Strained Wrist .. Not Happy.

[Jones1874]

Ive been doing plate curls on and off for months and havent strained my wrist once. this year my plan was to work up to curling a 15kg plate and eventually a 20kg. i think i done it by over stretching my forearm flexors trying to take the strain off my elbow between sessions. so now, not only have i set myself back with this goal, i probably wont be able to do any other grip work either..

i dont have any bruising, no swelling that i can really notice, and no pain as such, just a niggle here and there. ive rested for 10 days but i dont trust that its healed enough to continue plate curling.

has anyone done this or something similar before? how long am i looking at before i can get back into it? keeping in mind that everyone heals at a different rate, whats a fair estimate?

Thanks.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Jones1874

[David_wigren]

That sucks dude! I'm no doctor but I always use pain, reduced ROM and reduced strength as an indicator of an injury. If any of those are giving you a problem, it's time to go light for awhile. Depending on the severity of the injury you might need some proper rest and rehab before starting doing any serious training again. If the wrist isn't better in a couple of weeks or if the pain is severe enough to bother you in everyday life, like just picking up light objects, I would go and see a doctor or a physician.

Hope you recover fast brother!

[EJ Livesey]

If it hurts to bathe yourself or switch gears while driving, see a doctor. That's always the Indicator I use.

[jvance]

What exercises seem to trigger the issue? I did something similar doing RT curls and I took about 2 weeks off the heavy stuff and I no longer get any pain. Make sure you are doing contrast baths for increased blood flow to the tendons, which are slow to heal. I would be very careful for at least a month bc it sounds like a partial tear. When you decide to start training again make sure you start slow.

[Jones1874]

That sucks dude! I'm no doctor but I always use pain, reduced ROM and reduced strength as an indicator of an injury. If any of those are giving you a problem, it's time to go light for awhile. Depending on the severity of the injury you might need some proper rest and rehab before starting doing any serious training again. If the wrist isn't better in a couple of weeks or if the pain is severe enough to bother you in everyday life, like just picking up light objects, I would go and see a doctor or a physician.

Hope you recover fast brother!

Sucks big time! i was making some solid progress as well. ive rested for two weeks now, but i know its gonna need longer. im looking at a month, easily. maybe ill need a good 2 months off.. good start to the year.. absolutely gutted.

not having pain as such, its more of a 'niggle' if you know what i mean. I noticed its feeling a bit stiffer today, not sure what thats an indicator of?

If it hurts to bathe yourself or switch gears while driving, see a doctor. That's always the Indicator I use.

Light movements are ok. im not sure whether to use a light gripper or a rice bucket to keep my wrist from stiffening up?

[Jones1874]

What exercises seem to trigger the issue? I did something similar doing RT curls and I took about 2 weeks off the heavy stuff and I no longer get any pain. Make sure you are doing contrast baths for increased blood flow to the tendons, which are slow to heal. I would be very careful for at least a month bc it sounds like a partial tear. When you decide to start training again make sure you start slow.

Plate curls mainly. i think i overstretched my forearm flexors on the days between training sessions. ill get on to the contrast baths. what about wearing a support throughout the day to keep the area warm? and do you recommend anti-inflammatorys ?

Thanks for the replies lads.

Appreciate it.

[svr]

I am no doctor, I am actually just a big hairy sack of scar tissue at this point.

If it were me and I decided a doctor was not needed;

I would work out everything else except the wrist. Not vacation time, work around time.

I would wear a loose neoprene sleeve / wrap 24/7. Maybe a glove or mitten too while sleeping.

Find something that will pump blood into the area without stressing it, and do that all day. 50 reps every hour type stuff.

Ben Wa ball rotations in all hand psitions, opening and closing hand as quickly as possible, extensor bands,...anything that increases blood flow without pain.

Good Luck

[jvance]

I'd avoid anti inflammatories. Lotsa studies showing they degrade and slow tendon healing, making you more susceptible to further injury.

[jvance]

I'd avoid anti inflammatories. Lotsa studies showing they degrade and slow tendon healing, making you more susceptible to further injury.

[odin]

Jones1874, if I have serious doubt or think surgery may be required, will visit the doctor. If it is similar in severity, presentation, etc. to past injuries, this is the protocol I follow (I am not a doctor, but this works for me, based on research and trial and error). This is more for tendonitis and 'niggles' than major injuries that may need immobilization or surgery. I am putting it in a quote box for clarity:

1. Take ibuprofen for only the first few days when the injury is 'hot' (causes more harm than good after that period)

2. Continue working out with movements that do not aggravate the injured area. Avoid the movement that caused the injury and others that cause similar pain.

3. Rest the injured area from direct work until you hit a recovery plateau; the injury may vary a bit day-to-day, but isn't getting perceptibly better or worse. You may find that you can do movements that surprise you (e.g. hammer curls when plate curls or bicep curls irritate the area), so be open to carefully working a variety of training into the mix to help increase blood flow.

4. Begin doing very light negatives using the movement that hurt you. With plate curls you could use the weight of your arm to do a negative of the same PC movement pattern. If that doesn't hurt, you could try a soup can or a 1.25# or 2.5# plate.The key is to find a weight that brings awareness of the injury without causing acute pain. Do 1-3 sets of 15-20 negatives at least once a day-ideally 2x or 3x. If this is too difficult or aggravates the area you may need to fully rest it again, so approach with caution and use less weight than you think you need! I shoot for the pain to be about a three or a four on a 1-10 scale, enough to notice, but not enough to wince, etc. The key is slow progress, so by starting light you can build success and momentum (sound familiar?). If you do push too hard, ice the area and back off the weight.

5. Make sure you are doing reverse wrist curls and some type of hand extensor work if it does not aggravate the injury.

6. Once you can do negatives with your usual 'working weight' without significant pain, begin doing high-rep full-range movements with the movement that hurt you, starting with the weight of your arm and seeing how that goes before increasing the weight. if it hurts, back off.

This has worked several times for me; i don't follow the exact routine as there is always some instinct involved. It may or may not work at all for you and may even make you worse as I am not a doctor. I am almost 55 years old, so injuries are slow to heal, hopefully you heal quickly.

When the area has progressed to where the it only hurts a little at the end of the ROM, I think less and less of therapy and the injury may distract me at little at times, but I can continue to train, get PRs and improve functionally. Injuries can be learning experiences, for example i have a RH bicep/brachoradialis area injury from doing 50 lb. Blob cheat curls over a month ago and can feel that it affects my Inch lifting a little bit, so it makes me wonder if strengthening that area will help my Inch lifting? Good luck in your recovery and hope to see you training pain-free setting PRs.again in the near future.

[Jones1874]

Jones1874, if I have serious doubt or think surgery may be required, will visit the doctor. If it is similar in severity, presentation, etc. to past injuries, this is the protocol I follow (I am not a doctor, but this works for me, based on research and trial and error). This is more for tendonitis and 'niggles' than major injuries that may need immobilization or surgery. I am putting it in a quote box for clarity:

1. Take ibuprofen for only the first few days when the injury is 'hot' (causes more harm than good after that period)

2. Continue working out with movements that do not aggravate the injured area. Avoid the movement that caused the injury and others that cause similar pain.

3. Rest the injured area from direct work until you hit a recovery plateau; the injury may vary a bit day-to-day, but isn't getting perceptibly better or worse. You may find that you can do movements that surprise you (e.g. hammer curls when plate curls or bicep curls irritate the area), so be open to carefully working a variety of training into the mix to help increase blood flow.

4. Begin doing very light negatives using the movement that hurt you. With plate curls you could use the weight of your arm to do a negative of the same PC movement pattern. If that doesn't hurt, you could try a soup can or a 1.25# or 2.5# plate.The key is to find a weight that brings awareness of the injury without causing acute pain. Do 1-3 sets of 15-20 negatives at least once a day-ideally 2x or 3x. If this is too difficult or aggravates the area you may need to fully rest it again, so approach with caution and use less weight than you think you need! I shoot for the pain to be about a three or a four on a 1-10 scale, enough to notice, but not enough to wince, etc. The key is slow progress, so by starting light you can build success and momentum (sound familiar?). If you do push too hard, ice the area and back off the weight.

5. Make sure you are doing reverse wrist curls and some type of hand extensor work if it does not aggravate the injury.

6. Once you can do negatives with your usual 'working weight' without significant pain, begin doing high-rep full-range movements with the movement that hurt you, starting with the weight of your arm and seeing how that goes before increasing the weight. if it hurts, back off.

This has worked several times for me; i don't follow the exact routine as there is always some instinct involved. It may or may not work at all for you and may even make you worse as I am not a doctor. I am almost 55 years old, so injuries are slow to heal, hopefully you heal quickly.

When the area has progressed to where the it only hurts a little at the end of the ROM, I think less and less of therapy and the injury may distract me at little at times, but I can continue to train, get PRs and improve functionally. Injuries can be learning experiences, for example i have a RH bicep/brachoradialis area injury from doing 50 lb. Blob cheat curls over a month ago and can feel that it affects my Inch lifting a little bit, so it makes me wonder if strengthening that area will help my Inch lifting? Good luck in your recovery and hope to see you training pain-free setting PRs.again in the near future.

Thanks again for all the replies. appreciated as always. im going to stay away from the anti inflammatories. i only started using them recently and felt it made it worst, so funny that you mentioned it.

Gonna try and keep the arm warm with a wrist sleeve, and pump blood through the area using cheap grippers. i feel its a bit early to start doing negatives just yet, but i will introduce them after the area has had sufficient rest.