WAG Bicep pain when doing pull-ups and tumbling - since 2 years!

[katlinchen]

I did Acrobatics/Tumbling for a long time, but started with gymnastics a little later. I am doing really fine, I am quite strong (50 push-ups, 20 hanging leg raises, press handstands etc) but I always get severe problems with my biceps.

It usually starts when doing pull-ups or when I work on bars, 10 minutes is enough to get it started. It is a sharp and pulling pain in my biceps, feels like near the bone.
Then I sometimes have dull and pushing-like pain on the inner side of my elbow and sometimes on the "back" where the tricep tendon attaches, which just flares up whenever it wants to.

If I train through this, it gets worse and worse each session, it even hurts when doing handstand-pops. When it's really bad, it hurts in my elbow and spreads down the whole arm. When I bend my arm, I get horrible sharp pain in the biceps and even muscle spasms.

There is no redness, swelling or tingling and it doesn't hurt when I touch it.

I have been to several doctors, but no one could help me. All they said was it might be a nerve, a tendonitis or some sort of overuse injury.

But I really wanna know wha the cause of this problem is!

 

[Gymsanity]

Sorry to hear what you are going through, but no one here can adequately diagnose your problem. You need to keep going to the Dr.'s until they come up with a diagnosis and solution. Good luck and let us know if it gets resolved.

 

[iwannacoach]

I've had something similar, well maybe identical but not as bad as you've described.

Try this just to see if there's an imbalance between your biceps and triceps. Reduce the weight just a bit for your bicep curls, and add the reverse motion by laying on your back with your head just over the end of a bench. Hold a dumb bell or weight straight above your forehead using both hands in a piano playing orientation. Lower the weight to the top/back of your head while keeping your elbows stationary. Continue by returning the weight to the starting position while keeping your elbows stationary.

I prefer moderate to light weight and very strict discipline with respect to posture, position, rhythm, and isolation. So lets say I do my biceps curls with two 25 lb dumb bells and the reverse curl with a single 35 lb dumb bell, and use those weights instead of two 35's and a single 45 or 50 for the reverse.