More tendon tears and joint pain since starting a GLP-1?

[DirtyWilly]

Hey there, curious whether anyone else has run into injuries (pain) or more tendonitis while on GLP-1s?

The gym has been part of my life on and off across many years and my routine is consistent and logged. Since starting tirzepatide the tendon tears have multiplied, along with active pain, beyond anything I'd dealt with before. Nothing in my routine changed - same lifts, same exercises. I got my Mom going on her GLP-1 journey and into the gym with me, and the same tendonitis thing happened to her.

My own training leans toward functional strength with heavier weights, but my belief is that whatever mechanism sharpens sensitivity to food also sharpens sensitivity to pain, which could be pushing injury rates up.

So I'm curious whether anyone else has seen this while training on GLP-1s, particularly that heightened active pain.

 

[gusterbuster]

Hmm. Less inflammation and less chronic pain is the usual report. Though now that you bring it up, minor muscle pulls and tears have been more frequent for me too, and not because of big calorie deficits. Only last week I went out to sprint and something random in my ribs went. Could simply be age, though?

 

[Mochizuki0124]

Several explanations come to mind. 1 could be that weight loss also means strength loss, so loading the bar with the same amount you used to handle puts extra stress through your joints. A second possibility is a nutrient shortfall, since the GLPs create that deficit.

 

[spanky2026]

Not a physiotherapist here, or anything close, but logically speaking, dropping weight - especially fast - changes how your body moves. Take a simple case: hauling a 300 pound body up out of a chair demands something different from lifting a 125 pound body, because the movement and the muscles doing the work are not the same. My guess is you're still running Motion X off muscle memory from before the weight came off, and the body simply hasn't adapted to the new mechanics yet. Just a theory, fwiw.

 

[chewonmysac]

Early on with Tirz I went at the weights much harder, hoping to ride the momentum of the weight loss. Too hard, as it turned out. That's how I tore the Labrum and the Rotator in my shoulder, pressing incline bench with 80lb dumbbells. After two MRIs, a 60-day stretch on BPC/TB4 and plenty of self-PT, the improvement was significant. Nearly back to 95%. Recovery took a solid 4 months. These days I've been back in the gym for the past 5 months, with all overhead pressing and bench dropped. The focus shifted heavily toward pulling instead of pushing, since my poor legs had shrunk into toothpicks during the weight loss. That still leaves me able to do about 85% of what I need to stay in shape. Keep those elbows in. Sometimes we push too aggressively trying to recover all the losses in a short time. Remember to rest more, too.

 

[quicksilver80]

Pulled something in my back on the lat pull machine last night. Apart from that, months in and I still haven't hit a ceiling on the extra energy and stamina. Give it under 24 hours and I'm basically fine again

 

[DirtyWilly]

gusterbuster said:

Hmm. Less inflammation and less chronic pain is the usual report. Though now that you bring it up, minor muscle pulls and tears have been more frequent for me too, and not because of big calorie deficits. Only last week I went out to sprint and something random in my ribs went. Could simply be age, though?

And that's the part I find genuinely interesting!

From what I can tell, the chronic kind of pain eases off while pain from activity ramps up, which does look like two separate things. Plenty of people have made claims about this as well, and I can't quite make sense of it.

The best way I can frame it is this.

The same trick tirz pulls on your appetite during the day works on chronic injury pain - it fades into the background too. Sitting around, it's easy for me to forget the arm is injured at all.

Flip that around: eating actively makes you notice you're full, and exercising actively makes you notice pain. Actually using my arm hard reminds me very quickly that something is wrong with it.

Right there with you on the aging factor, it always plays a part.

 

[DirtyWilly]

Mochizuki0124 said:

Several explanations come to mind. 1 could be that weight loss also means strength loss, so loading the bar with the same amount you used to handle puts extra stress through your joints. A second possibility is a nutrient shortfall, since the GLPs create that deficit.

The nutrient deficiency angle has crossed my mind. I've dropped weight on and off before with far fewer injuries. Usually it went the other way - getting stronger and adding plates was when things started breaking. The muscle memory point applies too: a month back in the gym on my old frame and I'm loading 3 plates on everything again.

What I'm certain of in my own case is that injury pain is much sharper while on tirz. Coming off it, the pain clearly eases off as the hunger comes back.

 

[DirtyWilly]

spanky2026 said:

Not a physiotherapist here, or anything close, but logically speaking, dropping weight - especially fast - changes how your body moves. Take a simple case: hauling a 300 pound body up out of a chair demands something different from lifting a 125 pound body, because the movement and the muscles doing the work are not the same. My guess is you're still running Motion X off muscle memory from before the weight came off, and the body simply hasn't adapted to the new mechanics yet. Just a theory, fwiw.

I'm still carrying enough that you'd figure it shouldn't be an issue. If I actually had a 6-pack and kept getting hurt, then I'd probably see your point. One day.

 

[DirtyWilly]

chewonmysac said:

Early on with Tirz I went at the weights much harder, hoping to ride the momentum of the weight loss. Too hard, as it turned out. That's how I tore the Labrum and the Rotator in my shoulder, pressing incline bench with 80lb dumbbells. After two MRIs, a 60-day stretch on BPC/TB4 and plenty of self-PT, the improvement was significant. Nearly back to 95%. Recovery took a solid 4 months. These days I've been back in the gym for the past 5 months, with all overhead pressing and bench dropped. The focus shifted heavily toward pulling instead of pushing, since my poor legs had shrunk into toothpicks during the weight loss. That still leaves me able to do about 85% of what I need to stay in shape. Keep those elbows in. Sometimes we push too aggressively trying to recover all the losses in a short time. Remember to rest more, too.

Hate hearing that! Getting yourself to the gym is hard enough already, and having to push through that on top of it is hardly the motivational poster version. Good to hear it's healing, 4-months is no small thing, sounds like you're on the mend. My own SLAP tear sits just above the labrum. Luckily function is intact, though the pain during that first set can leave the eyes a bit watery.

Do you figure the BPC/TB4 is doing the work?

 

[DirtyWilly]

quicksilver80 said:

Pulled something in my back on the lat pull machine last night. Apart from that, months in and I still haven't hit a ceiling on the extra energy and stamina. Give it under 24 hours and I'm basically fine again

Nice to hear it's coming along. My own back tweaks usually trace back to how I slept the night before. Either way, keep an eye on those injuries!

 

[chewonmysac]

DirtyWilly said:

chewonmysac said:

Early on with Tirz I went at the weights much harder, hoping to ride the momentum of the weight loss. Too hard, as it turned out. That's how I tore the Labrum and the Rotator in my shoulder, pressing incline bench with 80lb dumbbells. After two MRIs, a 60-day stretch on BPC/TB4 and plenty of self-PT, the improvement was significant. Nearly back to 95%. Recovery took a solid 4 months. These days I've been back in the gym for the past 5 months, with all overhead pressing and bench dropped. The focus shifted heavily toward pulling instead of pushing, since my poor legs had shrunk into toothpicks during the weight loss. That still leaves me able to do about 85% of what I need to stay in shape. Keep those elbows in. Sometimes we push too aggressively trying to recover all the losses in a short time. Remember to rest more, too.

Hate hearing that! Getting yourself to the gym is hard enough already, and having to push through that on top of it is hardly the motivational poster version. Good to hear it's healing, 4-months is no small thing, sounds like you're on the mend. My own SLAP tear sits just above the labrum. Luckily function is intact, though the pain during that first set can leave the eyes a bit watery.

Do you figure the BPC/TB4 is doing the work?

My sense is that it did. 40% wolverine, 60% PT. If the need comes up again I'll use it. This one was the worst injury I've ever given myself, and a humbling one.

 

[JoonyO]

chewonmysac said:

Early on with Tirz I went at the weights much harder, hoping to ride the momentum of the weight loss. Too hard, as it turned out. That's how I tore the Labrum and the Rotator in my shoulder, pressing incline bench with 80lb dumbbells. After two MRIs, a 60-day stretch on BPC/TB4 and plenty of self-PT, the improvement was significant. Nearly back to 95%. Recovery took a solid 4 months. These days I've been back in the gym for the past 5 months, with all overhead pressing and bench dropped. The focus shifted heavily toward pulling instead of pushing, since my poor legs had shrunk into toothpicks during the weight loss. That still leaves me able to do about 85% of what I need to stay in shape. Keep those elbows in. Sometimes we push too aggressively trying to recover all the losses in a short time. Remember to rest more, too.

Leg day? Never heard of it.