PITTSBURGH — The chronic ache in his right arm, the one that served as Ben Roethlisberger’s companion for years, is gone.

No more fibbing about being fine when offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner asks how he’s feeling. No more gritting his teeth and trying to ignore it when the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback tries to throw the ball down the field. No more going through training camp with shackles on trying to manage something that ultimately became unmanageable.

Midway through his 17th training camp, Roethlisberger insists his patched up right elbow isn’t just serviceable, it’s potentially better than it’s been in years. He points to his active practice schedule as proof.

The player that would often go one day on, one day at half speed and then one day off is now practically bouncing from drill to drill. While the 38-year-old remains on a “pitch count,” as Fichtner put it, Roethlisberger threw three consecutive days last week, something he hasn’t done in years. When the regular season starts, he’s optimistic he’ll be able to practice on both Wednesdays and Thursdays, a rarity in recent years.

“I definitely need to give it some time to rest, that kind of one day off every so often out of general fatigue and soreness,” Roethlisberger said Thursday. “But it’s amazing how fast it bounces back and feels great the next day.”

Roethlisberger dealt quietly with some sort of discomfort in his right arm for years, to the point where Fichtner would often see Roethlisberger working on his wrist during meetings to provide some level of comfort. Whenever Fichtner would approach Roethlisberger about it, Roethlisberger would downplay the problem. It came to a head in the final minutes of the first half against Seattle last September, when three of the five flexor tendons in his elbow finally had enough.

Though Roethlisberger declined to blame the issue for his performance, the renewed zip on the ball since the Steelers donned the pads last week has caught him off guard.

“One of the practices last week, I wasn’t able to step into it and I threw a go-ball down the left sideline and it felt like when it came out of my hand, it was going to be short,” Roethlisberger said. “And it ended up making it there in stride. I was kind of surprised.”