Elbow Pain While Cycling? Here's what to Do

Symptoms of Elbow Tendonitis

Two types of tendonitis can strike your elbow from cycling. If you feel pain on the outside of the elbow when forming a clenched fist or lifting your wrist up, it can be a symptom of lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, according to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

But tennis elbow doesn't just develop from swinging a racquet. As you cover terrain on your bike, shocks are transmitted up from your handlebars to the tendons of your wrists and elbows. The tendons controlling the muscles for these movements attach at a tiny bump on your outer elbow and become inflamed after repetitive shocks from your handlebars.

According to Utah Mountain Biking, cyclists with tennis elbow will experience pain or burning on the outer side of the elbow when raising the wrist up or making a fist. The bony bump on the outside of the elbow may feel tender to the touch, and your grip may feel weak.

Medial epicondylitis, or golfer's or baseball elbow, is results in pain in the inner elbow when straightening the arm and is caused by inflammation of the tendons there, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. These tendons attach to muscles enabling you to flex your fingers and turn your wrists downward.

If you're turning your wrists up and down on the handlebars when jumping or doing drop-offs — rolling over obstacles on a descent — the sudden yanking motions can lead to injury or elbow pain.

Treating 'Biker's Elbow'

Though it may be tempting to ignore the pain and keep cycling, you need to rest your injured arm, according to the AAOS, even if that means taking a break from cycling and other sports for several weeks.

Ice and anti-inflammatory medication may provide initial pain relief and help reduce any swelling. Continue to ice the elbow for a half-hour every two hours over the course of two days. If necessary, take anti-inflammatory medicine, such as ibuprofen, and rest your elbow in a sling.

Warning

Visit a doctor if your condition doesn't improve with rest, your experience severe or worsening pain or if your elbow becomes significantly swollen or discolored. If you find it difficult to perform routine tasks with the injured arm, more serious treatment may be required.

After a few days off (or more if needed), attempt to stretch the elbow joint through its normal range of motion by bending your elbow and fully extending your arm. Stretching the tendons and muscles of the wrist and forearms can also help relieve elbow pain if done periodically throughout the day. Try this stretch:

  1. Straighten your right arm out in front of you and rotate it so that your forearm faces the ceiling.
  2. With your left hand, gently push your right fingers back toward your body so that your right hand starts to become perpendicular with the floor.
  3. When you feel a stretch in your right wrist, hold for 15 seconds.
  4. Switch sides and repeat 2 or 3 times.

Tip

This wrist stretch is also excellent as part of a warm-up before cycling once you've recovered and been cleared by your doctor.

You can also try the Super 7 for tennis elbow, which is a series of seven different stretches to help ease the pain of lateral epicondylitis.

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