What have I done to my forearm?

[killyouintheface]

I'll preface this by saying that I know you guys aren't doctors, and that you couldn't really diagnose an "injury" from a messageboard post even if you were doctors, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I've done to myself.

I'd noticed some extra soreness in my left forearm over the past few workouts, but I thought I was just getting sloppy with my form on some of my workouts and promised myself i'd watch how i go about things in the future.

flash forward to tonight; I was doing arms, and on barbell curls, the flexors (http://exrx.net/Graphics/WristFlexorNeut.gif) on my left forearm feel like they're on fire. I stopped the exercise and finished my triceps work (which didn't hurt my forearm, by the way) and went home. The pain begins about midway up the muscle belly on my forearm and radiates out from there, but doesn't make it all the way to my elbow or my hand. I have no accompanying weakness.

Now, a couple hours later, I've iced it and it's sore, although it's significantly less painful now than it was.

What have I done to myself?

[prowrestler]

I'll preface this by saying that I know you guys aren't doctors, and that you couldn't really diagnose an "injury" from a messageboard post even if you were doctors, but I'm just looking for an idea of what I've done to myself.

I'd noticed some extra soreness in my left forearm over the past few workouts, but I thought I was just getting sloppy with my form on some of my workouts and promised myself i'd watch how i go about things in the future.

flash forward to tonight; I was doing arms, and on barbell curls, the flexors (http://exrx.net/Graphics/WristFlexorNeut.gif) on my left forearm feel like they're on fire. I stopped the exercise and finished my triceps work (which didn't hurt my forearm, by the way) and went home. The pain begins about midway up the muscle belly on my forearm and radiates out from there, but doesn't make it all the way to my elbow or my hand. I have no accompanying weakness.

Now, a couple hours later, I've iced it and it's sore, although it's significantly less painful now than it was.

What have I done to myself?

no clue man, i dont have an over the 0net x-ray machine nor can i diagnose you over the net.

but your local doctor can do all that shit.

i can say ice it, stretch and massage it. lay off it. no direct work for forarms or exercsises that place alot of stress on them like curls, wrist curls, most likely deadlifts and masturbation.

seriuosly, get it checked out now. forarms aint fun to have hurt. hard to train around.

[mritter3]

i by no means am a doctor but it sounds like tendonitis. which is why the ice helped because it took down the inflammation of the swollen tendon.

[IRBS]

i by no means am a doctor but it sounds like tendonitis. which is why the ice helped because it took down the inflammation of the swollen tendon.

x2. Sounds like Tendonitis. I have it extremely bad in my left forearm and elbow. Ice, anti-inflamatories and rest is about all you can do for it. If there is a Chiropractor or Doc in your area that does Active Release Therapy (Google it) go see them and get it done. It is awesome and seems to be the only "thing" I can find to help it out.

Good luck. Tendonitis sucks.

[killyouintheface]

I have about three days (starting from when I left the gym last night) when I'll not have to use my arms and hands for anything more stressful than typing. I guess I'll just continue to ice it and take some ibuprofen and deal.

No doctors open on weekends anyway, and if I take forearm tendonitis (which is what, after doing some reading, that I think is, also) to the ER they'll laugh me out of the building. lol

[airborneIRON]

man i've done the same thing. i didn't know what the hell it was and i kept lifting, thinking it was just weakness. i talked to a buddy of mine who just graduated with his degree in exercise science. he said it was probably tendonitis. i laid off biceps for a while (i know its hard) and i went back to it after 2 weeks. i was halfway thru my second set of barbell curls and i felt the pain coming. i set it down and didn't do them for another 2 weeks. at that point i was finally able to get a full biceps exercise in. that's just my experience though man. ibuprofen worked alright but you've just gotta accept the downtime and use it to focus on something else. i was able to do reverse curls with minimal pain.

[Vader]

You might have golfers elbow. It is basically a strain of your wrist flexors.
Rest it and ice it first. As you gradually feel better, start to heat it, stretch it. When you can comfortably do them, do wrist curls, both regular and reverse. You should be better in a few weeks, 6-12 weeks maximum.

[killyouintheface]

I think it's probably tendonitis. I'm starting a new split tomorrow that'll have way less direct arm work in it, and more heavy compound work. It seems like anything that I do in the gym that requires me supinating my forearms (palms up, like bicep curls) causes the irritation. It started when I started deadlifting (began with an alternated grip with the left arm supinated), and now I've switched to a double-overhand style that'll work my grip more and not irritate my forearms.

Funny how that works.

I did arms for the last time Friday, and both my forearms are sore and twinge-y now. Alternating ice and heat and generous servings of vitamin I have been pretty helpful so far. I hope that this new split and the rest from direct work it'll give me help get me over the hump with my stupid forearms. I stretch all the time anyway.

When I played golf and baseball back in school, sports that traditionally really wear your forearms out, mine never bothered me.

Thanks guys.

[londontom]

Every one is right - it is tendonitis, think most guys go through this at some point or another, exactly where you have said. I found there are a few things that will help - 1) leave biceps alone completely for two weeks, 2) swap to DB curls instead, 3) wrap your wrists to keep the strain off that part of your forearm (sounds odd I know - but if you're not going to leave the curls alone for a bit, it does work), 4) build up your foreams on the outside to compensate, try some rotations.

Hope that helps big man.

[Iron4Life]

gone thru the same thing...sure sounds like tendinitis..back when mine used to flare up( which was mainly on striaght bar curls) i would throw on some wrist supports/wraps and load up with some of this:

Absorbine Veterinary Liniment Gel- its basically a muscle, joint and arthritis pain reliever. Contains natural botanical extracts including Menthol to help loosens stiff joints and reduce swelling.

Ive used it for years even though its made for horses...its like icy hot but 10x stronger

[Edsfrow]

I have the same problem. Bicep day used to suck for me, because I'd have to cut my work out short. I took some time off, and started taking Flex. I took about 2 weeks off total, and the other day I decided to give it a try. The pain was still there, but only half as bad as it used to be. I know this might not be the same result for everyone, but it seems like Flex did help.

[Shaffer_515]

I guess it is like a right of passage just like stretch marks! I have had this problem and it sounds like alot of other guys have had it....Ignore it and push through it will go away....congraulations your growning! haha

[ROC1291]

I get this from cutting Deli Meat all day now. It's pretty wicked at night, and it feels like I get a great arm and rear delt workout just from pounding out American Cheese all day long.

[killyouintheface]

Overhead presses and shrugs (new PR! I hit 195x5 tonight) didn't bother it, but four sets of upright rows had my forearm singing me a song tonight.

I'm just gonna keep taking stuff for it and icing it, and not do any direct bicep work to give it a break, like we all seem to agree needs to happen.

[killyouintheface]

I'm kicking this thread back up since I seem to have had a breakthrough.

I was talking to one of my buddies at the gym Friday and mentioned my forearm was bothering me, and he said that he had the same problem when his major muscle groups started to seriously outpace what his forearms could hold when he was younger, and said that it helped him a lot when he trained his forearms specifically once or so a week to get them back up to snuff.

So I trained forearms after I finished leg day on Satuday. Just blasted them. They've felt great all weekend. I've not had to use any kind of ibuprofen or ice for the past two days.

So now I'm thinking about getting some grip trainers, and I wonder if that was my problem the whole time.

Anyway, I thought I'd throw that out there for ya'll.