Ripping sound in elbow?

Y

yay-a-cornish-pasty

New member
Hello,

I'm pretty new to weight lifting as im only 19 years old and don't really know where to start. I've had this problem with my right elbow for about 6 years now, anytime i lift anything over around 3 lbs i hear a slight ripping sound in my right elbow. The heavier the item im lifting the louder it gets, so imagine the sound as im lifting weights. It's only a sound though, i don't feel any pain in the right elbow, i can just feel and hear it ripping.
No, i have not seen a doctor (Money issue) but a friend of mine who is a nurse asked one of the doctors she works with about it, he said to lay off all use in my right arm for a week, keep it on ice and take advil throughout that week. I've done this, i did that for about 2 weeks actually and tried to lift weights again, there it is, the ripping sound.
Is this serious? Worth checking out? Has anyone else had this similar problem?

Again, it does not HURT but i CAN feel it and anyone in the same room can hear it. I've also heard many stories of a clicking in the elbow, this is deffinetly not a clicking, it's a very loud ripping.
Any suggestions or solutions would be much appreciated, thanks!
 
Is the sound when you go from a bent arm to a straight arm? What is the elbow movement that is involved? Or is the sound heard when the elbow isn't bending at all? And is it just you sensing it or can anyone else hear it?

Sometimes a tendon slipping over the bone can make strange noises and since you have no pain that may be it, but you maybe risking a tear if you continue.

Has this happened before you started lifting weights or just since then?

Jenny
 
It's going from an outstretched arm to a bent. Yes, people can hear it loudly as just making a tight fist then bending my arm makes the loud ripping sound.
It's been happening for about 6-7 years now, when i was a kid simply lifting the milk out of the trunk of our car caused my elbow to "lock" as i called it, where i WOULD feel pain and have to drop whatever i was lifting. I wouldn't be able to bend my arm any and would have to shake my hand/wrist/forearm in a twisting motion to get my elbow to make a pop where i could bend it again. I do not have that problem anymore, now it's just this tearing sound/slight feeling.
And no, no pain now, just a loud ripping/tearing sound that can be heard across the room and a funny feeling in the elbow.
 
Sounds like you've had a tendon slightly out of place since birth, or the elbow itself. When you bend it, especially with a closed fist, it stretches out the muscle to full length and the tendon attaching the muscle at the elbow slips over the bone and makes that ripping sound(I've heard mine make a noise like a guitar string being plucked but really low tone and raspy). As a kid, it would hurt and perhaps get stopped by inflammation or even catching a nerve in the elbow as things seem to be slightly out of place.

Since it no longer hurts, I'd advise this, don't overdo. You get any pain, stop what you are doing. It could be a real rip in the tendon. go up on weight very slowly and go up and down to new and old weight over many days to get your elbow used to the new weight(isn't that what they advise now anyhow?). Just be on guard that you have something that might be in the wrong place and go forward with care. any pain, stop and get it checked. A torn tendon can take up to a year to heal so you don't want to do that.

good luck............Jenny
 
Back
Top