wrist pains?

[qozon]

Hello, I'm 5'7.5 and 133 lb.

I would like to do more free weights, but recently I've developed really bad wrist pains while doing curls. This only happens when I put to must stress on the wrists ie bicep curls, but not hammer curls.

THe wrist pain is on the outside of my wrists (on the side with pinky fingers) and is only on the sides (doesnt extend onto top or bottom of wrist)

What can i do to alleviate this? woudl wrist curls help or is my form wrong?

 

[Jayhawkk]

Could be gripping the weight too hard stressing your tendons/muscles too much.

 

[qozon]

could wrist curls strengthen my tendons to stop the pain?

 

[Jayhawkk]

It depends if it's a strength issue or just a overused one. If you are gripping the weights too hard for too long then you just need to learn to loosen it up a bit till the pain subsides.

 

[glg]

DBs, BBs or both?

EZ-Curl bar?

 

[SoMdHunter]

Hello, I'm 5'7.5 and 133 lb.

I would like to do more free weights, but recently I've developed really bad wrist pains while doing curls. This only happens when I put to must stress on the wrists ie bicep curls, but not hammer curls.

THe wrist pain is on the outside of my wrists (on the side with pinky fingers) and is only on the sides (doesnt extend onto top or bottom of wrist)

What can i do to alleviate this? woudl wrist curls help or is my form wrong?

I have the exact same problem! I think it comes from gripping the DBs too hard. I have a tendency to really put a choke hold on them. EZ bar or hammer grip actually makes it worse for me.

The best I have been able to do is isolation exercises with DBs on a preacher bench. I also take glucosamine for tendon and joint support. It really helps.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Loosen up on all your lifts except the ones you have to grip hard to work(deadlift etc).

 

[TeamSavage]

I get this sometime when I do BB curls (straight bar), but using the EZ-curl bar really helps. For some reason bending the wrists out straight like that seems to stress them. Try using the EZ-curl bar.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Yeah the EZ bar is a life saver.

 

[Gumbo]

I had that problem and hoped it would go away. It did not and I had an MRI done....as it turned out, I had ripped a sheath of my cartilage. I had surgery on it and 4 years later it feels as good as ever. I was only out of the gym for 10 days after the surgery and was back to full strength within two months.

Go see a specialist to make sure you aren't making it worse.

Gumbo

 

[SoMdHunter]

I'm just real careful with the curls, make sure the tendons are stretched out and really warmed up before I start to go heavy. And I stay on the glucosaime.....maybe the ibuprophen as needed.

 

[guyfromkop2]

how many sets of curls are you doing?

 

[qozon]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'm doing 3 sets of about 9-10 reps each at 30 lb (Yeah...im 17...hopefully ill get stronger).

to somdhunter, how can i stretch out my tendons?

One more thing, can I still be getting stronger/bigger if im not feeling sore at all? I'm doing as much weight and as many sets as I can, but I never seem to get sore on the biceps. If they aren't sore does that mean I can just go ahead and work them out everyday?

 

[Rivet]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'm doing 3 sets of about 9-10 reps each at 30 lb (Yeah...im 17...hopefully ill get stronger).

to somdhunter, how can i stretch out my tendons?

One more thing, can I still be getting stronger/bigger if im not feeling sore at all? I'm doing as much weight and as many sets as I can, but I never seem to get sore on the biceps. If they aren't sore does that mean I can just go ahead and work them out everyday?

My biceps only get sore when I do low weight/high rep. Rest of me usually gets DOMs however. I wouldn't work them out everyday that will just cause overtraining. Give them a couple of days rest at least.

 

[qozon]

thats the EXACT same thing with me...low weight and ridiculously high reps makes them sore, so i feel like im getting a better workout this that but I guess I should just keep at what im doing.

What's a DOM?

 

[Rivet]

thats the EXACT same thing with me...low weight and ridiculously high reps makes them sore, so i feel like im getting a better workout this that but I guess I should just keep at what im doing.

What's a DOM?

DOM= Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness

 

[thesinner]

I get this sometime when I do BB curls (straight bar), but using the EZ-curl bar really helps. For some reason bending the wrists out straight like that seems to stress them. Try using the EZ-curl bar.

I've had the exact opposite experience. My EZ bar kills my wrists because it forced me to hold my hands too close together.

 

[lifthardheavy]

I've always had this problem off and on. Rest is the only thing that truly helps. I have really small wrists so my tendons are probably weaker than yarn. Using an ez-curl bar helps a lot but I still get a little pain after a heavy session. Certain exercises make it worse, such as BB shoulder press or underhand pullups. Basically anything that puts the wrist at an akward angle. Standing rows are the worst unless you grip very wide.

Now, I switched to DB shoulder press and do pullups with palms facing each other.

 

[lifthardheavy]

Forgot to mention, one of the most important things I ever figured out was how to grip the bar correctly during a bench press. Almost every video I've seen, even of Pros showing the "right" way, has it wrong. They bend the wrist back too much. Hold the bar such that your forearm is exactly perpendicular to the floor and the bar is exactly over your wrist. The forearm should support the weight, not the wrists. This reduced my wrist pain significantly.

 

[PumpingIron]

There are a few things that this could be. Maybe tendonitis, maybe DOMS, maybe gripping wrong or too hard.

Make sure your form is in check. Try adding wrist curls to your workout. If it still hurts then it is probably tendonitis and you should go see a orthopedist and get an MRI. If it doesn't hurt you'll strengthen your wrists and ahve some cool veiny forearms to go with it.

Also, try add wrist wraps, they were a savoir with my tendonitis.

If it is tendonitis, don't worry, its not as bad as it sounds, I didn't need surgery, just a cortisone shot here and there, and some PT which included a little electrode to the area, stretching and somelight weight training.

PI

 

[qozon]

I think the wrist curls are definitely helping, and im enjoying the workout my forearms are getting. I've also added hammer curls into my routine which dont seem to have as much of a strain on the wrists. I've also tried to loosen my grip on the weights and am conciously reminding myself of this every rep. I don't know which it is, but my wrist pains certainly are lessenning.

But again, how can I stretch my tendons (in my arms)?

 

[PumpingIron]

a good stretch is to hold one arm straight out and pull your hand back with the other. You should do this in all 4 directions for both arms...

did you understand that?

 

[qozon]

are you changing the directions of your whore arm or just the wrist?

 

[PumpingIron]

Just the wrist.