WAG Elbow injury in gymnastics - what could it be?

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K

katie

Hello!

I have been to several doctors, but no one has an answer to my strange problem and all of them sent me away saying "rest 3-5 weeks and then start training slowly and carefully."

So I first felt the pain a year ago. After doing chin-ups and pull-ups, I felt a light sharp pain on the inside of my upper right arm, somewhere near the bone but it was not too bad.
After some weeks I experienced the same in the other arm. After some rest it came again in the right one, but this time it didn't get better. With each training session it got worse, a pulling pain radiating down my arm. I had the feeling that it originated from the inner elbow, radiating down the forearm and up to my biceps. It got especially bad when I supported myself on the bars, did handstand snapdowns (overstretch the shoulders) and felt very uncomfortable at walkovers.

So there was this sharp pain like small needles in the biceps, a pulling and tearing pain in the whole arm and an uncomfortable, pushing-like dull pain on the inner side of my elbow.
When supinating it got worse, and when I bent my arm I got very sharp, unbearable pain in my bicep.

Extending the arm was ok, there was no swelling, bruising, tingling, loss of strength or numbness and it didn't got worse when touching it.

I stopped training for 10 weeks, doing some light work every now and then.
I started training 2 months ago and the light sharp pain is there again.
Not always, it kind of flares up, giving me small pain in my upper arm and sometimes the dull pain on the inner side of my elbow flares up.


Has anybody got an idea what it could be?

I really hope someone has any advice, I am totally sad, angry and desperate because I can't improve sine last year and gymnastics is my biggest hobby and even job! (I study sports here in Austria!)
 
Possibly a cyst. I had one in my elbow and it felt kind of similar to how you described it. I had two misdiagnoses before I had an MRI and they found it. I also lost most of my range of motion. After physical therapy it was fine.
 
Not too sure how many Drs. are here, but it sounds like you need to go see a good one! Anything close to what you are describing needs to be seen, diagnosed, and treated by a professional. Us coaches don't want the Drs. teaching flips, and they don't want us practicing medicine! Hope you get it checked out, and you will let us know so we will all be a little smarter. Good luck. :)
 
See a specialist sports physician. It might also be worth seeing a physiotherapist, if it is a soft tissue injury they will be able to diagnose and give a proper rehab program including exercises (not just resting).
 

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