A Thumb Injury That Wont Heal

[Raadster]

So ive been levering for like 2-3 months now and for the first month of my training i also included block work. Now i dont have blobs but I use a 2" by 4" block of wood connected to a sawn off bar which i can load weight onto.

Now i dont grip the block of wood the conventional way that ive seen people grip blobs in videos, in the videos ive noticed that people get the blob as deep in the hand as possible so that they are using the mojority of the surface area of their fingers and thumb to grip the weight. Now i originally did this with my block setup but i wasnt feeling any real strain on my hands even on like 20kg.

I only grip my block setup using the tips of my fingers and thumb, about the same surface area you would use when doing fingertip pushups, this ripped my hands to shreds and i got a awesome pump. My hands reacted really well to the training and veins and what not were popping out more and more after every session, and the thickness of my hand was taking off. Then when i went to do another session i felt mid way through the workout as if little strings in my thumb were tearing, as if snapping 1 by 1.

Now this tearing feeling is in the section of the thumb after the fat turkey leg part, between the first and second joint. To elaborate more lets say your thumbnail starts off your thumb and then going back towards your palm you then come to your first joint of the thumb, so inbetween the first join and second joint we have the straight thin part of the thumb and then after the second joint we have the fat turkey leg section.

Ive waited about 2 months since that injury to train block work again and i started to warm up with 5kg loaded up and im feeling the same tearing in my right hand, nothing occurs to my left hand even though my right hand is dominant and i feel it should be stronger and better suited to train. The only thing i can put down to this occuring is that my right thumb doesnt doesnt flex back as far as my left thumb does.

If you were to hold your hand out flat and keep your 4 fingers together but extend your thumb out to the side making a 90 degree angle, this is the flexibility to which im suggesting. Now i can make a 90 degree angle with my left hand but i can only make a 75-80 degree angle with my right because i burnt my right hand when i was younger by accidently gripping a hot rod my dad was welding at the time. All that got burnt was the skin, but as a result of the burn the skin healed tighter and so i lost a partial range of motion in that range.

Now im thinking that perhaps this tighter skin may be leading to tendon tears but it really shouldnt since it doesnt impact on me getting a comfortable grip on the block i use. Im really starting to fret now because i want to train block weights but i cant and im at a loss of what to do to stop this agonising tearing occuring, as a result of this tear i cant pick up even a brick with my right hand without feeling like a knife is slicing my thumb in half.

[verdigriz]

Firstly see a doctor. Secondly, if your work does not allow you to rest (over extend it) your thumb then it wont help recovery much. I am in this boat so after a few years of experience I am very careful with injuries even if I have a niggle in my right thumb (which I do as we speak) I wont do lifts that antagonize the injured area but work around it. So after seeing the doc, getting the appropriate advice, maybe having some time of work if required, you may just have to work around pinching for a while, maybe doing some thin pinch, buying a set up thats a bit more user friendly on the thumb and maybe using the more surface area technique of pinching, 20kg on a wooden block is not alot so you could just up the weight, when the weights heavy enough you will get a good workout in the hands and forearms.

Just remember tendons and ligaments take ages to heal, I know this from experience (thumbs, fingers and wrists), so really take thetime to build up the weight and volume slowly and if a particular lifting method gave you grief once before I wouldnt be returning to it when fit.

[ae_yogi]

After seeing a doctor, I would suggest contrast baths and taking vitamnin C, lots of it. Vitamin C helps tendons to heal and the contrast baths increases circulation to the hands thereby speeding healing. Do a serch on contrast baths if you are not familiar with them, plenty of old posts on the topic.

[menace3000]

#1 see a doctor...this is common sense and should have been done weeks ago...we're not doctors and even if we were there's no doctor in the world who can treat you over the internet(dont take this state negatively because I have nothing but best intentions saying this)

#2 i HIGHLY recommend Cissus quadrangular(Cissus) with Vitamin C. Cissus has been shown to speed up bone/tendon/ligament healing and it does so even better with Vit C. I take powder form as it is a lot cheaper and you can take much higher dosage which i find much more effective (2-4g a day). Some people cant stomach the taste so they choose capsules.

#3 Start using rubber bands or other (very very very) lights forms of resistance aside from just moving your thumb. Remember you're not at base level of strength for your thumb for even when you started. You are actually a lot weaker now so you have to keep that in mind when picking weight. A simple brown rubber band might be all the resistance you need.