Arm Wrestling & Elbow Pain
Arm wrestling is an extremely competitive sport that demands enormous pectoral, biceps and deltoid power. Arm wrestling is actually a very dangerous sport that can cause fractures and ligament and muscle tears in your arm and elbow. There are ways that you can strengthen your arm to prevent injuries from possibly occurring. However, if you do injure your arm or elbow, you need to take precautions to ensure proper healing.
A man winces as he tries to win an arm wrestling match. (Image: Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images)Elbow Pain
Two female arm wrestlers competing. (Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images)Arm wrestling puts enormous pressure on your biceps, triceps and elbow. Tendonitis in your elbow is a common injury that stems from arm wrestling. The tension created in arm wrestling and/or the motion of twisting your or your opponent's arm causes either tennis elbow or golf elbow. According to the website Doctors Tendonitis Relief, “tendonitis is inflammation or irritation of a tendon,” which are the thick fibrous cords that attach muscles to the bone. Another common arm wrestling injury is called lateral epicondylitis. The website Emedicine reports “lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is an overuse injury involving the extensor muscles that originate on the lateral epicondylar region of the distal humerus."
Prevent Elbow Injuries
A man leads a group in jumping jacks. (Image: Mike Powell/Digital Vision/Getty Images)Warm up before your wrestling match or practice. Spend at least 10 minutes running on the spot or doing jumping jacks to warm up your muscles. Arm wrestling places such incredible strain on your arm that it is hard to avoid an injury if you take part in the sport. You can strengthen the muscles surrounding the elbow to stabilize the joint and the connective tissue to reduce the risk of injury.
Elbow Relief
A man holds his sore elbow. (Image: nebari/iStock/Getty Images)If you injure your elbow arm wrestling, the most important thing you can do to heal is rest. Beyond that, you should also place an ice pack on your elbow and try to keep it elevated to relieve the pain and reduce the swelling.
Anti-Inflammatory Medications
A woman takes ibuprofen with a glass of water. (Image: Fuse/Fuse/Getty Images)An elbow injured during an arm wrestling match can often be successfully treated by taking an anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen. Ibuprofen can reduce the pain and swelling and enable you to more easily bend, and use your elbow.
Surgery
A doctor examines a patient's elbow. (Image: Chris Rogers/iStock/Getty Images)Arm wrestling is a dangerous sport and it places your elbow in grave jeopardy. If you develop severe tendonitis in your elbow from arm wrestling, you may require surgery. Surgery is a last resort and, thankfully, most elbow problems sustained arm wrestling can be cured through rest, therapy and medications.
