Kettlebell For want of a nail...

[NormanOsborn]

I've developed a nasty case of Tendonitis on the inside of my left elbow. What's worse, about five minutes research on this Forum was enough to make me realise it was entirely self-inflicted.

I've been running the Swing Season Program these last few weeks. I thought I'd locked in my technique; I was making sure I hinged correctly etc. What I hadn't done was make sure my arms and wrists were kept straight during the Swings. Which is almost certainly the cause of the elbow pain, as well as the twinges I've been feeling in my upper left shoulder blade.

So, a rookie mistake that could have been avoided by me simply taking the time to make sure every part of my technique was on point, has resulted in me having to pause a program I was enjoying, and find alternative methods of conditioning until my elbow and back are healed.

I'm posting this so others, especially kettlebell rookies, can learn from my mistake: don't assume you are doing a movement correctly just because it feels good at the start. Damage from incorrect technique can build up gradually. Check and double check every part of the movement.

Now, if you'll excuse, I'm off to drown my sorrows with a dram or six.

 

[Steve W.]

I've been wrong
I had plans so big
But the devil's in the details
I left out one thing
No one to love me
No one to love me
No one to love

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost

For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost
For the want of a rider, the message was lost

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost

For the want of a rider, the message was lost
For the want of a message, the battle was lost
For the want of a battle, the war was lost
For the want of a war, the kingdom was lost

For the want of a nail, the world was lost
For the want of a nail, the world was lost
(such a tiny thing)

I've been wrong
I had plans so big
But the devil's in the details
I left out one thing
No one to love me
No one to love me
No one to love
Yes and no one to love

You're askin'
What's all this talk about horses and war?
Put yourself in the place of the man at the forge
And day after day you live a life without love
'Til the morning you can't take it anymore
And you don't get up

Multiply it a billion times
Spread it all 'round the world
Put the curse of loneliness on every boy and every girl
Until everybody's kicking, everybody's scratching
Everything seems to fail
And it was all for the want of a nail

For the want of a nail, the world was lost...

 

[Halfakneecap]

I've developed a nasty case of Tendonitis on the inside of my left elbow. What's worse, about five minutes research on this Forum was enough to make me realise it was entirely self-inflicted.

I've been running the Swing Season Program these last few weeks. I thought I'd locked in my technique; I was making sure I hinged correctly etc. What I hadn't done was make sure my arms and wrists were kept straight during the Swings. Which is almost certainly the cause of the elbow pain, as well as the twinges I've been feeling in my upper left shoulder blade.

So, a rookie mistake that could have been avoided by me simply taking the time to make sure every part of my technique was on point, has resulted in me having to pause a program I was enjoying, and find alternative methods of conditioning until my elbow and back are healed.

I'm posting this so others, especially kettlebell rookies, can learn from my mistake: don't assume you are doing a movement correctly just because it feels good at the start. Damage from incorrect technique can build up gradually. Check and double check every part of the movement.

Now, if you'll excuse, I'm off to drown my sorrows with a dram or six.

Currently have the same issue. I think for me it’s just too much volume. I’ve been C&P as my main movement all year, 2-3 times a week. I’m about 2 weeks into switching to double rack squats and it’s mostly gone, at least 75% better.

Your form may be fine, just doing too much?. Or you may have tweaked it doing something else and the movement aggravates it?

Either way it sucks, but for me now I’m squatting 3 times a week. Been years and it feels great!

 

[North Coast Miller]

@Halfakneecap

Good points, I wouldn’t assume there was anything inherently wrong with @NormanOsborn technique. Sometimes the system just isn’t good with a particular challenge. Golfers elbow tends to be movement triggered more so than tennis elbow, which can crop up simply from overuse.

 

[NormanOsborn]

@Halfakneecap

Good points, I wouldn’t assume there was anything inherently wrong with @NormanOsborn technique. Sometimes the system just isn’t good with a particular challenge. Golfers elbow tends to be movement triggered more so than tennis elbow, which can crop up simply from overuse.

So Golfer's Elbow is when the pain is on the inside of the elbow?

 

[watchnerd]

So where does the nail fit in?

 

[NormanOsborn]

So where does the nail fit in?

In the horse's shoe, obviously!

 

[North Coast Miller]

So Golfer's Elbow is when the pain is on the inside of the elbow?

Yes, inside but can be on either side of the medial epicondyle.

 

[Halfakneecap]

@Halfakneecap

Good points, I wouldn’t assume there was anything inherently wrong with @NormanOsborn technique. Sometimes the system just isn’t good with a particular challenge. Golfers elbow tends to be movement triggered more so than tennis elbow, which can crop up simply from overuse.

I get it if I do too much of a particular movement I’ve worked out over a few years. It’s never really bad, just annoying. But I get much better results when I stick to one movement regularly. I’m the future I’ll do month long breaks, and then also do blocks where I do 3 different movements through the week.

I work with my hands so not uncommon.

 

[Halfakneecap]

So Golfer's Elbow is when the pain is on the inside of the elbow?

Norman, I’m having good success by dropping the weight. I also worked out I may have been gripping the wrong way, or at least, changing my wrist position this morning gave me no problem at all. I started using a hammer curl like wrist position a few months ago. No issue for a long time, but this morning I went with more pronated, and also let the bells fall over my wrist on the drop. No problem at all with my elbow.

May or may not help

 

[Halfakneecap]

My elbow is basically back to normal. I went to a more horizontal grip ( looking down at the bells on the ground )rather than more of a hammer grip, dropped the weight and also rotated my wrists as they bells went through my legs. I started out originally doing it this way with no issues. I’ve got a few weeks left of The Wolf, then I’ll go back and try to finish off Strong phase 2.

 

[scilla]

Norman, this stretch has proved useful to me:

Golfer’s Elbow – A Possible Solution?

Around 2004 I started to climb indoors a lot – as in 4 times a week or more. As you might expect, my grades started to creep upwards but at the very same time I developed a nasty case of Golf…

tomrandallclimbing.wordpress.com

As others, I don't think that, necessarily, your technique is bad. The causes of these tendon aches are normally manifold.
I, for one, could, with good reason, think that mine are due to an excess of pullups. However, there are times when pull ups don't cause pain and the clean drop does. So, what gives?
Another thing I have used successfully: doing extremely sssloow pull ups. Or very slow negative pull ups. The key is using what hurts and doing it very slowly. For example, 4 seconds up, two seconds at the top, two seconds down, two seconds at the bottom.
Or simply a negative that takes half a minute.

 

[guardian7]

I've developed a nasty case of Tendonitis on the inside of my left elbow. What's worse, about five minutes research on this Forum was enough to make me realise it was entirely self-inflicted.

I've been running the Swing Season Program these last few weeks. I thought I'd locked in my technique; I was making sure I hinged correctly etc. What I hadn't done was make sure my arms and wrists were kept straight during the Swings. Which is almost certainly the cause of the elbow pain, as well as the twinges I've been feeling in my upper left shoulder blade.

So, a rookie mistake that could have been avoided by me simply taking the time to make sure every part of my technique was on point, has resulted in me having to pause a program I was enjoying, and find alternative methods of conditioning until my elbow and back are healed.

I'm posting this so others, especially kettlebell rookies, can learn from my mistake: don't assume you are doing a movement correctly just because it feels good at the start. Damage from incorrect technique can build up gradually. Check and double check every part of the movement.

Now, if you'll excuse, I'm off to drown my sorrows with a dram or six.

Good point. I didn't know I was hyperextending my back in the swing in my beginner enthusiasm until I took the SF KB seminar.