Okay, so let me tell you about my dumb elbow disaster. Been fighting tennis elbow for months now – that stupid pain on the outside of the elbow that won’t quit. Got it from doing way too much painting when I redid my garage. At first, I was like “No biggie, I’ll just work through it.” Big. Mistake.
The Stuff I Tried That Made It Way Worse
I figured strengthening things would help. Oh boy, was I wrong.
- Hammer curls: Grabbed my dumbbells, started doing curls. Felt that sharp pull right in the stupid elbow joint halfway through. Kept going because I’m stubborn. Next morning? Could barely turn a doorknob.
- Tricep pushdowns: Hit the gym, used the cable machine. The pushdown motion felt fine at first but after a few reps? Like someone stabbed my elbow with a hot fork. Woke up at 3 AM throbbing.
- Bench presses: Tried benching just the bar. Gripping that heavy bar? Instantly felt like my forearm tendons were snapping like rubber bands. Had to bail after two reps.
- Wrist curls: Sitting there curling a light dumbbell up and down with my palm up? Thought it would “rehab” things. Nope. Felt like grinding gravel into the sore spot every time.
The Wake-Up Call Moment
After a solid month of this nonsense, my elbow was so angry I could barely lift a coffee mug. Saw a physio who looked at me like I had three heads when I told her my “routine.” Her exact words? “Stop trying to ‘muscle through’ exercises that make tendons scream. You’re just ripping them more.” Felt kinda dumb.
She pointed out that anything with heavy gripping, sudden jerky movements, or direct resistance pulling on the wrist/forearm was basically pissing off the tendon more. Made sense – every single thing I’d tried involved bending the wrist, squeezing hard, or putting load on that angry tendon.
What Actually Helped (After I Stopped Sabotaging Myself)
First rule? Drop anything that hurts during or after. Seriously. If it tweaks – quit. No heroics.
I swapped the bad stuff for:
- Resting the dang arm (weird concept, I know)
- Gentle elbow straightening bends without weights
- Using an ice pack after chores (not just gym stuff)
- Wearing a brace while typing too (turns out mouse-clicking counts as abuse!)
Where I’m At Now
Stopped the stupid exercises two months ago. Elbow ain’t perfect yet, but I can actually shake hands without flinching. Lesson? Don’t fight your body. If an exercise feels like it’s ripping tissue? It probably is. Ditch it. Sometimes not doing stuff is the strongest move you can make.