The triceps muscle is located at the back of the upper arm and is responsible for straightening/extending the arm and adducting the shoulder. It also stabilizing the elbow joint for fine motor point movement.
The muscle has attaches to the shoulder and the elbow. At the elbow, the triceps attaches to the elbow through a wide flat tendon.
The wide flat tendon can become too tight from repetitive activity, such as fast sudden movements or heavy loading. The most common movement to cause tricep tendonitis is the pushup, burpee or bench pressing, requiring the muscle to respond quickly. The quick movement places stress on the tendon and over time the tendon will become inflamed from micro tears.
Triceps Tendonitis Caused By:
- Sudden, forcefully stretch of the triceps muscle.
- Sudden increase in weight resulting in high levels of stress to the muscle.
- Movement of the triceps muscle too quickly.
- Throwing sport
- Poor warming up/stretching the triceps.
- Repetitive exercise or overtraining – pushups, bench press or dips.
Symptoms of Triceps Tendonitis:
- Pain in one or all locations: the elbow, back of the arm and shoulder.
- Pain or difficulty when straightening out the elbow.
- Pain touching the elbow and/or above the elbow.
- Possible swelling or bruising above the elbow.
- Weakness of the muscle.
I approach treating your triceps strain to your presentation, which involves:
- Analyzing your posture – is a slumped shoulder or rotary cuff weakness playing into your pain?
- Discussing potential lifestyle dynamics impacting the effected elbow.
- Understanding how other factors such as arthritis can aggravate the problem.
- Muscle testing the muscles comprising the elbow/shoulder for weakness and pain.
- Targeting effected muscles, releasing motor points, trigger points and relaxing the fascia
Providing exercises to continue treatment success between acupuncture treatments.
Call (914) 572-5137 today or click here to schedule an appointment & learn more about how we can help you.