Coming back after bad elbow injury

[Francesco Pudda]

Hi all.

 

After one year and 3 month from the beggining of my bodyweight rings training I had my first bad injury.

In December I was able to hold a 20 seconds full RTO support hold with hands slightly apart from my body. I was glad to have reached that result because that position was always hard to me since I have a genetic elbow hyperextension and I always felt pressure in my inner elbows during the first sets.

I was training also the middle split hold on parrallel bars, straddle rings back lever, tuck planche isometric, muscle-up on rings, and advanced tuck front lever pull ups.

 

Well the problem didn't came out with either RTO hold or back lever, but with the muscle up. I learned the movement (with no momentum) last august, but from that moment onwards I made almost no progress. Somedays I performed 3x2 sets, sometimes, 2-2-3, 3-2-2, 2-2-2, 3x3, just random numbers. One day, at the top of the dip I felt discomfort in the elbow, even if I knew that the problem occured during the transition. I was able to finish that workout with no problem. After three days I tried to workout again, but as soon as I felt that pain in elbow persisted, I immediately quit.

My family physician told me that I had a tendinitis in my elbow, but that's all I knew. I waited for one month and I went to a physiotherapist since pain wasn't still gone away, and after two session he told me that it was strange that a 19 year old boy like me still had such an inflammation, then he understood the problem: my radius and ulna went out of their axis. That's the reason why I didn't heal.

After two more weeks I went to an osteopath and in two session, I felt more progress than in one month. Now it's not completely healed yet, but I feel much better. I feel pain only if I put my hand backwards on a surface, so that my elbow and shoulder are both hyperextended.

I should go to the osteopath another time, and wait for the inflammed liquid to go away, then I could start again.

 

So: more than two month completely out. The only training I could do was non-RTO support hold, tuck planche isometric, and fron lever pull ups, all BENT ARMS! I couldn't straighten them out.

 

I want to ask you how is it possible for such a injury to come out. I think that reason are multiples: continous microdamage to tendon that didn't heal (I swear that every three weeks I took one of rest/less that half volume, and I sleep an average of 9 hours per night), and bad movements. The fact is that *probably* during the last repetitions, I was quite tired for the transition, forced the movement, paused at the beginning of the dip, and stress on articulations instead of the muscles.

 

Have you ever seen an injury like this?

I think that as I will train back, I will wait to train back lever and muscle up since they gave me the most problems. I think to start back with the RTO hold, MSH, tuck PL and adv. tuck FL pull-ups, and then adding gradually the bent straddle BL (if I can still hold it), and negative muscle ups, following a three month periodization instead of a linear progressin like I used before.

 

What do you think? Do you suggest any specific elbows prehab/rehab? Thanks to you all.

[Jesus Rojas]

The best piece of advice that I could recommend you is to buy the foundation series, and in that way you can get the right preparation for future ring work. Don't do premature ring work, the most of you story sounds like you did premature ring work. Just my opinion ! 

[Francesco Pudda]

Actually I used to perform RTO hold every workout the prepare very well the brachialis. Before the injury I felt no pressure on biceps neither during back lever work nor RTO hold. I think it was quite conditioned by that time. I couldn't hold a straddle planche, nor a front lever, but do they prepare biceps  and brachialis better than RTO o back lever?

[Alexander Egebak]

Actually I used to perform RTO hold every workout the prepare very well the brachialis. Before the injury I felt no pressure on biceps neither during back lever work nor RTO hold. I think it was quite conditioned by that time. I couldn't hold a straddle planche, nor a front lever, but do they prepare biceps  and brachialis better than RTO o back lever?

RTO support hold is still so advanced that doing it might cause injuries, especially if you shake. Buy the foundation series. Or you cannot/would not, these is some prerequisities that you could test yourself witht:

 

- Biceps/hammer curls or chin up support hang

 

- Parallel bar/stall bar support hold

 

- Basic neutral grip rowing with high volume

 

- Pull ups with high volume

[Alessandro Mainente]

Basically I think that your result is a consequence of premature approach to rings strength stress. you are doing basically only rings. let's talk about myself for a moment. 3 years ago I had a biceps tendonitis,the cause were BL, RTO and other rings stuff. I did my first seminar. i take off rings from my training a did foundations for the last 2 years, I've reintroduced them after completing RC for F4. I have no elbows problems since 2.5 years. the doms after the SA work are simply a body adaptation.

The only problems I have on my body are due to technical skill development on apparatus . the only one exception is my groin injury, I got it because mt coach pushed my on some vault elements that I was not prepared to train. and this premature work leads to injury.

As you can easily see when you have a premature approach is easy to be injured , on the other side the prevention is the key.

I've worked over 2 different approaches. the one on my previous coach was "vault is an important event" then i moved over GB where "conditioning is the most important event".

Maybe I am a bit rigid on some definitions BUT if you pay attention on correct approach to GST is practically nearly impossible get an injury during the pure strength development.