Locking Elbow & Injury

Hi,

I've been using the Foundation One series for a few weeks now and have just started on the handstand One series also. My history is that I used to do gymnastics, from about 4 up to late teens, until I suffered a broken elbow playing football. The injury stopped me from being able to continue gymnastics for competition and so I stopped altogether.

The result of my injury was that I lost about 15 degrees movement in my right arm and cannot lock my elbow into position, left is fine. I had a k-wire and pins to reattach my elbow, these were removed a few years ago (c. 20 years after the initial injury).

I am looking for some advice on how to work with positions and efforts where i need to lock my elbow. I end up having to hold the position through strength, which puts a huge amount of strain through my right arm and shoulder. Am i just going to have to take these a bit slower and utilise/build strength or are there other techniques that gymnasts have used to work around these types of problems?

Thanks for any assistance anyone can give.

Paul

Hi Paul,

This is out of my scope but some of the other coaches like @Wesley Tan and @Mark Collins might have some advice.

Thanks Everett, hopefully someone might be able to offer some help.

Post a short video of you doing a front support so we can see how much range you have right now.

In short you have to work with what you have. You may be able to get some range back but that will depend on how much the bony architecture has changed. An x-ray at some point may help ascertain this.

Wesley

Hi Wesley,

Thanks for your post. Here is a link to a video showing my front support: https://youtu.be/xsCqyh0B3Ek

I made it unlisted, so hopefully you can view it from that link. I have taken it front on and rotated my arms in sync so that you can see the difference between my right (injured) elbow and my left (good) elbow. It is clearest at about 10 secs.

Thanks,

Paul

Hi, just bumping this in case @Wesley Tan missed my video or in case anyone else can help.

Thanks

Hi Paul, 

Thanks for posting the video. Yep I can see exactly what you mean. Whether or not you can get more range from the joint remains to be seen, I would not let it stop you from training however!

In the front support, do you get any issues in the arm or shoulder as you mentioned previously? Do the 2 positions you demonstrated make any difference?

I would recoomend having the inside of the elbow facing forward more as this usally encorages the biceps to open a little and strengthen also.

As a priority, you need to work on improving the efficiency of your right shoulder/scapulo-thoracic complex as well as your right hand/wrist.

What I mean here is that these 2 areas either side of your elbow need to work as good as they can in force transference and dissapation to help for the obvious reduction in the right elbow. 

Shoulder mobility drills from Foundation series, HS1 and Thoracic Bridge and Wrist stretches and conditioning progressions from HS1 also.

Dead hang on high bar, shoulder extension drills how do they feel?

Thanks for getting back @Wesley Tan

Front support position is fine, as are most active positions. The difficulty usually comes in static arm positions (scrap shrugs are painful on my elbow after 3rd or 4th set) and exercises that the load is fully through my right arm (such as Side Over Arch).

I've been doing dead hangs at the gym to try and help stretch out, getting into a totally relaxed position and can hold it for 30 seconds comfortably. I'm gradually getting a better position in my table for my shoulders, but for the HS1 static shoulder extension my mobility is very poor and gradually trying to build it up.

ill work on the areas you suggest but don't have thoracic bridge series as can't afford the stretch series at the moment, so will put extra focus on the shoulder an wrist sections in Hs1 and Foundation 1.

thanks for your advice!

Keep it up Paul!

As your shoulder girdle opens up generally I'm sure it will help the elbow. With singe arm work as you say, make sure you ease off if it gets really sore and take note how much it is affected/or not in the immediate days following, as joints can often flare up after a work out or trauma rather than immediately.