Loss of elbow extension, physical therapist stumped, can elbows jam?

Hi all,

 

I've been loving my first 4 months of GB.  A week ago I did some "crows" in a yoga class (tripod where my knees balance on my elbows and I balance on my hands.  I'd never done them nor the yoga, and immediately following I did my normal GB workout, including SPL/PE3 (4x60s).  All was fine, although days prior I had had problems with my main arm nerve coming out of place in my elbow and causing some pain during complete elbow contraction.  This first happened after carrying a 20kg barbell across the gym with that one arm (lots of torque as it was difficult to balance)  That problem I hadn't had for 20 years, but through manual massage I know how to correct it.  At any rate, the following morning after the yoga and workout my nerve finally was staying in place, but as of that day, my elbow does not extend fully. (normal for me is 7 degrees past straight and now it is 7 degrees below straight).  

 

The physical therapist was perplexed and (of course) suggested that maybe the GB training isn't good for my joint structure, as I am not only hypermobile but have loose joints.  That would be my first question for you all, if you agree with her that a person with slightly loose joints should be wary of GB training.

 

My second, and more pressing question, is what you might recommend for returning an elbow to a full extension.  The therapist wasn't able to really suggest anything to me, although she thought it possibly had liquid in it, preventing full extension (even if she tried forcing it to extend).  Can elbows jam?  I didn't and don't experience any pain there.  I haven't seen any change since a week ago, I've started icing it and have laid off the training.

Well I'm no therapist so take this with a grain of salt but it could be tight biceps. I stretched mine over the weekend and gained elbow extension. I used the stretch where you lay face down with your arm at 45 degrees and palm of the hand facing up.

Give that a go and see if you get anywhere.

Cheer

Ben

Well I'm no therapist so take this with a grain of salt but it could be tight biceps. I stretched mine over the weekend and gained elbow extension. I used the stretch where you lay face down with your arm at 45 degrees and palm of the hand facing up.

Give that a go and see if you get anywhere.

Cheer

Ben

I would suggest getting a referral to a Physiatrist (No, not a Psychiatrist). Look for a Physiatrist who is board certified in their specialty - Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Even better, find one who has also completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship.  This type of physician is the next step and they should be able to accurately diagnose and restore your range of motion, as well as advise you on how to proceed with your training in light of having loose, hypermobile joints. Until your range of motion is restored, or you see a physician, be very careful with your elbow.

Too high a load coupled with too much intensity has led to injury.  The loss of R.O.M. is the elbow's attempt to protect itself from further damage.

 

Rest the elbow completely for a couple of weeks and then re-test the waters very gently.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach, is starting back slowly contingent on having already gotten back that full extension in the elbow?

Guys, thanks for the other great tips!

I had this problem. Lost 20° in my right elbow overnight. No pain just loss of extension. It felt like something was wedged in the joint preventing full extension. Physical therapists were perplexed. Eventually, we used hard traction and flexion/extension for about 120s and the restriction disappeared immediately. Never noticed it again.

Best guess: a small benign mass had appeared in the posterior joint surface creating a door stop effect. Maybe you'll have similar luck. If you are going to try this without a PT, start with gentle traction. Getting traction on the elbow can be difficult without getting the shoulder girdle involved as well. Be careful. Better to have a few PT's do it for you. It's tricky.