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Competitive Cycling

Mike K.
Mike K. Sendmail

Tendonitis in elbows/triceps from cycling???

asked almost 2 years ago | Report

Over the past weeks I've been increasing my ride distance to about 80-90km - about 3.5 hours on the bike. Lately I've been experiencing a lot of soreness at the base of my triceps around my elbow resulting in numbness all down my forearms. It affects my grip a bit, causing the odd tremor.

Anyone ever experienced this? It sounds like tendonitis. Just not sure what to do to treat it. My main race that I have trained all year for is next weekend - half iron - hoping I can hang in til after that and then get a plan to resolve this issue. Any suggestions welcome.

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4 answers

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  • Michael D.
    Michael D. Sendmail

    What kind of bike do you currently have? Do you have good gloves? If you're going on long rides and you're bracing yourself with your elbows, this COULD be a cause of numbness. I would check with a doctor to be sure as I am not a medical professional.

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Kevin M.
    Kevin M. Sendmail

    You shouldn't be pushing on your arms too much, your arms should actually be quite relaxed while riding. It sounds to me like you're resting too much of your body weight through your elbows. Theoretically, you should be able to ride a road bike without arms; they are just there to guide the handle bars but you should be balancing your weight and holding yourself up primarily with your core, your hands simply rest on the bars and you only load down when you need to over rougher terrain or through corners. My triceps get sore sometimes if I'm riding super hard, like in the drops for an entire crit, but there's a lot of energy going through every muscle in the body when pushing a very high pace. Good luck man

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • James G.
    James G. Sendmail

    I get this too. Mine is from a pinched nerve in my left elbow, I also have developed cts. Both are from repetitive work but flare up on longer rides.

    answered about 1 year ago |Report

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  • Kevin M.
    Kevin M. Sendmail

    I developed tendonitis in the elbows now, (go figure) not from riding but repetitive heavy lifting at my last job. Cycling doesn't help this and only agitates it... The only real recommendation I've got is what my doctor told me - hardcore anti-inflammatory and physiotherapy. And lots of rest...

    answered about 1 year ago |Report

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