Ulnar Wrist Pain

[Razor]

Hi Guys,

Im having a problem with my left hand, it is somehow stiff at the wrist. (Im trying my best to describe this). When i place my palms on the ground with the fingers pointing backwards toward my knees and then i lean backward so the shoulders are behind not directly above my palms. I feel this stiffness or tension in the left bone of my left hand the one inline with the little finger. I don't feel a thing in the right hand . I also get this feeling when doing dorsal or pseudo pushups.

The feeling is concentrated at the left circle-like bone and it runs along the white line.

I think what caused this, is the wrist exercise i used to do with the hand held wrist roller as i used to have this feeling while doing it. I might have been bending the left wrist a little more to left while doing these, which increased the pressure on the circle-like bone. But its been at least 6 months since i stopped doing the exercise.

Any rehab exercises to treat this? what should i do ?

Your help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Archie Moses]

I have this exact same issue and it sucks! The only thing that has helped me, and it helped greatly, was trigger point massage. Find all the tense spots on your forearms and work them consistently for a few days, and you will notice that the pain/impingement simply goes away. Stop massaging for a few days and it will come right back!

This issue not only comes from incorrectly executed exercises, but also everyday things like typing with the wrong hand position, and playing guitar really does it for me!

If you have the trigger point therapy workbook, it will show you exactly where you need to work. Or you could just start pressing really hard on your forearms near your elbows. When you find where it really hurts, hold it for 10-15 seconds, then try to find the next spot that hurts, repeat.

Hope this helps!

[Razor]

Thank u Archie Moses , will try that .

[Razor]

I tried the trigger point massage and it helped a lot, thank u Archie Moses for the advice.

But you're saying that once we stop massaging the pain comes back, so we're stuck with this forever ? :shock:

Isn't there a permanent solution for this ?

Thanks again

[Archie Moses]

I HOPE NOT! I think that with a lot of trigger point therapy that it can be alleviated. I wish I was sure, because it is a tough thing to deal with. I feel that a lot of my ring work and hand balancing work is limited by this pain. I stretch my wrists a lot and they have good flexibility and range of motion, yet still have pain.

One thing I just started is using Tiger Balm (menthol and camphor rub) on my wrists several times a day, and this helps not only alleviate some pain, but therefore stretch deeper. Yet later the impingement always comes back.

I would love for someone more knowledgeable to chime in and give their opinion.

[Razor]

I would love for someone more knowledgeable to chime in and give their opinion.

Yeh that would be great.

I think your condition is more serious than mine as i don't feel that much pain when hand balancing or doing ring work, for me it is IRRITATING and FRUSTRATING especially when doing pseudo pushups :x .

Anyways I've been massaging both of my forearms (strangely now im having the problem with my right wrist to, i think its from using the computer mouse too much ) right near the elbow with a ball, im doing that right after my workout (that's when i feel MAX stiffness) and its helping temporarily a lot.

So let us stay optimistic :wink: & and hope that more trigger point massage will be the cure, as it seems that we have no other option.

[Archie Moses]

Yes! This is exactly what I started to do and it is working well! If you put the ball against the wall, and then use the weight of your body to press your forearm into the wall, you can get the pressure you need to get the deep knots out!

I don't have the issue when handbalancing with hands forward, but just as you said, when your hands are facing backwards. But this is the same position on an RTO support and those are killing me too. My supports are solid and could go longer if not for my wrists.

Strangly though, my wrists seem to be strong, as I have been increasing reps and frequency of wrist pushups (slowly) and they are getting easier and easier. Also, I can easily do 10-15 reps of fingertip pushups, as well as fingertip l-sits, all without pain. How do these excercises effect you?

Also, if you have the opportunity to get therapy from someone trained in trigger point, do it. I've had a few sessions when I could afford it, and my pain and impingement disappeared for about 24 hours, it felt like a miracle. He also recommended doing the self trigger point up to 6x per day for maximum effectiveness.

[Razor]

Strangly though, my wrists seem to be strong, as I have been increasing reps and frequency of wrist pushups (slowly) and they are getting easier and easier. Also, I can easily do 10-15 reps of fingertip pushups, as well as fingertip l-sits, all without pain. How do these exercises effect you?

When doing wrist pushups i don't feel a thing they are pain-free but i can't say the same thing when doing coach's wrist series or dorsal pushups as it gets really irritating. I used to do 30 reps of fingertip pushups with no problem that is when the the pain was only in my left wrist and it wasn't very strong, but now 15 reps are too much.

I experience the MAX tension when i stretch the biceps by doing a planch lean with the fingers pointing backwards.

It is frustrating knowing that you can do better in some of the exercises if it wasn't for this.

He also recommended doing the self trigger point up to 6x per day for maximum effectiveness.

I am only doing it 2x a day max :shock:

EDIT : I've found that i can also make the fingertip pushups somehow pain-free, by trying to put more of the load on the thumb, index & middle fingers instead of distributing it equally on the 10 fingers.

[Donar]

This post is not medical advice, just personal experience.

Firstly, in addition to trigger point massage, you could try Graston Technique / IASTM on yourself. Search the forum for Graston Technique and IASTM (instrument assisted soft tissue massage) and you'll find plenty of information, especially by Slizzardman.

Simply use a blunt butter knife and massage oil.

Here Josh Bross explains some basics on it. Listen closely.

There's a ton of information on youtube.

Moreover, if you only experience temporary relief, you may have issues up your kinetic chain.

Keep massaging & using IASTM on your forearms and add massage/IASTM for your pectoralis minor, pectoralis major, subclavius, subscapularis, and scalenes. See if that helps.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Razor]

Thank u Donar for the info.

I hope the IASTM will help, i will try it see how it goes and reply.

[Donar]

I wrote

This post is not medical advice […]

[Razor]

OK, i thought you're talking about the entire post not yours. Anyways i have edited my earlier post.

I've done IASTM twice till now on my forearms and it really reduced the intensity of the pain a lot. Im going to stop training for a week and during this period I will use IASTM along with trigger point massage. I will also try massaging the other muscles you mentioned, hoping that i don't have any issues in the kinetic chain.

[Razor]

UPDATE:

Its been a week since i stopped training and my wrists feel a lot better now. Im not experiencing any pain at all thanks to trigger point massage & IASTM which reduced the pain a lot from the 1st time i did, but i think mostly its because i stopped training and putting pressure on my wrists.

I wont be able to resume my training program because my A levels Exams are coming up, and i really have to work hard and focus on studies during this period. I will keep doing IASTM 1x/week + trigger point massage, hoping that when my exams are over and I resume training, I wont face any problems with my wrists.

Anyways, I wanted to thank u guys again Archie Moses & Donar for the advice u gave, really appreciate it.