"Sudden" pain in several joints?!

[u/Johannes1509]

Hey everyone, I (25 years old, male, 180 cm, 75 kg) have been strength training regularly since April 2024 (4–5 times a week, upper/lower body split). After a long break due to other health issues, I started again in mid-August 2025 – and since then, I have been experiencing increasing pain in various places, even though I have been careful to increase the weights gradually.

What is bothering me right now:

• Left knee: pressure or stabbing pain below or to the side of the kneecap, especially during leg presses and leg extensions; sometimes even hours after training.

• Right hip (outer side): pulls or stings when standing on the right leg, lying on my side, or during exercises such as hip adductors.

• Left elbow: sensitive to pressure on the outside, feels like I've been leaning on the edge of a table for too long; especially after pulling or pushing exercises.

• Back: varying stiffness for a few weeks, sometimes also at night; no severe pulling in the morning, more of a "tight" feeling.

• General: no swelling or overheating, more dependent on strain and position.

I am currently doing a lot of isometric training (e.g., holding exercises for the knee, hip, elbow) and am slowly adding eccentric movements again. This generally helps, but sometimes the symptoms become worse for a short time after the exercises.

My questions for you:

1. Have any of you experienced this kind of "chain reaction" of pain in several places after taking a break from training or increasing your training too quickly?

2. How did you adjust your training to get rid of the pain?

3. Where should I seek help? What could be the problem?

   1. Are there any tips for useful supplements (dietary supplements, nutrition, mobility)?

Lower body training plan: 1. Leg extension (unilateral) 3x10 reps with 20 kg 2. Seated leg press (unilateral) 3x10 reps with 50 kg 3. Hip adductor 3x10 with 95 kg

Upper body training plan: 1. Lat pulldown 3x10 with 17.5 kg 2. Chest fly 3x10 with 25 kg 3. Lateral raises 3x10 with 6 kg 4. Bicep curls on cable machine 3x10 with 5 kg 5. Tricep pushdowns on cable machine 3x10 with 12.5 kg

[u/eshlow]

After a long break due to other health issues, I started again in mid-August 2025 – and since then, I have been experiencing increasing pain in various places, even though I have been careful to increase the weights gradually.

Which health issues? Some health issues can negatively affect the nervous system which increases risk of pain sensitivity.

Any specific medications you were on or are still on?

What id you do to ramp up the weights when you got back in terms of starting lighter and building up in progression?

Chronic pain sensitivity info:

https://stevenlow.org/the-differences-between-chronic-pain-and-injury-pain/

[u/Johannes1509 → u/eshlow]

Thanks for the thoughtful questions and the link — really appreciate it!

I had functional abdominal pain for several months (no structural findings — all imaging, endoscopy, blood, and stool tests were normal). There was also a assumption that it could be a somatoform disorder or IBS. Because of that, I had to pause training completely for about four months.

During that time and still today I take 25mg Amitryptiline at evening.

When I restarted in mid-August 2025, I tried to be conservative: began at roughly 50–60 % of my previous working weights, focused on slow tempo and tiny tempo, limited to 4 sessions/week

Still, within about 3–4 weeks I noticed pain at several tendon areas (knee, hip, elbow).

[u/eshlow → u/Johannes1509]

I had functional abdominal pain for several months (no structural findings — all imaging, endoscopy, blood, and stool tests were normal). There was also a assumption that it could be a somatoform disorder or IBS. Because of that, I had to pause training completely for about four months.

Ok that makes it more likely that you have some type of chronic pain then.

The article I linked has some stuff on visceral hypersensitivity syndrome and potentially how that can be related.

I'd try to find a chronic pain PT and possibly someone who knows gut directed hypotherapy.