help too.

Its either heavy back and bi work or squatting or both but its easy to fix if you change the right things.

 

[Deciever1]

just a question... how is bicep tendonitis developed? is it from having your hands too close in on squat? not doing enough bi (direct or indirect) work?


Also, what does it feel like?

 

[Screwball]

I too have prayed to the Iron Gods to relieve me of my arm pain. I have tendonitis in my forearms, biceps and lower triceps. The pain comes and goes in intensity but is always present. I've tried all of the remedies known to man to no avail. I have decided that if the weight is going to put a hurting on me that I will return the favor tenfold. Fucking tendonitis!

 

[Hannibal]

I have decided that if the weight is going to put a hurting on me that I will return the favor tenfold. Fucking tendonitis!

Yet another candidate for your new sig. Fucking tendonitis!

However you could go with...."Has anyone seen my bench shirt? It's purple because thats the kinda pimp that I am.":havoc:

As to the question at hand...I think everyone has had bouts of tendonitis. I first got it from squatting as well....then I moved my hands out and that seemed to help. Then when I started benching with bands it woud flare up. The best way I have found is to get neoprene elbow sleeves and wear them to keep the area warm. If my elbows are really bothering me I will put some flex-all or tiger balm before I lift. If the pain is too bad I actually have used horse linament....but that is for special occasions.

 

[solidj55]

Elbow Sleeves, Ice, Try different grips, Motrin/Advil/etc. Those are about all of the solutions I can think of bro. That shit sucks, I have it in my forearm when I curl but I said screw it and stopped curling lol. I have a script for Lortab 10 from an old injury and if anything hurts too bad Ill take one of those with a beer after my workout and the pain goes away, not the best plan but when you have had enough youve had enough.

 

[jeremys]

besides moving arms out on squats, how could one prevent tendonitis?

 

[natural-mike]

Guys,

Thanks for the love and responses. After my long long time off from hernia surgery, It went away, I always got it from squatting and I did in fact bring my grip out very wide and = problem solved as far as squatting. This time around I actually got it from deadlifting, speed pulls on the deadlift, the actual force of a speed pull just put too much tension on the tendon, I toyed with grips, over, under, far wide, it wont go away.

Grimmer, you may be on to something with rowing, I am always a big believer in barbell rows and not the chest supported ones either, I mean old school barbell rows, my back has always been a strong part, I row with 300 sometimes 315 for sets of 5. And I do this "underhand" a lot of tension on the bicep. That plus the speed pulls of the deadlift or deadlift in general may be the key here. I may have to drop deadlifts and lighten the barbell rows alot. As far as direct barbell work, I gave up on curls a long time ago, in fact my arms grew the most when I stopped working them, you have to figure I get indirect work from pull ups and rowing movements.

powerlifterjay, in retrospect when I think about it yoru right, I just have drop and change certain movements. One thing I can attest to Jay is your right, "ICE is NICE" I deadlifted yesterday and my arm went numb and tingly thats how bad the pain was, I bit open my bottom lip fighting the pain, I shreded my shins form deadlifting yet went home a happy man. I ICED down my biceps for 30 mins. and the pain totally went bye bye, of course the 4 extra IBuprof';s I took helped also.

One last question guys, am I paranoid or is it OK to have a regimen of :

VIOXX the morning of a training day plus 4 IBuprofs' 1 hour before training and 3 after

I mean on Training days I'm taking VIOXX and 7 IBuprofins am I going to die...humor me people.

As mean as this may sound, my arms feels all that more better just knowing other people are suffering this same crap too.

Deceiver to answer your question what does bicep tendonitus feel like. simple, liek somebody stuck a knife in your bicep and left it their while you work out. And once you get it, kiss heavy curling movements goodbye. and lastly, purchase stock in Ibuprofin.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[GRIMMER]

As far as your liver is concerned with the heavy regimine of vioxx and ib's it could start not to like you very much (all though it sounds good to me). Viooxx which i believe as well as IB is a non-steroidal anti-inflalmitory something or other and study's have shown that prolonged use of such things can have bad side effects in as little as 3-4 weeks. Especially if you wash them down with a few beers. It might not be a bad idea to cycle it or something. Now this is all stuff that i have read somewhere on something or on TV so don't quote me but i think i got it right..

 

[natural-mike]

GRIMM-dog,

Thanks for always coming thru with good info. My doctor told me anti inflams are OK but always take with food and don't abuse them. He said as long as you keep your dosage below 1200 mg (which is about 6 standard 200mg IBuprof's) he said you'll be OK, just watch for stomach pains liek ulcers and have blood tests taken regularly to monitor liver enzymes.

Fortunately I dont really drink, only on a rare occassion.

I also do the Milk Thistle thing, could be crap could help the liver, hey for the price its worth the chance.

But like I said you can never under-estimate the power of good old ICE.

I have been icing my arms down twice a day even on non workout days and its helping alot.

Tonight I will go ballistic on chest and see how the old tendons hold up.

Peace,
Mike

 

[GRIMMER]

I knew once i posted on this thread mine would come back. Damn IT!!! I just had a really bad floor press day. don't know if it was the same or not as before but hopefully it is just a fluke.

It sounds like you got everything going good Mike. I like milk thistle and the ice is probablyt he best thing to do as i am doing right now. If the doc said OK than i'm gonna up my dose of IBs. Good luck with it.

 

[powerlifterjay]

I have always had good luck with Viox before i go to bed then pop Ibu thenext day. Vioxe is good for 24hr. BUt you can do th emorning remedy too. I use Vioxe on real pain occasions. Usually its Ibu, and BC powders. Those i do take every single day. I got pain in my left lower front delt. So much in fact i shirted up last night and i coudlnt lockout a 615. I just gave up cause the pain was too much. Sometimes i am painless others its justthere. Sometimes i can lockout 315 on a floor press, two workouts later i am fine and 455 on floor press. The anti in flam are constant so i am in the dark on how to prevent this little pain that comes every once in while.

If after 2 weeks of vioxe and it isnt better drop the vioxe and use Ibu only. Definitly wear elbow sleeves and i use horse linamnet every workout. Made my pain in arms go away. Ice is nice! I use it every single day. IN fact i had bicep tendonitis so bad after squat day (and it only flared up on squats over 700. Any under i was fine) when i got home my arms hurt so bad i could barely sit still long enough for the ice to take effect. BUt once it got numb i felt better for the rest of the weekend. (i squat fri)!! Treat it and it will go away.

 

[IrishPower]

nsaids

I have beaten this subject to death in the past.

NSAIDS are a class of drugs... ibuprofen, ketoprofen, aleve (naproxyn), aspirin, and EVEN VIOXX and CELEBREX are all this type of drug.

NSAID = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.

NSAIDs work by inhibiting the actions of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. These work but also break down the protective coating in the stomach.

<quote from celebrex site>
COX-1 is involved in blood clotting, kidney function, and protection of the stomach lining. CELEBREX is different from some other NSAIDs because it blocks only the inflammation- and pain-producing COX-2 enzyme without inhibiting the COX-1 enzyme at therapeutic doses
</end quote>


The new facts: Celebrex and Vioxx have not proven to be less damaging to the stomach lining. They are just way more expensive.



My recommendations: stick to ibuprofen. In order to achieve the anti-inflammatory effects, you can NOT take these only as needed. You must maintain high blood doses over an extended period of time (3 - 6 weeks). High doses mean 400 - 800 mg 4x per day. If you skip doses, the blood level drops and the effect wears off. This is where people make a mistake in taking NSAIDS. They feel if they don't have immediate pain, there is no inflammation.


Regarding NSAIDs and the liver: there is no proof or even evidence that a *healthy* individual will suffer any liver damage on this dose, especially over a 3-6 week period. I have been there. In fact, I was on this dosage for over a year after i blew L4 and L5 discs in my lower back. I was stupid for staying on this long, but there was no damage to my liver as proven by blood tests.



Other things you can do:

buy a long bar for squatting. moving hands out and using neoprene pads have pretty much eliminated this type of pain for me.

also, i hate to say this natural-mike, but your name indicates you are clean. those who are not clean can train at higher intensity levels without these types of things. just food for thought. maybe you need to scale back on the squatting or heavy movements if not.

as others have said, hammer curls to bring blood into the area help as well.

good luck!
/irish

 

[bigokie]

Well, I got a little secret that has cured mine in about 10 days. Band Hammer Curls. After watching the Halbert video where he talked about shoulder pain caused by muscle imbalance I thought that maybe the same was the cause for this. So I tried these after watching the Reactive Video section by Dick Hartzell(sp?). I do them between squatting and benching. I also do them on extra days. Try these and see if they will work for you. They have saved me, I thought I might have to skip the Sept meet because of this, now they feel fine. No pain today at all! Good luck on this, also keep the Ibuprofen therapy up.

 

[Hannibal]

Try these and see if they will work for you. They have saved me, I thought I might have to skip the Sept meet because of this, now they feel fine. No pain today at all! Good luck on this, also keep the Ibuprofen therapy up.

Respective to....

Damn glad to hear it brotha. Seemed like it was REALLY f/n with you Saturday. Just remember to pull the sleeves on your shirt all the way up next time.

 

[b fold the truth]

Ibuprofen, wide grip on squats, no bands on the bench, and strengthening my biceps have helped me out a lot...

B True