Andrzej's itchy tendons

Quoting Andrzej---
1. If you want to heal your tendons, go for the itch. If after workout
your injured tendon itches to the point when you desperately want to
scratch it, under the skin and muscle, you did a great job!
---End Quote

Will you explain this for me? I don't understand what it means. You seem
to be saying that there is some activity which will help your tendons heal.

I have an elbow tendon that I wish would heal. I rested it, and the
discomfort went away. But then I spent an hour trying to push/twist a
plumbing snake down a clogged drain and the next day I felt a bit of pain
in the elbow again.

Dnia 2008-06-20 buttinsky napisa³(a):
> Quoting Andrzej---
> 1. If you want to heal your tendons, go for the itch. If after workout
> your injured tendon itches to the point when you desperately want to
> scratch it, under the skin and muscle, you did a great job!
> ---End Quote
>
> Will you explain this for me? I don't understand what it means. You seem
> to be saying that there is some activity which will help your tendons heal.

Yes. That's what I'm trying to say. Total rest works best only when
you overworked your tendons recently and way to much, otherwise some
activity is better than a total rest. I happen to believe that some
kind of shock is working best, like doing a ballistic kind of lifts, for
example.

> I have an elbow tendon that I wish would heal. I rested it, and the
> discomfort went away. But then I spent an hour trying to push/twist a
> plumbing snake down a clogged drain and the next day I felt a bit of pain
> in the elbow again.

Sounds familiar. I've similar stuff with my left forearm (it's
actually itching quite badly now). Simply resting it didn't work.
Working out through pain was stupid, and only made things worse. The
best is to find an exercise and load which makes your injured part itch
after a workout or during another day. In my case it's cleans and
snatches, in your case it may be something different, but I believe it
should be some sort of quick movement which stretches your tendons
suddenly and for a short time only. Then they seem to take a clue and
start healing. My left forearm doesn't cause me problems in normal life
any more, so it's actually working for me (several months of complete rest
last year didn't help at all, for comparison). I'm not you and I don't
have your body, so do your own thinking before you risk your own elbow, of
course.

--
Andrzej Rosa 1127R

"Andrzej Rosa" <bakters@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:vg8ti5-hmg.ln1@bakters.bandit.home...
> Dnia 2008-06-20 buttinsky napisa³(a):
>> Quoting Andrzej---
>> 1. If you want to heal your tendons, go for the itch. If after
>> workout
>> your injured tendon itches to the point when you desperately want to
>> scratch it, under the skin and muscle, you did a great job!
>> ---End Quote
>>
>> Will you explain this for me? I don't understand what it means. You
>> seem
>> to be saying that there is some activity which will help your tendons
>> heal.
>
> Yes. That's what I'm trying to say. Total rest works best only when
> you overworked your tendons recently and way to much, otherwise some
> activity is better than a total rest. I happen to believe that some
> kind of shock is working best, like doing a ballistic kind of lifts,
> for
> example.

-snip-

The basic concept works for me, too, e.g., I've been having discomfort
in my left shoulder and decided I needed some time off, so after my last
heavy pressing session on Monday (28 kg kettlebell for lots of low-rep
sets), I did no pressing for a few days, then yesterday pressed a lowly
4 kg bell, and today I did some sets of 6 with 4 kg and 8 kg. If your
injury is not severe, it's good to "get back on the horse" and work your
way gradually back to your former levels slowly.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

buttinsky <never@you.mind> writes:

> Quoting Andrzej---
> 1. If you want to heal your tendons, go for the itch. If after workout
> your injured tendon itches to the point when you desperately want to
> scratch it, under the skin and muscle, you did a great job!
> ---End Quote
>
> Will you explain this for me? I don't understand what it means. You seem
> to be saying that there is some activity which will help your tendons heal.
>
> I have an elbow tendon that I wish would heal. I rested it, and the
> discomfort went away. But then I spent an hour trying to push/twist a
> plumbing snake down a clogged drain and the next day I felt a bit of pain
> in the elbow again.

I went to a joint mobility workshop with Steve Maxwell last May. One
of the exercises he demonstrated is a bit like doing the back stroke.
You put one arm straight in front of you with the thumb turned down
(rotated inward) then swing it behind your back as far as it will
comfortably go. Then you flip your hand around and continue the arc
until your arm is in front of you with the thumb pointing up. Then
you flip your hand around again and do it all over. What I found is
that when I do the flip in back I get a little snap in the elbow --
not a painful snap but an "ah that feels better" kind of snap. I've
since found that I can get the same snap just by gently hyperextending
the elbow and relaxing it again. So now I do that with both arms
before any exercise that usually bothers my elbows, and they've been
doing much better.

I'm not suggesting this will help your elbow; in fact, I'd be a little
surprised if it did. My opinion is that there's probably a movement
that will help you, but it's likely to be highly individual and you'll
have to try a lot of different things before you find it. That's how
it worked for me, anyway.

--
Jim Janney