Elbow pain affects roughly 10 million people in the U.S. If you're someone who deals with elbow pain from certain types of exercise, like during pullups, you probably know how uncomfortable it can be in the middle of a good workout and how disruptive it can become in your everyday life and activities.
Why do I have elbow pain after pullups?
- Repetitive strain injury ” One of the most common reasons for elbow pain after pullups is repetitive strain injury. This type of injury, also popularly referred to as tennis elbow or golfer's elbow, occurs when an individual engages in too many of the same movements or strains from physical activity. It may take months for these conditions to improve. Pain typically starts either on the inside or the outside part of the elbow and occurs during movement or upon touch. If you've been doing pullups too frequently, you may have developed a repetitive strain injury.
What can you do about elbow pain after pullups?
- Anti-inflammatory medication ” Anti-inflammatory medication may be good for reducing pain and inflammation and is a short-term source of relief. However, those who choose to treat their elbow pain from pullups with medication may end up doing more harm than good. Taking painkillers can cause you to not feel pain in that area of injury and use your elbow in ways that may make your injury worse, rather than letting it rest and take time to heal.
- Ice and heat therapy ” Using ice packs or hot compresses can be helpful for numbing pain and reducing inflammation in areas of the elbow. If you're experiencing swelling, you may want to consider using ice to help the swelling go down quickly.
- Physical therapy ” Unlike taking anti-inflammatory medicine and using ice or heat on your areas of pain, physical therapy can be a long-term solution for elbow pain relief. Physical therapists are specially trained in creating unique treatment plans that reflect their patients' individual needs. If you've got elbow pain and you want a long-term solution, physical therapy is probably your best bet.
Alliance PTP is ready to help you find top-notch PT for elbow pain from pullups
At Alliance Physical Therapy Partners, we're proudly bringing together physical therapy practices across the country to help people get the high-quality PT they need. Want to see a physical therapist in person? We can put you in touch with an Alliance PTP partner that's close to you and that can help you address the root cause of your elbow pain from pullups.
Not keen on in-person PT sessions or not close to an Alliance PTP partner? No worries. We also offer effective and affordable virtual physical therapy through our Agile Virtual Physical Therapy platform.
Contact our team today so we can help you find the most effective physical therapy services for your injury or condition.
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