Elbow tendinitis or other chronic arm pain? Burning in arm without activity...

[maskedrose]

On and off in the past I noticed some discomfort in my left elbow, but it would always go away. The pain usually came on days when I was doing 100+ push ups. Prior to this I had some bursitis in said elbow that I never treated since it went down on its own. This was in 2014/15

On October 24th 2016 I noticed I injured myself getting ready for a karate tournament. I'm really not sure what I did since the pain was gradual. So to give some background:
Oct 23rd I did 2 hours of training - my standard karate class with 15 minutes of fighting. One of my partners decided to go really hard for 7 minutes straight - he was using all of his weight, jumping into the air, and basically launching his round house kicks into my left side. As is traditional, I kept my elbows tucked into my ribs and blocked the kicks with the outside of my forearm. I didn't notice anything unusual. I then sparred for another hour, one on one with a nice sparring partner who has pretty good control.

The next day I did my 1 hr bjj class and I recall rubbing my wrist a little bit because it was uncomfortable. No big deal I thought. I went and did my 1 hr karate class.. then did a 1 hr sparring class in which I held very large, body size pads that cover you from foot to shoulder. They have straps that go across your back in an X shape and they rest on the front of your collar bone. There is also a handle so you hold the pad by the handle... so basically for 20 mins straight I had this thin strap digging into my shoulders and collar bones while my arms were kept bent, elbows tight against my chest while my hands gripped the handle on the pad. My partner hit the pad 20 mins straight. Afterwards, I got a break and I had to shake my left arm out, swing it around, and rub it... realizing my elbow hurt. I then went to do my 20 mins of beating up the pad.

The next day I went to bjj and noticed my arm felt kinda cold and uncomfortable. I then went to karate and opted out of sparring because from elbow to wrist as COLD. very very cold. That night I had a painful sensation running down from shoulder/neck into my left pinky and ring finger. It was burning.. so I thought it was my ulnar nerve. I had pins and needs in my hand and whenever I'd try to turn a doorknob or open something I felt like my finger tips were being stabbed. I went to my usual PT who suggested it was tendinitis and a strained forearm flexor. I reduced my activity from 3 hrs a day to 1 hr every other day with NO grappling/bjj. Only striking... using the right arm. After no improvement I went to an orthopedic dr who diagnosed me with golfer's elbow and told me to go to PT and wear a brace. I went to PT for around two months (not the same PT who said I had tendinitis) and didn't see any real results. I did manage, on my own time, to smash out two nasty knots I had on the front left, one that was on my collar bone and another below it.I went for massage therapy and noticed an immediate improvement... to the point where I felt cured (haha). I still have three knots on my shoulder, one wedged under my shoulder blade, and another under my arm. I should note that they didn't respond to trigger point injections. Since I was feeling better I went back to doing karate every day and felt no consequences until someone tried to push my back against the wall during sparring.. but I put my weight forward and they lost their balance. I couldn't catch myself since I was wearing boxing gloves and my hand slipped, arm straightened out and I landed directly on the inside of my elbow. Now I feel like I'm 5 steps backwards... my arm burns.. particularly on the inside.. my wrist feels stiff and the tendons pop and grind when I rotate my wrist toward the left. The tendons at my elbow no longer feel tender or painful to the touch like they did two months earlier.. but I can't understand why my bicep, forearm, wrist, etc would hurt or how to remedy it. I have noticed that the section of shoulder where I broke the knots up has no more symptoms/pain but the remaining knots hurt/burn and seem to radiate the pain into my arm. Another doctor suggested the pain is coming from the knots in my shoulder and neck.. which I suspect might be true(or not?)

On this 2 month adventure I've been told I have cubital tunnel/carpal tunnel/tendinitis.. etc. I'm not sure what to think or how to treat it anymore and I'm frustrated. I have been doing stretches for the ulnar nerve and that gives some relief. The burning in my arm goes away when I work out but comes back the next day. 2 ibuprofen seem to help but I don't want that to be a solution. Sitting around doing nothing doesn't help, as I notice on days when I am resting.. I notice the burning in my arm. Icing it helps but is temporary, same for heat compress.

I am wondering if this will go away with activity.. maybe if I buy an elbow compression sleeve (why not?) and go back to my usual activities.. but then if I have tendinitis, I don't want the tendons to rupture. That would be worse.. but so far none of the doctors I have visited seem to agree with each other or have a solution. I'm going to try acupuncture and massage therapy and see if that helps... but I was wondering if the fine folks in this community had any new ideas I haven't heard before.

I've been taking turmeric, fish oil & glucosamine/msm.

I know this is a lot to read but being detailed as possible seemed appropriate given the type of forum this is.

Thank you in advance!!!

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[Bijingo]

Hi Maskedrose, sounds like you have probably damaged some structures in your arm over time (nerves, joints, tendons), and as you know, you are developing chronic pain. The latest theories in pain is that you are imprinting this pain on the pathways between and including the nerves in your arm/shoulder/neck/brain. My advice - find another activity that does not keep reproducing this pain - and hopefully your nervous system will recover. Otherwise, you may spend years seeking treatment and theories about your pain, while it just gets more and more entrenched in your body. If you want to keep up with this sport, make sure you are seeing a PT that understands your sport and neck/shoulders, who can keep you in tip-top shape for your sport, and advise you correctly on the right treatment at the right time. Look after yourself!