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Mr Scorpio

I "tweaked" my wrist back in late Feb while performing barbell shoulder presses. I felt a mild pain at the top of the lift and said to myself "anymore pain and I'm done with this workout". I made it thru the rest of a shoulder only workout.

 

I paid attention to the area of the next couple of weeks trying to find ways I could trigger the pain. The best I can describe it is if I were to rotate my right arm all the way inward or outward (as if one were opening a door knob) I would get a slight pain and some grinding/popping on the outside (non-thumb side) of my wrist. Also, pushing down at an angle (not straight down like a pushup) would hurt a bit.

 

Saw the doc for unrelated reasons and asked about it. He said it was a light sprain and to give it another 4-6 weeks. That was about 5 weeks ago.

 

I don't doubt I could have been lifting all along. The pain was never that bad. However, I type all day at my job and I value playing guitar over lifting. Thus, I took a (perhaps overly) cautious approach.

 

After watching some youtube videos I think I'll be good to go as long as I have wrist straps (as my wrists are exceptionally small: I can wrap the thumb and middle finger of an opposing hand over my wrist and completly cover the middle-finger nail) -AND- substitute hammer-curls for straight dumbbell curls (though 21s would probably work well too).

 

So, basically just looking for feedback from others who have faced slight injuries. How long was your FULL recovery time? Until your body felt normal? Have you pushed thru small injuries? If so how did it work out?

 

Thanks in advance for responses.

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thefooloftheyear

Sorry, man...As you get older, you realize a few things...Injuries are just a part of the game..I don't care what anyone says...Its practically unavoidable...Those guys who are older and not getting tweaked aren't training hard enough...period...

 

Ok..off the soapbox..

 

Sounds like an injury I had a few years back..I am a devout lifter, but this happened while, of all things, squeezing a pair of Vise Grips VERY hard to get a good bite...Something "popped" and I got a bit of swelling on the inside of the hand, below my palm..>It hurt like a m'fer..:mad:

 

I never got it checked out, because I know what they were going to tell me, and I wasn't going for surgery, so I just rehabbed it on my own...Unfortunately it took a full 4-7 months to get through it..I always work through shyt....If something hurts, I just change what I am doing to not aggravate it, but I don't quit...

 

My advice is wear wraps(the type with the extra piece that you can velcro tight) when you lift..Avoid anything that will put undue stress..Wear them as well when doing anything that may cause issues...

 

When it starts to feel better, then start with light wrist curls with a straight bar...Get a few spring loaded "grippers" and keep them in your car or at your desk..Start with a light one and work up...Wrists/forearms are like calves....Its almost impossible to overtrain them...SO work the grippers repeatedly....Perform other forearm specific movements that will strengthen the area...I have thick wrists so its less of an issue..A guy I used to train with had small wrists as you describe and he was always getting dinged..He used to wrap his wrists when he lifted and always used wrist straps a, but I don't necessarily agree with that logic..You want to strengthen them, not crutch it..

 

It will pass in time...Even though it sucks now...Just take care of it and don't rush it along..Give it time, you don't want a setback...

 

TFY

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I've picked up various niggles at one point or another. Back pain, palm, shoulder, knee, etc. I generally find that in order to properly recover I need to avoid any exercise the injury affects for 1-2 months before I'll be pain free, and a little longer before I can get back to using the same weights/reps again.

 

If you keep lifting heavy, it may never recover properly at all, and then you'll regret it. Always listen to your body.

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OatsAndHall

I've been training with weights for years and recovery time varies from person to person. But, you'll shorten that recovery time by being smart with your training. Using wrist wraps may limit the ROM but it's still not the smartest move. Switch over to barbell presses or overhead presses if your wrist is bothering you. Gradually add in light dumbbell presses after barbell presses and see how your wrist feels.

 

I had a grade three separation of my shoulder about nine months ago. The scapula and the collar bone are completely separated and the head of the scapula pops up. I did my PT religiously and worked my way back into the gym gradually. Anything with dumbbells aggravated it so I avoided them. I could do bench, incline and overhead presses if I used a narrower grip. I started light and worked my way up. I backed off on the weight if my shoulder started to hurt. I started moving my grip out a bit wider but always moved it back in if the pain popped up. It was a slow, gradual process but I am almost back to the point where I was before the injury.

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Best guess

 

 

Age 20 - Minor injury 2 days, moderate 4 weeks

 

Age 30 - Minor injury 3 days, moderate 6 weeks

 

Age 40 - Minor injury 5 days, Moderate 8 weeks

 

Age 50 - Minor injury 7-10 days, Moderate 4 months or more.

 

Approximately.

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thefooloftheyear

One thing I wanted to add...

 

Injuries for us that are disciplined are inevitable and unfortunate....For me, sure, the pain sucks, but my mental state can go in the tank, depending on the condition...So I developed my own strategy...

 

For one....I believe all injuries(outside of some serious debilitating stuff), make us somewhat stronger...Both physically and emotionally...It tests our will and determination...It makes us better able to cope with other life setbacks...especially those that don't actually cause physical pain....

 

Secondly...I use a particular injury to refocus on other areas...I had tore my rotator a few years ago and the pain was hideous...I got down, but soon realized that while many movements were simply out of the question, I now could focus on my leg training and cardiac fitness,,,,So I went strong there...

 

These adaptive strategies have helped me get through these times...You can't prevent it, so rather than go in the tank, its better to see a positive side ...

 

TFY

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