this morning is the first time i've done any weight lifting in 5 days...  about a week ago, i hurt my wrist and i was in a lot of pain during my next workout - to the point where i couldn't even get halfway through.

the pain is on the left side of my left wrist.  it only hurts when i'm curling.  it doesn't bother me at all on the bench.  i'm pretty sure it's tendonitis.


i have two questions:

first off, is there risk of doing any permanent damage by just working through the pain?

and if not, are there any good treatments i can do?  any good over-thecounter drugs(600mg of ib profen doesn't seem to do much)?

Are you thinking of Carpal Tunnel (sp?)
I had Tendonitis (tennis elbow) and the weight lifting actually helped strengthen my arm. Symptoms went away in a few months. If the pain continues...have it checked with an MD.

naw, i'm pretty sure it's tendonitis of the wrist.  i looked up carpal tunnel, and i didn't have any of the symptoms associated with it.

ok
well, my tendonitis nagged me for alot of months. It was actually from sword fighting. Had to quit for 6 months. The bench press actaully helped me alot....its gone now.

yeah, i think i'll be seeing a lot more of the bench now.  i really hope this doesn't set me back too far...  6 months would be a long time

you should cut back on the amount of weights and lift less amount for less reps...you don't want to risk additional injury...baby it and when it feels ok, don't think it is over...give it a chance.
if you overwork it and injure it again, you may see the real damage when your older in 10 years or so...and then it will be too late to heal...

Quoted: you should cut back on the amount of weights and lift less amount for less reps...you don't want to risk additional injury...baby it and when it feels ok, don't think it is over...give it a chance. if you overwork it and injure it again, you may see the real damage when your older in 10 years or so...and then it will be too late to heal...

yes...ease off the weight....you'll know how much weight by the discomfort...lift slow and let the tendons stretch good...

well, it looks like i did some damage yeterday

lot of pain all day at work.  my job requires a lot of lifting, so it looks like i have a problem  i guess i'll be making a trip to the doctor...

Get the doctor to give you Cortizone, and make sure he explains what it does and why you won't get it again for 6 - 12 months. It works wonders for serious inflamation, but it also works so good people get back into the game before they have completly healed.

Stop the weights and consider it a hint to move to a different program for awhile. That may be why you got it the first place (overtraining).

Good Luck.

The bad part of tendonitis is that without rest the inflamation only gets worse.  I would reccomend an elastic wrist strap when lifting to help take some of the strain and provide a little extra support.

It is also advised to ice the areas as soon as you are finished lifting to help reduce the swelling and inflamation.

An ice water immersion is a very good method to ease the discomfort of temdonitis.

It is also advisable to take some sort of anti-inflamatory.  

It depnds on how bad it is.  Mild tendonitis can be worked around but serious requires a dose pack of prednisone and at least 2 weeks off lifting.  I can work in a pratial range of motion or use dumbells to get around the tough parts of lifts while I recover.  Do not hit a heavy bag if you train in any martial art while you have tendonitis.  Stick to focus mits.

Does your pain occur only at the very bottom of your rep or is it all the way through?

Quoted: It depnds on how bad it is.  Mild tendonitis can be worked around but serious requires a dose pack of prednisone and at least 2 weeks off lifting.  I can work in a pratial range of motion or use dumbells to get around the tough parts of lifts while I recover.  Do not hit a heavy bag if you train in any martial art while you have tendonitis.  Stick to focus mits. Does your pain occur only at the very bottom of your rep or is it all the way through?

I am glad I visited this topic.  I'm suffering from tendonitis on my elbow (inner portion, closer to the trunk) and after about 5 reps of curls using 40LBs dumbel, it starts to burn.  By the 7th rep, I'd have to stop because the pain gets pretty unbearable.  I used to do three sets of 10s with the 40 LBs dumbels, but now I've been having to cut back to three sets of 5 reps; utilizing more of the 30 LBs and 20 LBs dumbels for higher reps.  This is really disheartening.  I dance a lot and good muscle tone is very important for me (aestheticaly) getting flabby is not an option.

Sorry about the long description above, but my question is do you suggest that I lay off the wights for about one month or so?  It used to be the curls that hurt, but now the tricep exercises can (sometimes) also bring some "pricky" sensation on that tendon.  Is there such thing as an "elbow support" similar to the "knee support" to ease the pain / help with healing?  I will try the ice water; any effective over the counter anti inflamatory drugs I can use?

THANKS for any input / advice.

I had tendonitis in my right knee for 2 years on and off. I finaly went and tried acupuncture. It works.  

NSAIDS help ( I prefer Naprox/Aleve) but wont eliminate the problem. If you are not better in 2 months of trying to work around, you wont ever heal untill you take time off.  If you go to the doc and get a Prednisone dose pack (a pack of pills that you take each day in descending order like 6 a day, 5 a day , 4, 3, 2, 1 and comes in a little platic pop out card) You will have no pain by the end of the card.  You MUST take AT LEAST one more week off and sometimes two additional weeks off to get the area to heal.  You cant work that muscle AT ALL during this time.  I have had elbow tendonitis so bad I thought I would die and literally had to hold my elbow and grimace when I would box between rounds.  It only got worse if I tries to work around.  I took me a dose pack and 3 weeks off to recover.  It was like a miracle though.  NSAIDS and 2 weeks off previously only helped a little.  The dose pack removed all pain and let me heal.  I have had to do this twice in the last 5 years.  Both times the dose pack worked like magic.  I went from holding my arm and not reaching out to get a glass, open a door, or whatever the pain was so bad, to being pain free in days.

I don't think thats what it is. Does it hurt when you put down the bar? Does it run down most of your forarm? I get it when I curl in both forarms and it is just sore musscles. If it is what you say it is. Then yes you can do permanent dammage.

sorry, i forgot all about this topic...


i ended up going to the doctor a few wees ago.  he said it sounded lie a sprain to him.  i was given a brace and prescribed some naprosyn.  within a couple weeks, the pain was pretty much gone.

i started lifting again, but i went a whole lot lighter on the weights.  on my next lifting session, i went back up to the weight i was using before i hurt my wrist, and i did pretty good...  until the next morning at work.  the pain started right back up again.

anyways, i've still been lifting, but i've been taing it easy.  the pain is pretty mild now and i only feel it while lifting heavy objects(i was feeling it constantly before).

Quoted: Does it hurt when you put down the bar?

that's what it started out as, and it progressed from there.

at first, it only hurt in my wrists when i set the bar down and let go of it.  then it hurt when i grabbed hold and picked it up, and then it started hurting when i tried to curl the bar(no, there's not any movement in my wrists while lifting).  i kept pushing, and it got to the point where i couldn't pick up a 10 pound package at work without severe pain in my left wrist.

You have to stop lifting and rest.  I am on week two of no weight training because I pushed too hard.  It takes 3 weeks to recover completely and if you dont give it a full 3 weeks you will go right back to not being able to lift 10 lbs.  I got to the point I had to turn my hand upside down to reach out and grab a doorknob.  That was a clue I had pushed too far.

I read somewhere that doing wrist curls will help tennis elbow as you strengthen your forearm muscle and that takes the pressure off of the tendon. Worked for me!