Weak fingers after Handbalancers HS workshop

[Mikko Saks]

Ok, heres the situation:

in the end of May, i went to helsinki to participate in HS workshop in Helsinki, where Mr. Kristiansen was teaching handstands and some other skills like air baby and crocodile. After the two day workshop my fingers were so numb i could even get my keys from my pockets. It has never happened before. It took almost two weeks for the strenght to come back. It was ok cause i had to take 3 weeks off from training anyways cause i went fishing. When i started training again my fingers keep getting this same weak feel to them- Sometimes its hard even to eat with a knife and a fork. Its not so bad what it was after the workshop, but i fear its going to get worse, since the weakness returned even though i took 3week break from training.

I didnt train air baby or crocodile (quada de rins?) before, so could it be because of that, or is it just a case of training handstands too much? I don´t feel any pain, and i take care of my wrists every day 2 times because of the handstand work (i dont do 1arm work yet). I train 5-6 times a week, and 3-4 of them include at least some handstand work, and other work i like to keep rather light/easy cause im focusin on my HS training mainly.

I also started training handstand with my fingers in "grabbing the ground" position instead of just plain flat on the floor like i used to, so perhaps it makes so much difference that my body just needs to adapt with time and that causes the weakness in fingers, cause they were/are too weak to begin with?

If you dont get what i mean by Grabbing the ground, its explained here: http://www.beastskills.com/blog/blog/id/88/

[Cole Dano]

Mikael's workshops have an interesting quality. While its happening it doesn't seem like you are doing that much, then afterwards the body notices it did a lot!

I was also pretty beat for about two weeks after the workshop, if it makes you feel any better.

There could be any number of things going on, there are nerve plexuses that may be getting pinched, numbness usually means this.

For these problems, general full range movement is a good start. There is a clip here of some very simple exercises you could try. http://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5960

In addition do some simple shoulder girdle movements, get the tension out of your traps and shoulders between rounds. I like using light Indian clubs for this, but even just shaking your arms loose will do.

Lastly it may be your forearms are very fatigued some massage there, and the traps could help.

[Joshua Naterman]

There could be swelling in or between muscle compartments compressing nerves, as Mr Brady said. A good Chiropractor or Osteopath can be a huge help with things like that, and if you can find an ART and/or Graston Technique practitioner that would be even MORE helpful since they will pretty much always be an Osteo or Chiro. I will also suggest that you look into Gua Sha. Find a practitioner near you or learn how to treat yourself. Learn about lymph drainage and how to do it. Lymph drainage is really important because that's where all extracellular fluid goes: the lymphatic system. If you have stagnant fluid in and around the muscles they are NOT going to work correctly. Gua Sha tools are cheap to buy or make and easy to use, and can be used quite effectively to handle this aspect of both problems like yours and general health. Do some reading on Google, see what you are comfortable with, and then get cracking.

The Gua Sha, applied with lymph drainage after the typical treatment, is massively effective for me. I taught my best friend how to do it and then he fixed up my right trap region quite nicely. I can do wide grip pull ups with heavy weight again while performing proper scapular retraction. That's just one treatment. Who knows how I will be doing in 10-12 weeks at 1 treatment per week?

I also did my legs, since my friend told me that my homemade tool that he borrowed totally fixed his hamstring flexibility issues and it's true. My books on Gua Sha also talk about how to use it for flexibility gains/restoration, which is quite nice. Anyways, it works. The reason I suggest all this is that if you learn how to do this stuff you can really take care of yourself. I know of a fantastic 3 tool set that is 120 bucks and comes with a very good instructional manual that also explains a lot of what happens with this sort of treatment. It is written by an Osteopath and is quite good.

If you are interested I will post the link.

[acegerter]

Slizz you've inspired me. I found a Gua Sha practitioner near by that is getting an email from me tonight!

I too have recently had numbness in my ring and pinky finger after long handstand workouts. I cant pinpoint if it is coming from my shoulder or my forearm but it is really irritating.

[Bruno Cochofel]

There could be swelling in or between muscle compartments compressing nerves, as Mr Brady said. A good Chiropractor or Osteopath can be a huge help with things like that, and if you can find an ART and/or Graston Technique practitioner that would be even MORE helpful since they will pretty much always be an Osteo or Chiro. I will also suggest that you look into Gua Sha. Find a practitioner near you or learn how to treat yourself. Learn about lymph drainage and how to do it. Lymph drainage is really important because that's where all extracellular fluid goes: the lymphatic system. If you have stagnant fluid in and around the muscles they are NOT going to work correctly. Gua Sha tools are cheap to buy or make and easy to use, and can be used quite effectively to handle this aspect of both problems like yours and general health. Do some reading on Google, see what you are comfortable with, and then get cracking.

The Gua Sha, applied with lymph drainage after the typical treatment, is massively effective for me. I taught my best friend how to do it and then he fixed up my right trap region quite nicely. I can do wide grip pull ups with heavy weight again while performing proper scapular retraction. That's just one treatment. Who knows how I will be doing in 10-12 weeks at 1 treatment per week?

I also did my legs, since my friend told me that my homemade tool that he borrowed totally fixed his hamstring flexibility issues and it's true. My books on Gua Sha also talk about how to use it for flexibility gains/restoration, which is quite nice. Anyways, it works. The reason I suggest all this is that if you learn how to do this stuff you can really take care of yourself. I know of a fantastic 3 tool set that is 120 bucks and comes with a very good instructional manual that also explains a lot of what happens with this sort of treatment. It is written by an Osteopath and is quite good.

If you are interested I will post the link.

Can you tell me the name of those books? Especially the one with the flexibility gains/restoration..

Thx,

Bruno

[Mikko Saks]

slizz, I would also be interested in those books. couldnt find any on gua sha here in the arctic circle, and nothing from the library either. could you share some of your gua sha routines and thoughts about how and where one should apply it?

I applied some selfcare gua sha in my forearms and little red dots appeared in my right arm only, nothing in left arm. I used this little metallic lid from a jelly.

Mr.Brady, interesting video, thank you very much, i will definitely be doing that stuff daily! Those movements along with lots of hot/cold treatment, gua sha, and massage really made a noticeable feel to my hands in one day.

Thanks for the replies, my friends!

[Joshua Naterman]

A chiropractor or osteopath can also help, especially if the problem is originating at the spine. It is possible and definitely does happen, but obviously if Gua Sha is helping then the spine is not the primary issue. It is still a good idea to get checked up on, you may be surprised at what they find and fix. Always look for a place that deals specifically with athletes if possible, they tend to have better practitioners.

[Bruno Cochofel]

A chiropractor or osteopath can also help, especially if the problem is originating at the spine. It is possible and definitely does happen, but obviously if Gua Sha is helping then the spine is not the primary issue. It is still a good idea to get checked up on, you may be surprised at what they find and fix. Always look for a place that deals specifically with athletes if possible, they tend to have better practitioners.

Hi slizzardman, can you tell the name of thos Gua Sha books?

Thx,

Bruno

[Mikko Saks]

I think i found out what was the proglem. Since Handbalancers workshop, i started training handstands with fingers clawing into the floor like he told me to, and it really helped in keeping the balance.. But I still kept them too extended! So i started experimenting a few days ago, and curled my fingers almost like too much, and it really made significant change! No more numb fingers or wrist pain, even though i have trained handstand over one hour per day the last few days + some statics,

planche work and other stuff that could really get to your wrists. Im really happy now, so im off to train some more!