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  • Pull downs – pain in elbow
  • jools182
    Free Member

    I was at the gym yesterday (yawn) and was doing some pull downs

    Started getting a sharp pain in my right outer elbow

    I’ve sometimes had twinges in it when lifting something heavy

    Any ideas what it is, and if anything can be done to build strength in the elbow or treat it?

    Robz
    Free Member

    It could be many things – muscle strain,tendinitis, ligament strain. Or you may just be moving your elbow in an unnatural way.

    RICE it if it’s still sore.

    Next time try pull ups rather than pull downs (i.e don’t use a machine or cable).

    I find doing pull ups forces you to maintain much better posture and generally results in your form being much better than when using a machine (assuming you don’t start swinging around like mad). People using machines or cables often press the bar down in front of their body too much rather than rowing it into their sternum keeping the elbows back. This puts strain on the anterior shoulder and elbow. You can’t do this whilst performing a pull-up as your body weight won’t allow it.

    Pull ups are also just much better for you as you will probably shift much more weight (body weight). It’s almost pointless doing heaps of reps of a light weight on a lat pull down. I’d rather do fewer reps with body weight.

    Bent over row or pull up (wide pronated grip) are top exercises.

    silverpigeon
    Free Member

    A very common elbow pain is tennis elbow. Hold arm out straight in front of you with fingers pointing down. Have somebody apply slight pressure to your fingers whilst you try to straighten them.

    Painful?

    That’s tennis elbow that is.

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    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    I’ve developed what I think is Tennis Elbow over the past few years in my left elbow/forearm. I think I developed it from picking the kids up. It sometimes affects me and not, sometimes in the top of the forearm towards the elbow and sometimes in the actual elbow itself. There doesn’t appear much you can do with it other than rest it – which is pretty difficult. I’ve just put up with it over the years, its not been so severe as to stop me from doing anything, but it does seem to be getting better now the kids are older and i’m not picking them up so often. On the basis you can’t properly rest it, then maybe if you can try to suss out what it is that aggravates it and try to avoid that.

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