Help - right arm long term damage

[Terry Conjugate Iron]

As some of you may have noticed, I've disappeared for a while. Tried to close the CoC3 and failed 3 times in 3 weeks literally by a hair. After that I had the powerlifting contest preparation and right after that another small preparation for a mid-June contest which was canceled 2 days ago. 

I'm about to enter my "off season" and I'm definitely going back to grip. Left hand/arm is fine as always. Right arm is badly hurt and no matter how much ice, deep massage therapy or pronation/supination I do (with barely any weight, I'll use a light mini band sometimes) it just won't get better. 

A friend suggested it could be nerve damage. I've had issues since 2008 gutting and scraping fish scales for several years and then filleting fish at factories again for several years. 

It saddens me cause I know if my right arm was 100% I have decent potential to do well in the long term. My powerlifting training went great but I had to cut out any grip in between cause the right arm won't cooperate. 

I can extend it alright but I can't close my fist as hard as I can when extended. I can close my fist as hard as possible when bent (like in armwrestling) but I can't supinate like when you close a gripper. 

I've researched quite a bit, I'm a big fan of biomechanics and musculoskeletal anatomy. But nothing beats hands on experience and I think I'm in the right place asking, any suggestions or exercises I can implement? 

Next step will be getting a scan on it I suppose

Thanks in advance 

Forgot to mention that it's biceps and elbow tendinitis most likely. It's healed and came back several times through the years. But it hasn't been this bad before. 

Pain is located in my brachioradialis mostly

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Terry Conjugate Iron

[DevilErik]

1 hour ago, Terry Conjugate Iron said:

As some of you may have noticed, I've disappeared for a while. Tried to close the CoC3 and failed 3 times in 3 weeks literally by a hair. After that I had the powerlifting contest preparation and right after that another small preparation for a mid-June contest which was canceled 2 days ago. 

I'm about to enter my "off season" and I'm definitely going back to grip. Left hand/arm is fine as always. Right arm is badly hurt and no matter how much ice, deep massage therapy or pronation/supination I do (with barely any weight, I'll use a light mini band sometimes) it just won't get better. 

A friend suggested it could be nerve damage. I've had issues since 2008 gutting and scraping fish scales for several years and then filleting fish at factories again for several years. 

It saddens me cause I know if my right arm was 100% I have decent potential to do well in the long term. My powerlifting training went great but I had to cut out any grip in between cause the right arm won't cooperate. 

I can extend it alright but I can't close my fist as hard as I can when extended. I can close my fist as hard as possible when bent (like in armwrestling) but I can't supinate like when you close a gripper. 

I've researched quite a bit, I'm a big fan of biomechanics and musculoskeletal anatomy. But nothing beats hands on experience and I think I'm in the right place asking, any suggestions or exercises I can implement? 

Next step will be getting a scan on it I suppose

Thanks in advance 

Forgot to mention that it's biceps and elbow tendinitis most likely. It's healed and came back several times through the years. But it hasn't been this bad before. 

Pain is located in my brachioradialis mostly

 

 

I am so sorry to hear that bro.

I'd say for elbow tendonitis do band tricep pushdowns but it has to be very light like sets of 50-100 do this every day.

Something that also works wonders for elbow tendonitis is extensor work in a sand bucket.

I do this every single workout.

You get a bucket filled with sand you dig in and start opening and closing your hand it's basically reverse pinching.

For the nerve problems look into "nerve gliding" you can find videos on how to do this on youtube.

Make sure all your nerves can move freely.

I hope these videos will help.

 

 

When it comes to bicep tendonitis cut out all the supinated work.

I don't know if you are doing curls but I used to get terrible bicep tendonitis from supinated curls.

Once I cut out all the supinated work my tendonitis dissapeared.

I don't know if you are using straps but maybe you could use straps for volume deadlifts and only use a mixed grip for maxes.

I think it's nerve entrapment and these "glides" or "flosses" should be able to fix your problem.

The last thing I'd like to point out is that tendonitis can be very deceiving I actually fixed my ULNAR tendonitis by doing RADIAL deviation stretches so make sure to stretch all angles of the wrist and forearm.

Edited May 21, 2022 by DevilErik

[matek]

There can be so many reasons for this since it's chronic. I really think the best is to go to the doctor and get a soft tissue scan. 

You've probably tried many things already, but one thing I can say is that crushing (like closing grippers) with extended arms is the worst thing you can do for brachioradialis problems (and tendon problems around there). 

 

I had my share of sports injuries in the past and the best piece of advice I can give is to go to a doctor who understands you want to be active. Preferably a sports doctor. Makes a huge difference.

I really hope you will recover as soon as possible!

Edited May 21, 2022 by matek

[slazbob]

I’d try WOD flossing. Does wonders for many…I get the bicep brachial pain in both sides every year or two. Only one side at a time thankfully. 
I believe I get it from catching something heavy like a keg. That fast twitch catch gets me. 
I use the floss bands which helps the tissue free up and glide. And negative curls with a  25 lb dumbbell and build up from there. Icing isn’t really helpful…may cause set backs. 

[Alex K]

I have also had a few minor setbacks due to my aggravated elbow in the past, and have fixed it with the following tipps:

• Find the movement that aggravates the condition the most and eliminate it. For me it was reverse curls at the gym. While fine on their own, heavy reverse curls combined with regular heavy gripper training kind of was too much at some point. Eliminating it for now basically fixed everything
• Use all means of recovery. At some point I had electrodes performing TENS while flossing and doing contrast baths all in one session (out of boredom mainly) Funny thing is - it helped a lot. 
• Supplement with the right things that are necessary for proper tendon recovery.

[AdamTGlass]

Dude go to a doctor- you don’t know if any of the people posting here on a forum know anything- if this is serious than take it seriously. 

[Busa]

I would also say go to a doctor (of the sports type) who understands your needs / requirements. You could spend months / years trying to figure out the best options for treatment using a bit of google and word of mouth, while delaying or even making the repair to full function either impossible or very costly.

[climber511]

Pretty hard to fix something when you don't know what is broken - find a doctor - one who deals with things like this - not just a GP

[Terry Conjugate Iron]

On 5/21/2022 at 4:03 PM, matek said:

There can be so many reasons for this since it's chronic. I really think the best is to go to the doctor and get a soft tissue scan. 

You've probably tried many things already, but one thing I can say is that crushing (like closing grippers) with extended arms is the worst thing you can do for brachioradialis problems (and tendon problems around there). 

 

I had my share of sports injuries in the past and the best piece of advice I can give is to go to a doctor who understands you want to be active. Preferably a sports doctor. Makes a huge difference.

I really hope you will recover as soon as possible!

For real, gripper training is impossible right now. I can still do some grip but not really push it you know? Thanks! I'm arranging to see a doctor about it 

[Terry Conjugate Iron]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:24 PM, AdamTGlass said:

Dude go to a doctor- you don’t know if any of the people posting here on a forum know anything- if this is serious than take it seriously. 

Agreed! I'm on it, trying to find someone near my area. Night shifts really kill my day schedule. That's why it took so long to respond, appreciate it! 

[Terry Conjugate Iron]

On 5/22/2022 at 12:30 AM, slazbob said:

I’d try WOD flossing. Does wonders for many…I get the bicep brachial pain in both sides every year or two. Only one side at a time thankfully. 
I believe I get it from catching something heavy like a keg. That fast twitch catch gets me. 
I use the floss bands which helps the tissue free up and glide. And negative curls with a  25 lb dumbbell and build up from there. Icing isn’t really helpful…may cause set backs. 

I have tried flossing in the past and it worked well! Also acupuncture did wonders for me. Didn't have problems for a t least a few years. Appreciate the input!