Triceps Injury

[skiffrace]

I stumbled upon a good cross-country skiing study.
Double poling is elaborated upon, and there is even an informative section about the role of the triceps:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/do ... 1&type=pdf

see
Results from some applied case studies => 5.4 The role of triceps in double-poling

[Michael_A]

Interesting Youtube explaining why it might not be beneficial to slam the poles down at the beginning of a double pole .... most of the propulsive force comes in the middle of the push; not the beginning.

https://youtu.be/kOjEJ4Kjrrs

[dcpattie]

I stumbled upon a good cross-country skiing study.
Double poling is elaborated upon, and there is even an informative section about the role of the triceps:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/do ... 1&type=pdf

see
Results from some applied case studies => 5.4 The role of triceps in double-poling

Thanks for posting this; however, I can't open the file - what is the name of the study?

[skiffrace]

Looks like you have a browser settings issue - try this link for direct download:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/do ... 1&type=pdf

If it still does not work, google "Musculoskeletal Biomechanics in Cross-country Skiing"

[dcpattie]

Thanks - the publication states that "wide elbow" is better. I'll give it a try.

[dcpattie]

Interesting Youtube explaining why it might not be beneficial to slam the poles down at the beginning of a double pole .... most of the propulsive force comes in the middle of the push; not the beginning.

https://youtu.be/kOjEJ4Kjrrs

Loved the video - now I need to do it in practice.

[dcpattie]

I was able to DP for 30K today. My triceps injury was starting to flair up towards the end but I was able to finish without any issues. I do think the StaffanSTAVEN shock adsorption handles are helping. I'm also using Jenex's V2 suspension ferrules. This set-up seems to have lots of damping (good for an injured tricep). The V2 tips compress very easily so they only take a the initial sting out of DPing. The StaffanSTAVEN handles (I'm using the elite springs) are stiffer but compress under heavy load.

I also focused on not hammering the poles down and using a wider elbow track. One more factor that may be helping is that I'm using 2-3cm shorter poles.

Overall a good DP session.

[Michael_A]

Dave,

I am not a medical person but it sounds like you are describing a tendon issue; not a muscle issue. I did some online research on elbows and the best article I could come up with is here:

http://drjuliansaunders.com/ask-dr-j-is ... revisited/

Lots of helpful stuff.

M

[dcpattie]

Thanks for the article. I agree that its a tendon issue; however, the source for the pain is a more difficult question without seeing a doctor [i.e., is it related to muscles above the elbow (mainly the triceps) or muscles below the elbow as described in this article]. It won't hurt to try the exercises described in the article. I've seen them performed by my boss. He is an ice climber and performs the "frying pan" exercises (with a large mallet) in his office.

[dcpattie]

Dave,

I am not a medical person but it sounds like you are describing a tendon issue; not a muscle issue. I did some online research on elbows and the best article I could come up with is here:

http://drjuliansaunders.com/ask-dr-j-is ... revisited/

Lots of helpful stuff.

M

Still have the triceps issue. I think I need to stop calling it a triceps injury as this article (thanks Michael) pretty much nailed my injury. I saw my brother-in-law over the holidays (he is an orthopedic surgeon). He looked at my injury and the cyst located on my elbow and concluded that its a forearm injury - similar to golfers elbow.

I tend to grip the poles throughout the poling action - perhaps I need to focus on releasing the poles during the recovery phase??

[Michael_A]

Dave, sorry to hear your injury is still there. Maybe get into some skating too (not just classic) so you can go no poles now and then? I am no expert but if you have good handles and straps, you should never have to grip the handles too much as the force is being transmitted through the straps, not your hands, yes? The ski erg is a little off in that sense as you do have to grip the handles more. Have you done any work to strengthen the triceps tendons? Keep us posted!

[dcpattie]

Dave, sorry to hear your injury is still there. Maybe get into some skating too (not just classic) so you can go no poles now and then? I am no expert but if you have good handles and straps, you should never have to grip the handles too much as the force is being transmitted through the straps, not your hands, yes? The ski erg is a little off in that sense as you do have to grip the handles more. Have you done any work to strengthen the triceps tendons? Keep us posted!

I use a Leki setup where the gloves connect directly into the handles. I found this setup helps with the occasional stuck pole into the asphalt. I'm thinking of removing of C2 skierg handles for some XC specific ones; however, the Leki handles will not work (unfortunately).

[Neuro]

Like Michael suggests; have you tried skating? Is it the same there? With a relatively flat course you could go one skate /gear 3 / V2 skating (or whatever is the right term) for most of it, basically halving the arm workout and as a bonus having great speed. The legs will anyway do most of the push here.

And if there are steeps, going V1 /offset you could alternate between leading arms pushing and pulling as well.

About poles, there are larger grips to try. Maybe it will help loosen your grip somewhat.

[dcpattie]

About poles, there are larger grips to try. Maybe it will help loosen your grip somewhat.

Good thought. I switched all my poles to the Leki system because I liked the glove-to-handle click system. However, these grips are completely straight and do not have the ergonomic "bend" found on most XC pole grips. I wonder if Leki's grip "straightness" is somehow playing a factor in my golfer's elbow (Medial epicondylitis) injury? Come to think of it - the Concept 2 Skierg also has straight handles.