Pain on heel of palm near thumb side

Hello,

I've developed pain on the heel of my palm near the thumb side. My chiro, who does ART, says it is at the capsule near the metatarsal. He's done two sessions of ART on it and it is feeling better and he thinks this has developed from too much handstand work with an hyperextension of the thumb. I'm able to hold a freestanding handstand for 94 seconds max and I would do upwards to 10 minutes a day practice. One thing I quit was doing handstands in a moving elevator as I noticed an increase in pain. For the last few days I've quit doing handstands as to give it a rest but I'm wondering is there a better way to grip the floor that won't aggravate this condition?

Have you tried using parallettes or blocks?

Get xray to rule out carpal fracture. That is a bad place to feel pain, and it can fade away but the bone can still die. Highly suggest x-ray just to be safe.

slizzardman said:

That is a bad place to feel pain, and it can fade away but the bone can still die.

Die?! How?! I felt some discomfort in this place too some day ago, it hurt a little bit, but nothing that has prevented me from training, even feeling a little discomfort. Now is better but bothers a little. :?

Mikael said:

slizzardman said:

That is a bad place to feel pain, and it can fade away but the bone can still die.

Die?! How?! I felt some discomfort in this place too some day ago, it hurt a little bit, but nothing that has prevented me from training, even feeling a little discomfort. Now is better but bothers a little. :?

Avascular necrosis. The scaphoid has terrible blood supply, so if the bone has somehow been damaged you have a fairly limited time to get it fixed. If not fixed, the damaged portion of the bone will die.

Doesn't mean that's what happened here, but without knowing anything about what this guy or girl is doing or has done I have to recommend x rays.

how bad of pain is it?

I get that sometimes if I sustain too large a jump in volume or intensity. With me it's only a bit bothersome though and it simply goes away when I lower the volume to something within my capacity.

Which way do your fingers point when you do your HS? If they're turned out too far I could see there being increased stress on the thumb.

It is certainly probable that your hands are just not used to the pressure. If you have had any impact injuries that x-ray should be considered mandatory, but if all you are doing is support work then you may need to build up some extra muscle in your hands and let them get used to the pressure.

Thick bar work, as well as thick rope pull ups (same concept) is probably the best way to build your hands up. Focus on endurance more than strength, especially in the beginning.

As for the pressure, your wrist should be nice and straight and you may have to move around a little to find the right place on your hand for the support. If you are not squeezing the bar fairly strongly then that may be part of the problem.

slizzardman said:

Mikael said:

slizzardman said:

That is a bad place to feel pain, and it can fade away but the bone can still die.

Die?! How?! I felt some discomfort in this place too some day ago, it hurt a little bit, but nothing that has prevented me from training, even feeling a little discomfort. Now is better but bothers a little. :?

Avascular necrosis. The scaphoid has terrible blood supply, so if the bone has somehow been damaged you have a fairly limited time to get it fixed. If not fixed, the damaged portion of the bone will die.

Doesn't mean that's what happened here, but without knowing anything about what this guy or girl is doing or has done I have to recommend x rays.

OMG, so that need surgery?!

If there is a scaphoid fracture then generally yes. This is usually an impact injury. Could be repeated impact, could be a single impact.

How much is the pain on a scale 1 to 10? I don't feel anything during the day nor even when I move the wrist or the thumb, just a discomfort on this area when I put some weight on the hand. :?

This is where patient history is vitally important, and why x rays are often taken with this sort of injury. What you are describing is what a stress fracture of the scaphoid often feels like. Do some reading on that, just so you know more. Google is a good guide to resources, as always.

Not trying to scare you, but it is really, really stupid to not really know what you are dealing with. This particular area is tricky because a lot of things can happen, and the first thing that should be ruled out is a scaphoid fracture (full or partial) or other damage to the bone.

That's all I'll say on the matter, I don't want to keep harping. There are simply certain areas of the body that you really have to be careful with, and this is one of them.

I'm f-ing scared man! hahaha really... I'll go to the doctor quick as possible! Anyways thanks Slizz, you're the man.

I'm the original poster. The pain has subsided with the cessatin of handstand work but there is some slight soreness. I also have some tingliness and slight soreness when I close my thumb to the index finger in the area between there where the thumb meets the rest of the palm. I'll schedule an appt with a doctor and demand an x-ray this weel just to be sure. Thanks for the help Slizzardman.