Distal Bicep Tendonosis

[pkemp44]

I am looking for advice on an elbow injury I have had for about eight months now. For some background, I am eighteen and have been climbing for almost 4 years. I used to be on a youth team and do competitive climbing. On this team, the training ethic was simply to climb as much as possible, nothing more thought out than that. Initially I improved fairly fast with this strategy as my technique improved, but as I reached the v6/v7 grades in bouldering I began to struggle with injuries. One year I missed tow months of climbing due to a pulley injury, the next i missed to months for pain in my biceps tendon where it connects to the forearm. I realized that my current training strategy was simply hurting me and began researching training for climbing on my own. After the two months off to try to help my biceps tendon heal, I returned to climbing slowly, climbing once a week for thirty minutes and slowly adding more days and time every few weeks. My goal was to work up to a schedule that implemented something similar to the rock prodigy training program (however replacing the campus board with steep bouldering until i felt my arms were up to it). I have since completed two training cycles of 4 weeks of hangboarding, 4 weeks of steep bouldering(moonboard), 2 weeks of power endurance, two weeks of peak, and a week of rest. I climb/train three days a week for about two hours, with two climbing specific (hangboard, moonboard, endurance) days and one day with light climbing and a general workout in between (the days are spaced apart with rest days). This would all be very well and I am almost at my previous level, except my bicep tendon has begun bothering me again (i have been back to climbing for 6 months, real training for 3, and my bicep has been getting worse for those 3). I feel like the structured training has helped keep my bicep tendon from worsening quickly, but it is still there. I cannot do many pull ups let alone work up to doing the campus board without aggravating it. The doctor recommended more rest and therapy. However, now therapists or trainers in my area know anything about climbing and I do not want it to turn out the same as last time. I have seen people recommend eccentric exercises for tendon issues, and light climbing dos not seem to bother it (complete layoff for an extended period seems rather useless) and was wondering how much rehab exercises and general strengthening exercises i could do alongside climbing. If anyone has any training advice or experience with this injury help would greatly be appreciated! I was thinking of continuing easy climbing (not much steep stuff) and trying a daily routine of eccentrics for the next couple weeks. Any thoughts? Thanks for any help (I feel like the rock prodigy method has really worked better than my previous methods by the way! Thanks for this website Mark/Mike)

[MarkAnderson]

I've had very similar issues with my left biceps. Have you tried doing the Supplemental Exercises described in the book?

What's worked for me is to start a fresh training cycle by doing the biceps-specific supplemental exercises at very low resistance and gradually building up as they strengthen. In my experience resting for weeks on end does very little to help. You need to progressively stress the injured area to stimulate healing and growth. The problem with progressively increasing "just climbing" is that the activity is too random-- you don't really know how much you've stressed the biceps and how much load they can safely handle. This is where weights and specific exercises can really help. As always, be sure to document the loads you've use so you can track your progress and predict goals for future workouts.

[Chris W]

pk, if you've had a professional physical therapist evaluate your condition and if that therapist has recommended a structured therapy program, be sure you are doing the exercises on a regular basis to prevent the problem from recurring. If the therapists in your area don't know anything about climbing, then educate them [respectfully] on the specifics of your activities. They have professional training in dealing with your condition, regardless of the cause. Mark's recommendations above are likely the same you would receive from a professional therapist. You're quite young, but as you age you will find that an ounce of prevention is worth ten pounds of cure.