Question for people who have hurt themselves weightlifting.?

Question

I started feeling pain in my left elbow when I was benchpressing.As opposed to doing the smart thing and take time off I pushed it.Now my elbow hurts whether I lift or not.I've taken 2 weeks off and I still feel pain.I'ts not as bad as it was but i'ts still bothersome.Any advice besides seeing a doctor?

Answer 1

You probably have tendinitis or bursitis in your elbow (or both). These are overuse injuries that can be caused by weightlifting. If you do any arm isolation work with a barbell, preacher curls skull crushers etc, use an easy curl bar instead of a straight one. That will put much less strain on your tendons by putting your forearm in a more advantageous position. You can do bent over rows with an easy curl bar too.
As for getting better you just need to lay off of it. I had bursitis/tendinitis in my shoulder from playing football and weightlifting and it took about 7 weeks before I could even do light upper body work. Wrapping an ACE bandage around your elbow might help with pain throughout the day, and when you go back to lifting. A heating pad should bring some relief too. Anti-inflammatory painkillers may make you feel better, but they delay the healing process so should only be used in the short term.

Answer 2

wrap the pain with a magnet (get one off the fridge)
ICE IT...ice bottle.
lift weights every other day to keep from burn out.
lift less weights but work up more lifts.