I just got back into the gym recently and I'm having a lot of pain in my biceps when I'm doing curls and stuff. Also in my knees on the leg lift and squats. I though it was just because I had been out for a few months but it's gotten worse... a co-worked suggested it might be tendonitis? I thought that was just in your elbow, could it be in my bi-ceps, shoulders, and knees though? And if so is there any danger in continuing to work-out? So far it doesn't hurt bad enough to stop me from working out, just a major discomfort, but I don't want to do any permanent damage.

 

tendents, are muscles that move bone like in ur elbows, shoulders, knees, ankle

basically any kind of joint

 

I know what they are (I've clogged up the meat grinder too many times when processing deer meat not too...) they join the muscels to the bones, but I've never heard of tendonitis in a bicep, or shoulder. I had heard of jumpers knee, which is tendonitis in the knee joint, and the knee pain is anything new, that I've had off and on as long as I can remember. The pain in my bicep is only when I fully extend my arm... from about 10 degrees out to full extension it feels like someone stabbed me in the end of my bicep down near the elbow. If I raise my arms out to the side I get the same pain in my shoulders. It may be nothing, I hope it goes away soon... I'm not that dang old yet. I was just wondering if it is tendonitis, does it hurt to keep working out, I can deal with a little pain as long as I'm not causing some kind of permanent handicapping damage to the muscle or tendons.

 

i dont think he knows what hes talking about i would call up a doc and ask hime

 

Here is a pretty good read on tendonitis:
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spor...tendonitis.htm

The main question in your case is: WHERE in the biceps area and knee area does it hurt? It can't be tendonitis if there isn't a tendon where it is hurting/injured.
I have had problems with tendonitis over the years. It is a DARNED AGGRAVATING CONDITION to deal with. If that is what you are experiencing, I'd suggest backing off your exercise regime today, and do NOT make it worse right now. Tendons can be VERY slow to heal, and once injured - especially if the injury is a severe, traumatic event, might never heal back 100%.

Study up on tendonitis and how to treat it yourself. The basics:
Stop doing what is aggravating the situation
Takes NSAIDS (Ibuprofen is the best in my experience)
Give it time to heal
Resume activity in a gradual manner and consider alternative exercises to avoid possible reinjury.

In my case, I have had to accept this regarding my tendon injuries: once injured, SLOOOWWW to heal, never really gets back to the same as it was before, and appears that it will be prone to reinjury. I'm thinking this is something I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. I'm not really complaining, it is aggravating to be sure. But, there are FAR worse problems I could be having.

For what it is worth, I spent a year or so (back about 15-18 years) doing, what was for me, heavy squats. I weighed about 185 and regularly squatted 400-425 lbs. I regret it now. The back sides of my knee caps have all the protective cushion worn off they deal me fits at times. But, you live and learn.

Good luck!

EDit: just saw your follow up post. Sounds like it could be tendonitis in all cases you describe. Shoulder sounds like possible rotator cuff. Bicep sounds like it is aggravating when the bicep is fully extended. What happens when the bicep is fully extended? The tendon gets strectched.
Take some time off and see if it gets better.
Generally the first treatment by docs (in my experience) is NSAIDS and cortisone injection.

 

Try some advil. If this doesn't work, see a doctor, he'll diagnose and give a more potent anti-inflamatory. I've been dealing with this crap for 15 years.

 

I have been in the medical field for about ten years in dealing with injuries with athletes. I know a lot about this condition and it is very hard to completely elevate it, if not impossible.

Anywhere a muscle is connected to a bone, it is connected with a tendon. The problem with tendons is that they have such a low amount to blood circulation that once they become inflamed, they take forever to relieve the inflammation. You can use an Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) like Advil, Aleve, or Motrin, but they will not totally cure the problem. If is a persistent case you may need to have ultra-sound to allow more fluid in and relieve the problem.

You could also try this trick that I have used in the past and it works. This sounds stupid, but there have been clinical reports on its effectiveness and it does help. Get either paper or Styrofoam cups and put the with water in the freezer until you have a big chunk of ice. Then after your workout take that and (This is going to sound stupid) Flex-all 454 (the best stuff out there) and put it over your site of injury. Place the Flex-All on the spot and massage it in with the ice-cup. It will be really cold (The flex-all acts as a conducer of the cold and gets deeper) and massage the effected area for ten minutes. You should have extra towels down, because with the melting of ice it will run and get all over the place. Once your are done simply wipe up the area and go on your way. It will make the area feel better and after time you will feel better.

If all other things do not help, the only other option is rest and that is what a G.P. doctor will tell you.

 

Johnboy,
I came back with one other thought...
Did you jump back in doing heavy bicep curls? I thought about you mentioning your shoulder along with the bottom of your biceps.
The biceps muscles tie into the scapula (shoulder blade) and down near your forearm, obviously both places have tendons.
Sounds like you may have "overdone it" and now both ends of your biceps is aggravated.
An e-z curl bar might help. One of the big functions of the biceps is supination of the forearm. Flex your bicep with your wrist facing away, then rotate your wrist so that your palm is facing your shoulder. Feel the difference in your bicep? The more supine your wrist, the more strain on the biceps/biceps tendons.
Something to think about.....

 

Well, it's starting to feel a bit better this afternoon, my biceps still scream when I fully extend my arm, I may have just overdone it there like Brian said... I think I'm going to lay off the free weights for a bit and try the resistance machines with a little less weight for a while. Thanks guys for the info, Aztrainer... I'll give that remedy a try later, I've got some bottled water in the freezer, I'll see if that works tonight.

Thanks!