Problems with muscle fatigue/inflammation

[ProdigyOfZen]

Okay I am having some serious problems with my shoulders/arms.

Back on September 16th during a rolling session with a strong and tough wrestler i managed to cause myself either RNI (Radial Nerve Inflammation) or Lateral Epicondilytis (Tennis Elbow) in both forearms. Two days later in my left non throwing arm I get the anterior band of my UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) complex partially torn in a key lock.

I have been out since Sept 18th and doing only PT for my elbow. The entire time i have been out i have still had the inflammation in my forearms to the point where raising a 5lb weight directly in front of me burned my lateral epicondyle.

Last week i got a shot of corticosteroids in both forearms. I just started back BJJ after 6 weeks last night and now my arms are starting to burn again not to mention my left elbow is sore (obviously).

Anybody have any suggestions for muscle recovery or have had similar problems? I am about to start taking either Ultragen for endurance athletes or AMP Amplified Recovery Protein XR to help my muscles recover.

I have never had these problems caused by lifting straight weights/ football or any striking classes I have done.

BJJ is really causing a lot of inflammation in my arms and shoulders. I don't get the least bit sore in my abdomen or even legs. I can sit there and triangle guys for 2 mins straight all class and not have a problem with my legs the next day.

Any suggestions?

 

[thaiboxer67]

vitamin c is an anti-inflamatory, try also fish oil, get a good balance of omega three's to sixes, ideally 1:1 or 1:2 and try taking maybe 5 grams a day.eat pinnaple for bromelain, eat your greens stay away from nsaids,they help but leach essentials from the body,ice helps maybe magnesium or potassium and zinc

 

[Aaron Perls]

Start popping fish-oils like they're candy.

Back-off when you start getting leaky-ass.

If you want a diet to target inflammation, cut grains and grain-fed animal products from your diet.

 

[BigStaff]

Start popping fish-oils like they're candy.

Back-off when you start getting leaky-ass.

If you want a diet to target inflammation, cut grains and grain-fed animal products from your diet.

 

[Aaron Perls]

Yeah, it's a balancing act.

 

[redaxe]

Are you still doing a lot of weight lifting exercises with your upper body?

It sounds like you're exerting your arms too much when you grapple, and you might be injuring them further by lifting weights too much.

And it sounds like you may have come back from your injury too early. You should probably give your doctor a call.

 

[bjornvil]

I used to have this problem as well.

I did go to a physical therapist who did some A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) on me which hurt like hell but did work pretty well.

But mostly I just trained through it, but I did so intelligently. I used as little strength as I possibly could. If I started feeling it too much I just took a few days off. Eventually it got better.

I feel that wearing elbow sleeves does help. I supplement with L-Glutamine which has helped me a lot with recovery. I used to do maybe 4 training sessions per week until my body was just shot. Now I go 6-7 sessions without any problems.

Ibuprofen helps... not very good for you in the long run though.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

vitamin c is an anti-inflamatory, try also fish oil, get a good balance of omega three's to sixes, ideally 1:1 or 1:2 and try taking maybe 5 grams a day.eat pinnaple for bromelain, eat your greens stay away from nsaids,they help but leach essentials from the body,ice helps maybe magnesium or potassium and zinc

Thanks for this. Well the thing is I have never eaten seafood my entire life. Yes it is true, never. I think I am going to start eating more seafood if only for the fish oil/omega 3's etc even though I cannot stand the taste.

 

[Chucknate]

Cutting out grains helped me a lot.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

Are you still doing a lot of weight lifting exercises with your upper body?

It sounds like you're exerting your arms too much when you grapple, and you might be injuring them further by lifting weights too much.

And it sounds like you may have come back from your injury too early. You should probably give your doctor a call.

Thanks Redaxe, well I got back into everything back in February of this year. That is striking in Feb and BJJ in May. Unfortunately from the time i graduated college/went to work etc I havent really worked out at all. In college I lifted weights all 4 years 6 days a week.

So my body was not prepared to get back into heavy mma/bjj. 4 years without really doing anything no gym/ no MA etc. This from being extremely active until i was 22. That means football/baseball/weightlifting/mma etc and never having any serious injury in all that time.

I actually have not been lifting weights at all, just doing BJJ/Muay Thai/Wrestling. Since injuring my elbow I have done PT and this past week I have just started lifting weights which is actually making me feel better.

I believe the problem is I was not lifting weights to get my muscles as strong as before. I hope this is one of the solutions to add weightlifting to my workouts. Thankfully I have an extremely high metabolism and i didnt gain too much fat in the 4 to 5 years i was seditary.

Went from a strong 185 to 210 lbs in that amount of time and i am 5'11. I am back down to 185/190 and looking to get to a solid 175.

My elbow is actually pretty good, it was sore the first day and not sore now. It is feeling better the more i work it out and lift weights for PT. I dont think I came back too too early from my injury. I hope not anyway.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

I used to have this problem as well.

I did go to a physical therapist who did some A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) on me which hurt like hell but did work pretty well.

But mostly I just trained through it, but I did so intelligently. I used as little strength as I possibly could. If I started feeling it too much I just took a few days off. Eventually it got better.

I feel that wearing elbow sleeves does help. I supplement with L-Glutamine which has helped me a lot with recovery. I used to do maybe 4 training sessions per week until my body was just shot. Now I go 6-7 sessions without any problems.

Ibuprofen helps... not very good for you in the long run though.

This is the thing, I don't feel anything while I am actually training. When I am in there rolling for 20 to 25 mins straight I feel fantastic, it is only afterwards that my arms are burning. I guess it is the adrenaline. Right now after two days of training my right lower bicep is hurting quite a lot and I can feel it hurt every time i move my arm in any direction yet I know that the tendon and bicep are fine. I know what a tear feels like haha.

Obviously the last two days i rolled slow and controlled not using a lot of strength and only with training partners who i know well and won't spaz out on me or injure my left elbow. I also do not take any anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen etc because I feel like it hides or masks the pain and I would rather know if there is pain then to have it masked.

I can train through it no problem it is just i am the type of person who wants nothing to hurt at all hahah.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

Start popping fish-oils like they're candy.

Back-off when you start getting leaky-ass.

If you want a diet to target inflammation, cut grains and grain-fed animal products from your diet.

Thanks dude I appreciate it. I just recently started taking Fish oil pills. I will watch out for the "leaky-ass" hahaha

 

[Rod1]

I also do not take any anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen etc because I feel like it hides or masks the pain and I would rather know if there is pain then to have it masked

This is so wrong on so many levels, anti-inflammatories dont mask the pain, they fix it by reducing the swelling, which when chronic will fuck you up. What you are talking about are analgesics.

Now most medicines have a dual effect, they are both analgesic and antiinflammatory, if your concern is masking pain then take an strict antinflamatory after bjj class. like diclofenac or ibuprofen, take into consideration side effects.

Also you should ice after practice, if you dont feel pain during class is because inflammation usually kicks in after you are relaxed.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

This is so wrong on so many levels, anti-inflammatories dont mask the pain, they fix it by reducing the swelling, which when chronic will fuck you up. What you are talking about are analgesics.

Now most medicines have a dual effect, they are both analgesic and antiinflammatory, if your concern is masking pain then take an strict antinflamatory after bjj class. like diclofenac or ibuprofen, take into consideration side effects.

Also you should ice after practice, if you dont feel pain during class is because inflammation usually kicks in after you are relaxed.

Well obviously I understand that anti inflammatories do not quote un quote mask pain, so I should have said Analgesics, my apologies. I have been icing for the last month.

The epicondyles in my forearms are a little sore but nothing like before and i attribute that to the corticosteroid shots i got last week. Hopefully I can continue working on them to get rid of the inflammation entirely.

Haha yeah i got the fact that inflammation kicks in after i am relaxed but I meant to be more clear in saying "I have pain all day and BEFORE class then while rolling i feel nothing "see adrenaline" and afterwards the pain comes back. I should have been more clear.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Rod1]

Well obviously I understand that anti inflammatories do not quote un quote mask pain, so I should have said Analgesics, my apologies. I have been icing for the last month.

The epicondyles in my forearms are a little sore but nothing like before and i attribute that to the corticosteroid shots i got last week. Hopefully I can continue working on them to get rid of the inflammation entirely.

Haha yeah i got the fact that inflammation kicks in after i am relaxed but I meant to be more clear in saying "I have pain all day and BEFORE class then while rolling i feel nothing "see adrenaline" and afterwards the pain comes back. I should have been more clear.

Thanks for the help.

Well its probably also because you are warmed up, when my knee was fucked up i couldnt walk during day but when training pain seemed to go away and came back aftewards.

What i did was taking antiinflamatories and icing, plus fish oil glucosamine and chondroitin, the old knee injury seemed to go away, sometimes in rainy days i get knee pain, but not like i used to have.

 

[KahleyTriangles]

Hey, hopefully I can help.

I usually get in 4-6 times of BJJ in a week, at about 1-1.5 hours a day. Most days I try and use technique and less strength, but as competition season nears I try to up the intensity although I still take it easy on white belts or people who are significantly less weight than me (I'm around 167-172). On top of this I run 3 times a week, AND do weight lifting. When I lift, I only focus on compound lifts and follow 5x5. Weighted Pull Ups, Deadlifts or Squats (alternating days) and Bench Press.

Even with all this activity, my joints have never felt better and its all due to getting plenty of rest and nutrition.

Try and eat 5 times a day, get plenty of rest and supplement. As someone mentioned before, pop fish oil like its going out of style. On days that are rough, there's nothing wrong with popping an anti inflammatory such as aspirin because it lessens swelling. Also continue icing your problem areas as this helps too. You need to keep swelling down as that's when damage to your joints occur.

Check out the nutrition section here in sherdog and see what supplements are recommended for combat athletes. Here's the gist of what you'll want to be taking to help with muscle fatigue/recovery (the science can be found in the nutrition section):

Whenever I have a big meal, I take 3g of fish oil, and also take zinc, magnesium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D supplements.

Pre Workout: Glass of Sucrose/Dextrose, citric acid mix (fancy name for Gatorade mix), mixed with non flavored creatine and BCAA's (5g each).

During Workout: Water bottle of water, sucrose/dextrose, citric acid (once again, fancy name for Gatorade)

Post Workout (immediately): chocolate milk mixed with creatine (5g), ON whey protein, and beta alanine.

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

Hey MBGracieBarra, thank you for all the advice. Do you live and train in Chicago? I live in Dallas but might have a job offer there. Not sure i am willing to move to chitown!

 

[KahleyTriangles]

Hey MBGracieBarra, thank you for all the advice. Do you live and train in Chicago? I live in Dallas but might have a job offer there. Not sure i am willing to move to chitown!

Hey Prodigy, yes I do. Its a great city, with tons of things to do. The winters take some getting used to though! Let me know if you're in town and maybe you can come to the GB for a roll. Take care.

 

[JRT6]

Tennis and golfer's elbow is usually caused by muscle imbalances in the forearms. Fixing that will go a long way in ending your problems.

 

[DiscipleOfPog]

Tennis and golfer's elbow is usually caused by muscle imbalances in the forearms. Fixing that will go a long way in ending your problems.

Reverse grip EZ bar curls!