Expert: Dr. Brendon J. O`Brien, D.C. - 10/29/2005

Question
i have a friend who is now aged 48 years old. about 15 years ago he tried to see how many push ups he could do consectutively. he was training up to increasing the endurance. well he got a very large pain located about in the centre of the tricep but it a little bit closer to the deltoid than the elbow. this problem he has has not went away to this day.

now i was wondering if the likely cause would be a ligament damage. or perhaps a muscle tear. or something else. if he has mucle tear it is not a complete one as he can still movements with this tricep but with very little weight. and what would be the appropiate type of treatment? i was thinking of a rehab program that he would strive to use as much intensity as possible that did not add any pain to the problem area. perhaps buidling the surrounding muscles strenght/endurance so when again he was to excersize a movement that did involve this problem the body would use more of the surrounding musculature to perform the task.

thanking you in advance.

Answer
Hello Jii,

    He should take 3-4 weeks off to let the tissue completely heal.  He does not want to re-tear the injured area.  Most muscle tears will heal in a month, tendons and ligaments will take several months.  After the intial healing massage and light workouts will help.  Exercise should be light at first then increase slowly.  Always ice if there is sharp pain present.

Hope the information helps!
Dr. Brendon O'Brien D.C.