Sore elbows (golfers elbow?)

Loving this program.  I seem to have developed what I have researched as being golfers elbow (pain on the inside on my elbow).  It's been on an off for over a year and bothers me when I do any sort of pull-ups. 

I have read other comments in the forum about what to do and the answer is usually to lay off doing any sort of pulling that aggravates it and rest it up.

The odd thing is, I am capable of doing legless rope climbs and have a very strong upper body so my thinking is my joints should be able to tolerate the load but obviously these flare ups are my body's way of saying maybe not.

What would you advise that I do to help with this issue?  I heard the exercises in the handstand program helped some but not sure if I just need to do nothing and rest it (ice, massages, etc.)

And once it does heal, the idea is to get multiple lighter reps in and progress up once again.  I guess what's throwing me off is the fact that I can lift myself with ease and perform great pull ups so why would I be getting these flare ups?  Is it because my tendons are not strong enough to support that load? And how would you know when the tendons are strong enough?

Thanks for any assistance you can give

Rich

Hi Rich,

First off, I suggest consulting a medical professional to get an accurate diagnosis. Once you are healed and can train without irritating or causing pain to your elbow, start working back through your Rope Climb progressions starting with PE1, step 1. The difference between being able to perform (play) with a movement and train a movement is huge.

I am an okay rock climber and when I started Foundations, I could already perform legless rope climbs with relative ease. However, when I was still working on RC/PE6, I did a little too much "playing" on the rope and gave myself the early signs of likely the same elbow issue. This was my lesson that although I could climb the rope, my connective tissue was not prepared for the volume. Your nagging elbow issues are telling us that neither is yours. This highlights the function and importance of the progressions; once you have mastered all of the RC progressions in F1,2, 3, and 4, you will have earned protection against this sort of issue. 

Again, start with a physio consult, don't train through the pain, and when your body is ready to begin pulling again, start with the basics. If you need any more help along the way, we'll be here.

Awesome Everett, thanks a lot for the advice.  Makes total sense and I like how you put it when you say "playing" vs.  training.  I keep hearing coach sommer talk about the importance of having to train the connective tissue rather than the muscle as it takes so much longer to regenerate which I'm starting to understand the reasoning behind it.

It's going to be a long journey but I know it's worth it in the end.  

Thanks again and will start by getting it diagnosed by a professional.

Rich

I had chronic tendonitis in both elbows for around 3 years, however as soon as I started rc/pe1 it stopped hurting due to the high rep, low weight workouts. I have been on rc/pe1 for a long time no due to the fact that the workouts changed when the system was revised last year. I did hinge rows for a few months, before starting with rows.

You should try it and see if it works for you, but you need to spend months doing it to make sure the tendon pain goes away for good. Believe me, I have been there many times where I have rested enough for the pain to dissipate, only for it to return very quickly by going too heavy too soon.

Thanks Marcus.  Ya, the high rep low weight thing is hard for me as you can understand so I have to be diligent about patient for sure.

So in terms of the program, do you continue to click on the "fine" smiley face and keep repeating the same workout week to week and advance on the other movements such as the pushing exercises?  

Hi Rich,

Other movements can advance more quickly. This is totally normal. Just try to be as honest as possible when selecting the smiley faces. Sometimes repeating the same step multiple times by selecting 'fine' is necessary to adapt to that steps sets/reps. 

Got it! One last question on that same topic of selecting smiley faces - should it be "easy" to do for you to click on the "easy" smiley or if you just squeak by and did it and it was super hard, should you stay on that another week until it gets "easier" or do you move on?  I guess a lot of it is based on feel then right?  Just trying to gauge when the appropriate time is to move on a progression.  

Squeaking by because it's super hard doesn't sound easy to me. That would be hard. Click easy if it's easy. Simple as that  Don't overthink it, Richard.  

Excellent, thanks again

@Richard Robichaud, I work with a lot of tennis players. They sometimes get tennis elbows (and even golf elbow, believe it or not). Doing myofascial release (either let somebody do it to you, or roll it on a roller, or use the FasciaBlaster or something) for the triceps, biceps, forearms and everything that leads to the elbow (and that you find really tight/painful) will help. The fascia is all connected, so you may release some fascial distortions somewhere else and the elbow will go away. I do it after training, when I suspect I overdid something :-) or I do a little bit here and there as a maintenance. Just looking for dysfunctional fascia and correct it with a massage. I think it could help you. It makes wonders with my people's tennis elbows. But first, as everybody else suggests, consult with your physician.

Good advice Suzanna, thank you!  I have actually been doing that as you mentioned and massaging all around the elbow right up the forearm and close to the wrist and yes, it actually helps.   I am going to follow all of the above for sure and see how it goes.  Thank you again

Hey forum,

I have a question about elbow soreness. Is it acceptable if you feel tiredness in your tendon after you feel soreness in the adjacent muscle belly? I have felt this near my elbow but it is not inflammation nor tendinitis as I now how that feels. Despite this, I am progressing really fast with the program. I also do a lot of jiu-jitsu, so it could be this also.

Regards,

Benjamin

Hi @Benjamin Wright,

It is best to have it checked with a medical professional before ruling out that it is not tendinitis or any soft tissue injury. It is possible since you are doing it along with jiu-jitsu.