The Information and exercises shown here are for those individuals looking to continue back workouts despite elbow pain. There can be many causes of elbow pain, so seeking advice from a medical professional before placing any added strain on an injured or painful area of the body is always recommended. These exercises are designed for trained athletes already familiar with the gym and workout equipment.
These exercises will not necessarily show you how to achieve a bigger gain in the back region, but will simply offer substitutions and modifications to maintain strength and allow the continuation of back workouts while dealing with elbow pain.
What is Elbow Pain?
Elbow pain can be a common problem. Whether an individual is a highly trained athlete, partakes in competitive sport, or participates in recreational activities, elbow problems are likely to occur at some point. The arm is made up of three bones that join to form a hinge joint called the elbow. The elbow is held in place and supported by various soft tissues, such as cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. There are also three main nerves that begin at the shoulder and travel down the arm across the elbow. The tissues surrounding the elbow joint are incredibly sensitive and can become damaged or irritated very easily with even the slightest force, overuse, or trauma. A painful elbow can make everyday tasks like typing, doing household chores, certain occupations or playing an instrument seem challenging, let alone getting your workout in.
2 of the Most Common Causes of Elbow Pain
1. Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
Tennis Elbow is an often a painful condition that occurs when the tendons in your elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm. This can lead to stress of the elbow’s supporting tissues that can result in small tears and inflammation. Tennis elbow gets its name from the repetitive motion of playing tennis, however tennis is not the only activity that can lead to this painful condition. Any repeated contraction of the forearm muscles that are used to straighten and raise the hand and wrist, such as painting, cutting up ingredients while cooking, or repetitive computer mouse use can cause symptoms. The average age for its occurrence is reported to be between 20 and 30 years old, but it can occur at any time in those who are more susceptible. Symptoms usually resolve with rest and discontinuation or modification of the repetitive movement causing the pain.
2. Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis)
Golfer’s elbow isn’t as well-known as tennis elbow. Both are forms of tendinitis caused by inflammation, however while tennis elbow stems from damage on the outside of the elbow, golfer’s elbow can be felt on the inside of the elbow. Golfer’s elbow may come on suddenly or develop over time and can result in stiffness of the elbow, tenderness and pain on the inside of the elbow or down the inner forearm and may worsen with certain activities such as making a fist or swinging a golf club. Sports that rely on repetitive throwing motions like baseball, archery and basketball can aspirate this condition, as well as using tools that you need to squeeze in your hand, like screwdrivers and hammers or continuous use of a rake or paintbrush.
Manage both injuries like any other overuse injury and talk to your doctor about what is the best solution for pain management.
5 Modified Back Exercises to Accommodate Elbow Pain
1. Recline (Inverted) Row
Recline rows are a great way to warm up the back and elbows before moving into any pull-up exercises. This is a calisthenic (body weight) exercise, easy to do, and can be set up with a variety of equipment. This is an inverted exercise by nature that will cause less strain on the elbow joints. The choice of hand grip allows for multiple muscle groups to be utilized while recognizing what grips cause more or less pain for a specific elbow injury. This exercise is also advantageous for people sitting at a desk all day and/or have other injuries that may prevent utilizing more stationary exercises such as bicep curls with weights. Recline Rows can really add a powerful extra muscle-building challenge without having another piece of equipment handy and will set you up for a good solid workout.
Recline Rows
2. Use the Back Bull
Using the right equipment on the pull-up bar is essential when dealing with elbow pain and discomfort. The Back Bull’s innovative design is perfect for anyone that wants to get up and go. The sleek hooks are easy on your hands, which means you can focus all of your energy on pulling yourself upward with ease. The Back Bull hooks over the pull-up bar and the handles allow for a more neutral grip that is very comfortable for the elbows. With proper execution, less stress and force is placed on the elbow joints, resulting in less to no pain.
Back Bulls
By switching sides on the pull-up bar, you can even change from a slightly overhand to a slightly underhand position and use whichever feels best.
Back Bulls – Other Side
3. Try the Perfect Pullups
In a world where most people don’t have the time or energy to get in a full workout, pull-ups are an excellent way to get some upper body strength. By doing just one set of thirty-six reps per arm, three times throughout the day, pull-ups will also help boost other muscle groups and will improve balance.
Another recommended piece of equipment is the perfect pull-ups. The handles rotate, allowing your shoulders and elbows to move as needed to accommodate strain on the elbows while doing pull-ups or chin-ups.
Perfect Pull-ups
4. Give Grapple Grips a Go
Grapple grips are made specifically for training the hands and grip endurance for MMA and combat athletes. Grip strength and neuro-muscular grip endurance can be improved by holding firmly onto the grapple grip as you pull up, causing a resistant force. Hanging the grapple grips from your pull-up bar will allow for an inline grip that is more ergonomic for the body and can put less stress on the elbows. Using these may allow more quality in your reps.
Grapple Grips
5. Metolius Rock Rings
Metolius Rock Rings are another interesting piece of equipment and are perfect for individuals getting creative with climbing. These rings will hold onto any size or type of shoe, giving maximum stability when pushing through limitations. Metolius rock rings used for pull-ups will allow the arms to abduct slightly, making pull-ups more comfortable, especially when dealing with an injury.
Metolius Rock Rings
In general, elbow pain is no fun and can not only limit your daily activities, but also put a big damper on your workouts. Taking care of yourself and using the correct techniques while performing any repetitive movements will help deter pain, inflammation and injury to the elbow. Utilizing the different types of equipment shown here may help to maintain your workout routine.
In general, elbow pain is no fun and can not only limit your daily activities, but also put a big damper on your workouts. Taking care of yourself and using the correct techniques while performing any repetitive movements will help deter pain, inflammation and injury to the elbow. Utilizing the different types of equipment shown here may help to maintain your workout routine.
I have a great program that has helped hundreds of people with their elbow problems, called Fixing Elbow Pain.
Jedd Johnson of DieselCrew.com
