Bicep/Possible Nerve Injury Related to my dad

[DanO_123]

Rip,

Maybe you can help with another issue my father is having. About a year ago he sustained an injury to his bicep/forearm on his left side which is his dominant hand. He held a heavy bag during Christmas in his hand for too long and apparently it caused some pain in area where the bicep meets the forearm. Specifically it becomes more aggravated if the wrist is rotated in the position like when trying to do a neutral grip chin or hammer curl.

He has had a lot of weakness in that arm when doing anything related to curling. He was having a hard time curling a 5lb weight for reps, he complained of some pain and weakness like the arm wasn't doing what his brain was commanding. I suggest he start with a light weight and do 25-30 reps for 3 sets every day and keep adding weight. He had great success with that and reduced the pain in that arm. Eventually he got to 20-25lbs with no problem. As long as he warms it up he feels no pain.

The problem I noticed the last time we worked out was that when he flexes his arms his left bicep stays fairly un-toned. The right bicep is capable of being flexed but the left arm stays soft. I think this is related to the same issue. It seems like some type of nerve damage but I am way out of my league when it comes to this type of thing. His lifts are all fairly strong but lacks the ability to do a single body weight chin. I think this might be part of the problem.

Any ideas?

Thanks again.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Your description is sufficiently vague and non-specific in a technical sense, and the distance is so far that I cannot see from here, that I can't be of help. He'll need to get somebody to look at it.