Forearm Pain

[mgreen_520]

Hey Guys,

Been training for about 10 weeks now, just started Dougs 4 Day Split today actually..
Anyway for the past about 3 weeks when ive been training my bi's i get a sharp pain in my left forearm only, it feels as if its in the bone not the muscle. I can really feel it when i do standing barbell curls and preacher curls. It only occurs when i release the weight and let go of the bar, it f*cking hurts! lol..
I talked to a trainer at my gym, he says its just pressure on the bone and just do some different bi exercises and stay away from the preacher and standing barbell and just do some hammer curls and incline curls... He also says im probably holding onto the bar too hard and just relax a bit and focus more on the bicep curling and not just holding on and trying to get the bar up there..
What im asking i guess, is my trainer right on this one? And how come its only on my left arm? My technique is pretty sound aswell..

Cheers,
Mitch

[Yogi]

Hi Mitch

I had a similar problem when I first started training properly last year. It's as your trainer said; strain on the bone. Here's what I used to do; Keep your wrists fairly stiff as you do your curls without giving them too much lee-way. Your fore-arm muscles should tense and provide support as a result. Mind you, it will still hurt, just not as much. I'm a med student, but just that; a student! It worked for me, so hopefully it'll work for you.

Also try to maybe increase your calcium intake to keep your bones strong, and to give them something to repair with in case of damage.

Good luck mate

[Orome]

One thing you may want to consider is you may have the beginnings of lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow). This is an irriatation of the tendons of the wrist extensors which insert into the lateral (outside) portion of the elbow. This irritation can occur with repetitive use of the elbow and/or from repetitive heavy gripping which you are probably doing especially if you are using heavy weight. Make sure you are stretching your forearm muscles after warming up and perhaps in between sets of your bicep curls. Stretch the muscles by having your palm facing towards the floor and flexing it back towards you, use your other hand to pull it back until you feel a stretch in the forearms. Also consider not gripping the bar so hard and also as the others have said keeping your wrists stable while performing the lifts. Hope that helps.

[yitmy]

You may have an abnormality which may cause increase pressure in your forarms due to hand positioning on the bar. There are bars that rectify this but I suspect that what your trainer is saying is actually correct. By taking the long fixed bar out of the equation and having you do dumb bell based exercises where the wrists are more free to move may make all the difference and train your arms well too. Is this a long term problem? That I do not know. But by altering your program you will significantly decrease your risk of having a debilitating condition of lateral epicondylitis which may keep you on the side lines from exercising for a long while, and using pens, pencils, key boarding, and maybe work. So the point is if it hurts then do not do it, for your body may adapt wrong, "Feel the burn" will lead to injury in this case. Hope this helps!
-M

[mgreen_520]

Thanks for the tips guys, Thursday today, so i did Chest + Bi's... They went fairly well, just did dumbells, no barbell stuff and i didnt feel a thing, only a little on the last set of incline, im thinking if i can keep it to this for a good 10 weeks, it will give time for the injury to heal, and like Big Kat said, the 4 Day split gives it alot of time within the week to repair..
Cheers guys!

Oh, and only 1 week on the 4 day split and im feeling massive gains already! Just shows what a little change in routine can do for your body! I can literally feel my triceps larger from mondays workout lol..

I think im hooked.. Uh oh... haha

cheers,
Mitch

[Possum]

I get that exact same except in both my forearms it feels like the bones stretching like in growth pains