Forearm and Elbow Pain and Grip Strength

Arthritis can strike at any age. You said it cracks but there's no mention of pain or discomfort. If there's none I wouldn't be that concerned. If there is that's another matter. 

As mobster said, if there is no pain, I would doubt its arthritis. There are lots of reasons joints click, surface tension being broken can cause a pop / click sound, like people do with their fingers for example. Also a crackly sound can be caused by crepitus which is a condition caused by calcium deposits, unless there is pain with the latter its nothing to be concerned about.
 
Incidentally my ankles have cracked when doing leg stuff for 25 years and my joint is still fine :)
 
 

Hi Rachfit,

I would be very interested in learning more.  The symptoms you describe seem very similar to my own.

I get pain in my upper forearm, particularly when doing dumbell bicep curls (even very light weights cause pain), and to a lesser extent whilst doing dumbell flys.  All other exercises are fine (even barbell bicep curls a fine).  I also have a twisted pelvis, had physio in the past, but it goes back eventually.

I've had physio for the forearm pain which lessened it, but it's a lingering and annoying problem for me.

stinking_dylan


Hi Rachfit,

I would be very interested in learning more.  The symptoms you describe seem very similar to my own.

I get pain in my upper forearm, particularly when doing dumbell bicep curls (even very light weights cause pain), and to a lesser extent whilst doing dumbell flys.  All other exercises are fine (even barbell bicep curls a fine).  I also have a twisted pelvis, had physio in the past, but it goes back eventually.

I've had physio for the forearm pain which lessened it, but it's a lingering and annoying problem for me.

If your twisted pelvis is caused by dysfunctional biomechanics then it is possible to correct and you just havent found the cause yet. However if it caused by genetics or a medical issue then that is another matter. The fact that you say it goes back eventually I am assuming you mean the physio can correct it but only temporarily, is that correct?
Also it sounds like the physio yu have had for the forearm pain is a similar situation where the problem is being addressed rather than the actual cause which is why it is still lingering.
obviously I cannot comment accurately from a couple of posts but I can steer you in another train of thinking.
 
Look at our website for a Biomechanics coach in your area as they are experts in the field of the body's mechanics and also conditioning experts. Otherwise ask me as much as you like about Biomechanics mate ;)

In the last week I noticed a weakness in my left elbow joint. The effect is that I can't really do flys or train biceps. Even though I have taken it easy for the past week, when I tried to do some bicep curls today it felt really bad. I also noticed a clicking sensation when attempting to use heavier weight and it was giving out after just 4 reps. I wouldn't really describe it as "pain" as such more a feeling of weakness when pressure is exerted on the joint. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced similar and knows what it could be. Thinking of going to see my GP next week to get it checked out anyway.

I had a nasty pain in my right arm when I was lifting or bending and the doctor's kept telling me it was tennis elbow and gave me a wrist support and some anti inflamms.

At the start of the racing season(I race cars) I was out testing in a car that was heavy to steer and I suddenly got an excruciating pain in my right arm and couldn't steer the car. The medics had a look and my arm was severely swollen and they thought I had fractured my elbow so I went to hospital. It was xrayed, poked about with, saw 4 doctors and no one could work out what it was so put it in a sling and sent me for physio.

Straight away the physio knew what it was - my right side of my back and neck were so tight, probably from an old riding accident, that the muscles were like sheets of iron - I was at the time 19yrs old and for a female this was bad! It was causing all of the nerves to get stuck, hence the arm pain, and were unable to move and over a period of time, the problem had been getting worse and overflowing into other parts of my body(including my arm). I saw the physio once a week for 12 months and he worked on loosening my neck/back - at the age of 22, I'm still not sorted completely but no longer have arm pain and feel so much more free!

So I would advise anyone with this pain, to go and see a physio ASAP before it gets worse! I always find with sporting injuries, physios know so much more than GPs.

ruskybaby


In the last week I noticed a weakness in my left elbow joint. The effect is that I can't really do flys or train biceps. Even though I have taken it easy for the past week, when I tried to do some bicep curls today it felt really bad. I also noticed a clicking sensation when attempting to use heavier weight and it was giving out after just 4 reps. I wouldn't really describe it as "pain" as such more a feeling of weakness when pressure is exerted on the joint. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced similar and knows what it could be. Thinking of going to see my GP next week to get it checked out anyway.

HI RB 
  

Sorry to hear you have been experiencing this problem. I strongly suggest you get checked out by a professional though as they will need to make several assessments of your function to understand exackty what is going on.
 
It could be nerve or a muscle spasm causing these issues but it could also be an underlying medical condition which may need treatment.
So take it easy, avoid anything that is painful and book in to see a Biomechanics coach asap mate

Hi, I agree with F3rrari that physios can be very good with problems, but that only applies within their area of expertise, sometimes problems can be symptoms of something else which is not solely mechanical, so I would suggest seeing your GP - best if, like me, you have at least one GP who is interested in sports and sports medicine - if not, hope you have one who will understand your interest. I had a physio who rightly pointed out my need for prehab/rehab for a shoulder injury but who also wanted to stop me doing any serious lifting at all, as it was "bad for me"! I have a sublocated elbow joint - not dislocated, but kind of iffy. Certain movements would cause it to move and lock very painfully. It was caused or aggravated by an old previously unrecognised overuse injury and repetitive movement. I am disabled and used a Schwinn Airdyne bike in upper-body mode - too much back and forward, ping goes the elbow.

At first I was cautious about any heavy weight and all wrist work, but then I found that these things actually helped the problem. In particular, moderately heavy reverse curls and cleans! If I stop them completely the problem recurs - again this may be due to my disability and using walking poles to get around, which over works my triceps.

Doing moderately hard grip work has also strengthened my wrists and increased their size and has almost entirely eliminated some old wrist injuries, carpal tunnel and an impact injury. 

For me the process was get it checked and find out what you are allowed to do, my sports mad doctor positively encouraged me to keep training but to vary my training. Secondly, I worked up to heavy loads over time and I try to ease into new exercises or unfamiliar equipment.

For example, I have acquired one of David Horne's Vulcan grippers - it is adjustable and should help me in my quest to get my next spring gripper. The movement is almost identical to a spring gripper, but not entirely and I find light resistances seem less stressing than a light spring, but heavy resistance feels much harder than an equivalent spring gripper. So, even though both grippers work virtually the same movement, I have used a different training program with the Vulcan than with my coiled spring grippers and am making sure I own a level before advancing.  

1 easy tip with increasing your grip strength - whenever you are doing exercises like pull ups, squeeze hard!

Grip strength is important, without them, you are a higher risk of injury when you extremely heavy weights.

Interesting to see so many people have experienced this.
 
My advise, if pain doesn't completely go is - see a physio!
 
I developed a sharp pain in my forearm/elbow whenever lifted. It got to the extent where lifting a glass of water would cause pain.
 
I thought it was just a training niggle so stopped training for a few days. I had one session back in the gym doing chest and it set me back to square one.
 
Finally booked to see a physio which was the best decision I'd made. She diagnosed it as a small tear in the muscle. I have a treatment and she even used accupuncture to help it heal faster. 
 
So far it's been 2 weeks off training upper body, which has been very difficult (although abs are looking a lot better!) Wish I'd seen the physio earlier and sorted it out sooner.

I just recently hurt my right forearm earlier this week when i was digging a ditch a work I guess 4 hours of that same motion def got to me. I haven't tried hitting the gym yet but I'm going to give it one more day to rest.

Glad I stumbled on this thread.Had a pain in my upper forearm for quite a while now and it's getting to the point where all curling/pulling movements are nigh on impossible.Started off as an ache and got worse.I recently took 6 weeks off total training cos of becoming a dad again and other reasons and expected all aches and pains,including this one,to be healed.As it turned out it seemed worse than before bizarrely.Can't do anything but the lightest bi work and even more annoyingly it's started to hinder my back training.I'll read that other thread with interest.

It seems so strange how so many people have the same kind of pain and most of which in the same side too,I have what I can only describe as an injury in my left elbow too,the pain comes from my elbow to my forearm muscle,the only 2 exercises I do that irritate it is the machine hammer curl done with a rope and the front lateral raises(delts)for these I tend to strap it up tight however I have been avoiding the hammercurl and introduced the correct amount of protein into my diet and its seems to be recovering be it slowly.