I’ve been nursing a tennis elbow injury for the past 3 months and its put a damper on working out and playing sports. The pain was around the elbow and on the front of my arms where the tendons are.
I thought it was because of me trying to throw a guy out going to third from the outfield playing softball but the Dr. said it was something much simpler then that. A mouse.
Not the kind that eat cheese but the kind on your desk that moves a cursor around your computers screen. Turns out the simple motion of moving the mouse around works the muscle and tendons all day causing the area to fatigue. My throw from the outfield was what took it to far and caused it to tear.
It hurt like hell and not going to see the Dr. until 6 weeks after it started to hurt did not make it better. My arm was in pain all the time causing me to skip any type of upper body workout for those two months as it hurt to lift anything.
I figured I could rest the arm to be able to play double headers twice a week and work on my cardio. This did not work because every time I threw the ball or swung a bat my arms would extend causing it to tear again. I knew it was time to visit the Dr. when the pitcher on my team said I now had a “noodle arm.”
Was happy when the Dr. said it was only tennis elbow and not that my bicep tore off. My right arms bicep was noticeably smaller than my left now. She gave me a sling, some Ibuprofen, told me to get an elbow brace, take 3 weeks of from softball, and any workouts involving my arms.
I cannot remember the last time I had gone more than a couple of days not playing sports or using my arms to workout. I did play through the rest of the spring season and the first two weeks of fall softball with the injury before resting.
The healing process was completed a couple of weeks ago and I started by playing second base and taking light swings. I finished the fall season playing very well but was cautious to not re-injure my arm. Played with the elbow brace which was difficult. Started our bowling league and threw the ball much lighter. There was just a little bit of soreness but nothing like the pain I had for those two months.
With my arm feeling better I knew it was time to see where I was at. After just completing the Insanity Asylum workout a week before my injury I picked up the Strength Workout DVD and threw it in. Warm ups were ok and then came the Dumbbell Cardio Routine. Grabbed the 25 pounders I last used and did my best to keep up with Shaun T.
Unfortunately, the 25’s were too much. Had to drop down to 15 pounds. The pull ups were coming up and I usually hit 10 – 15 chin ups. Could only get 3 this time. Was a little bit disappointed. The last time I could only do 3 chin ups was on my very first day of P90X some four years ago.
I know I’m going to bounce back from this injury. There is still a little bit of pain near the elbow but it will finally get a chance to heal properly without me playing sports for another 5 months. The elbow brace helps out while working on the computer. It just sucks to know I have lost so much because of this one small injury. It effected me more than I thought. Was not eating as well, lacked energy, and did not feel strong. I’m still very fit because of staying active doing whatever I could.
But that pull up bar has been my enemy since day 1 of P90X. Knowing it is going to be an uphill battle to get back in the 10 – 15 range is going to be challenging for sure. Mainly because I will not be able to try them until I start P90X2 in Jan 2012.
I’m still taking it easy and focusing more on lighter weights with higher reps. Hopefully the tennis elbow will go away by the end of the year allowing me to get back into working out like I used to do.