Forearm/Wrist tendonitis

[killerant]

Hi, it seams recently I have developed some tendinitis in the forearms (I believe due to excessive grip training) and its getting quite irritating now :/

I tried something similar to this:
http://glennpendlay.wordpress.com/20...ot-tendonitis/

and it helps but the pain just comes back again after a day or two.

Should I rest or continue lifting and is this a one of thing or a chronic condition?

Cheers

[Charlie Davies]

I'm prone to tendinitis. I've had severe wrist problems (bad computer ergonomics), hip pain (bad squats), shoulders (dips) and most recently ankles (loaded carries).

1) Stop making it worse: stop doing the problem exercise or fix your form.
2) Healing will take many months, so don't just stop working out "while it heals" -- you can't afford to wait that long.

The worst part of tendon problems is how very long they take to heal. Recovery from my wrist problems took years, with many setbacks. At my worst I feared I'd lose my job and career. I couldn't turn doorknobs or pick up grocery bags. But now I can type pain-free and bench, press, power clean, etc.

I had to completely change how I use a computer keyboard. I went to the SS seminar to get my squat fixed. For my shoulders, I just gave up dips entirely. For my ankles, I found a form change for my loaded carries so they don't aggravate my ankles anymore.

Do you really need to do the grip training? Maybe you can safely do a grip exercise that keeps your wrists straight, like farmers carries or one-armed deadlifts instead of using a crusher.

[killerant]

Thanks for the response cwd

- Wrist/forearm I believe is mainly due to grip training, which I have now completely dropped from my routine and just rely on dl, and excessive typing (which I have cut down on). Hopefully it'll improve and that tubing thing really helps, I think I'll be doing it daily from now on

- I do sometimes get knee pain and I believe squats/running is the cause of that. I'll get my squat form checked out for sure.

It really does suck how tendons take much longer to heal, so should I opt for a lighter weight scheme (3x8/3x10) for a couple of months and just work with the pain?

[Charlie Davies]

It really does suck how tendons take much longer to heal, so should I opt for a lighter weight scheme (3x8/3x10) for a couple of months and just work with the pain?

I've only ever trained myself, so I'm not a good source for programming advice. But my guess is that a coach would tell you to fix your form so you aren't making things worse and then continue with normal programming (3 sets of 5 reps for novices). Switching to bodybuilder rep ranges might actually be worse for tendinitis.

Get a book on typing/computer ergonomics and take it to heart. Set up your computer work desk to get the keyboard just below elbow level, and "hover" your arms rather than resting your wrists on something. This will be very uncomfortable for your shoulders at first, but it lets you type with straight wrists so you aren't constantly scrubbing the finger tendons against the "wrist-bracelet" ligaments as you reach for letters.

[Erok]

Desk jockey here. FWIW, whenever I get my usual wrist pains, I've found that mashing the forearm muscles really helps, in the same way that mashing the quads helps with knee pain. I've found some troublesome knotted-up, ropey finger extensors that need a good rolling out between a PVC pipe and my bodyweight, or direct iron-grip finger pressure from a helpful partner. Excessive stretching just seems to make it worse.