Posted on June 14 2018
Using Heat for Tight Biceps and Elbow Pain Relief
I find myself hitting my arm workouts a bit harder than usual. As a result, I often tend to go over board on my poor biceps which end up suffering the brunt of the workout and developing some well-earned delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. This is soreness that doesn’t typically show up until 24-72 hours after your workout. If and when I get DOMS, I usually get it 48 hours after my workout. You know it will be bad if you don’t feel anything the day after the workout. Sadly, this is basically unavoidable due to the fact that exercise causes micro tears, which than causes pain but those tears repair and now you have a “bigger” muscle. Thus the vicious cycle repeats as you continue to go to the gym, increase in personal strength which than you lift more which could go on for quite some time unless you plateau.
My biceps tend to get incredibly stiff and sore which in one way gives me a positive feeling because, well, progress, but on the other hand is downright uncomfortable. Typically, I'll wake up in the middle of the night due to my arms being incredibly tight and near impossible to roll over to the other side to get comfortable again, and repeat a few times per night. I originally began using the ActiveWrap elbow wrap with cold therapy to try and alleviate the pain and prevent elbow tendonitis from doing preacher curls ,however this time I noticed it was not joint pain but rather soft tissue. So, I decided to give the elbow heat wrap function a try, and I soon felt the much-needed bicep pain relief that I so desperately needed. The stiffness is the true enemy and not the soreness. The elbow heat wrap works in 2 ways, 1) it relaxes my muscles and allows it the normal range I need to function on a day to day basis and 2) might increase the inflammation which in turn increases the white blood cells to the affected area which promotes healing! Yes, I know it’s the opposite of what we were taught about elbow and bicep pain relief, but it works for me. Typically, you would use cold therapy to lower the inflammation caused by a strenuous gym session, but alternating between the two worked out well for me! I usually try to use it at home while relaxing on the couch, but occasionally I have to use it on the job. The elbow heat wrap is low profile enough that it doesn’t interfere with my day to day activities, allowing me to get bicep and elbow pain relief when I need it. The heat packs are easy enough to toss in the break room microwave without any issues.
Stay active, and don't forget the importance of pre and post workout stretches when you're working out.
-Dorian
