Hey guys, on my right wrist it is pretty painful to twist it more than 90 degrees, as well when my wrist tries to stabilize any heavy weight (db curls, reverse curls, pull ups). This pain happens on my pinky side (ulna side i think) on my lower forearm/wrist. It started happening 2-3 weeks ago, i believe because i did standard barbell curls and the strain on my wrist caused this pain.
I lifted through it for a week, but now i took the last 3 days off in hopes of getting it to recover faster. I think i just sprained it, but does anyone have any advice on what I should be doing in terms of lifting? Like work through it, avoid upper body lifting for a couple weeks, what? It hurts after bench pressing and Close grip bench, so pretty much all upper body movements would have to be removed for a couple weeks if I stopped.
Advice? Seeing a doctor is pointless, whenever i do they just say “yep, you hurt it (no shit?). Stay off of (whatever body part is hurting) until it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Thanks doc for telling me what a 3 year old could.
still hurts to do curls with EZ bar. Hurts to do most lifts actually. Im wondering if its best to take a break from upper body lifting until its healed or if I should work through it.
[quote]fisch wrote:
still hurts to do curls with EZ bar. Hurts to do most lifts actually. Im wondering if its best to take a break from upper body lifting until its healed or if I should work through it.[/quote]
I tried working through a thumb injury, it didnt get worse, but it didnt get better. Just rest, a wrist injury could end your lifting if you let it get worse.
This happened to me last November and it got worse and worse as I tried to power through it. However, it happened that in December I moved onto a workout regimen that only included low reps and heavy loads for the upperbody. Also, NO curling. After three weeks it was completely gone. It might not work for you, but I think the sustained gripping that I was doing with higher reps in November caused the strain and kept it from healing.
Just stick to hammer curls until the nerve pain goes away. I have the same problem on heavy deads, but it’s the lateral portion of my wrist. As long as I have a false grip everything seems to be a bit better.
Also, stretch biceps and wrist flexors to try and see if tight muscles are pressing against your RA nerve, causing the pinch.
Update: I went to the doctor, he told me basically what i figured. I strained my outer wrist muscles. I’m supposed to avoid anything that causes pain with it, otherwise i was given the go ahead to do any lifts i want as long as they don’t cause pain. However, as of now every upper body lift causes pain due to the even slight stabilization required and the natural movement of my wrist during the lift, even presses. The doctor said I should be able to get it back to normal in 2-3 weeks, but in the meantime can anyone help me by helping me figure out how to keep working my upper body muscles?
Anything that requires using my wrist is pretty much out for a while, and I was struggling for a while today to try and get creative to still work my muscles without the use of holding a weight in my hand. (obviously lower body can still be worked fairly effectively without the wrist). Anyone have any ideas for working around the wrist for a while? I do not have access to machines, only dumbbells, a barbell and a EZ curl bar.
Side note: Apparently im incredibily unflexible except my quads and low back. Something the doctor pointed out again.
I’ve linked to this article in other postings, and I will link it here again. Great advice and suggestions for how to alter workouts to adapt to injuries. One specific scenario gives the example of an athlete being unable to use his hand.
Three Work-Arounds for Physique Success by Nick Tumminello
Nick’s link is great for working around an injury.
As to “working through the pain” - from what we know about how pain works, that’s not a great idea. Indeed, i go so far as to say unless someone has a gun to your head, never move through pain.
here’s a bit more on that point
If anything causes pain, it’s great to back off, and really in the scheme of things, is 2-3 weeks going to kill you? Yes it will have an effect on your gains, but one that you can address in a couple of workouts once that pain level is down.
simple heuristic:
reduce load - does that eliminate pain?
if not
reduce range of motion - does that get you to a pain free place?
as long as you can find a place to keep mobile without pain, you’re helping your body heal.
I’d always be careful with wrist pain, since it’s not the easiest body part to diagnose.
Especially ulnar-sided wrist pain can be tricky, since there’s a plethora of possible causes:
-strained muscles (as your doc told you)
-trigger points in said muscles (I’d check the flexors and extensors responsible for the ulnar wrist)
-trigger points in more distal muscles (subscapularis, for instance)
-irritated tendons
-TFCC injury: would be shitty, since cartilage doesn’t have sufficient self-healing properties
Bottom line: be smart and patient. Doh!
I wouldn’t shy off consulting with a hand surgeon (don’t panic, they’re usually good at diagnosing stuff and don’t cut you open on sight) or at least a chiropractic experienced to deal with sports injuries.
