Wrist pain

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bethad5
bethad5 Posts: 176 Member
Hi all,
I'm in stage 6. I did the first A1 workout with no issues (and was even able to hold the negative chin for a few seconds!) but in A2, I would jump up to get my chin above the bar and then sink almost immediately. My third set of A2 I got up and dropped like a ton of bricks. After that workout, my left wrist was bothering me - it was stiff and hurt to rotate it. I did A2 last Friday, so I took it easy. I did B2 on Sunday and had no issues.

I headed back to the gym today to do A3. My wrist didn't hurt before or while lifting. My negative chins were the same issue - I'd drop immediately, I don't know how I did it set 1 - and I did the rest of the workout (underhand lat pulldowns, barbell split squat, push ups). My wrist felt fine.

Fast forward a few hours and my wrists started to hurt- BOTH of them. Now it's been about 12 hours since my workout and the pain is almost unbearable. BOTH wrists are stiff and hurt to rotate. Even just lifting my hand up to type causes a flash of pain in my left wrist.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? What did I do?!? What should I do? I'm afraid if I go to a doctor they'll just tell me it's a sprain or something and push me out the door. It just doesn't seem normal that it hurts this much- especially with both wrists! If anyone has any experience or advice, please let me know!

Replies

  • Controversial
    Controversial Posts: 157 Member
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    I apparently hurt my wrist in stage 5 but it was better by 6, then in the first workout of stage 6 I injured my elbow on the other arm. (probably all the lat pull-downs)

    The pain, as you've described it, sounds serious enough to me to warrant a doctor visit and probably x-rays. Sorry hon!
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I would stop and take a rest week, and ice your wrists several times a day. It sounds like some repetitive-use swelling and irritation.

    I felt pretty beat up during Stage 6 -- I pushed my weights as heavy as I possibly could, and something was hurting at any given time.

    When a body part becomes PAINFUL (not sore or tired), it means you need to back off and let it rest and heal.
  • Controversial
    Controversial Posts: 157 Member
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    When a body part becomes PAINFUL (not sore or tired), it means you need to back off and let it rest and heal.

    Excellent advice. I, for one, plan to take a week off before Stage 7.
  • Holmfridur_Gestsdottir
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    I think you should let someone take a look at them just to be sure. I have pretty sensitive wrists myself and for instance I feel pain while doing the plank where you continually move the weight of your body from your elbows to your palms (bending and straightening of your elbows). I have often thought about wrapping them during exercise to have extra support but until now I have just opted to change my exercises to lessen the pressure on the wrists. I think I'd maybe take a break for a few days and see if this pain subsides and definitely see a doc to check this out and see what's going on. You really shouldn't be working through this sort of pain during your workouts. That just can't be good in the long run. GL with that!
  • bethad5
    bethad5 Posts: 176 Member
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    Well, ladies- I didn't read any of these helpful responses until now. I just got back from doing B3 at the gym. Definitely did something to my left wrist - it feels like a twinge now, but I'm sure it will get worse as the day progresses (if its anything like last time, anyways). Will probably call the doctor Monday. Any advice on what to do workout wise? I don't want to lose any of the progress I've made :(
  • Holmfridur_Gestsdottir
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    I think you can safely take a rest for a week at least, if not two. I was REALLY tired the other day and decided to not exercise for a week and just use the time to rest as much as I could. I came back to the gym thinking I might have lost some gains I had made, but what do you know, I surpassed my previous best in all the exercises coming back. So I think there is no harm in taking a rest for at least a week or even a bit longer. Especially if you hurt your wrists, then you should be doing a lot better if you take a bit of time to heal first. However you should be able to change the exercises a bit, for instance I think the neutral grip (palms facing each other) is the most natural and least stressful when doing pullups or negatives. So maybe you could try that next time you plan to do the negatives?

    I think you should maybe try and ice your wrists if the pain becomes worse. I know how you feel, it sucks to do all that hard work and then get sidetracked by injury. Hopefully you'll bounce back in no time!
  • bethad5
    bethad5 Posts: 176 Member
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    I think you can safely take a rest for a week at least, if not two. I was REALLY tired the other day and decided to not exercise for a week and just use the time to rest as much as I could. I came back to the gym thinking I might have lost some gains I had made, but what do you know, I surpassed my previous best in all the exercises coming back. So I think there is no harm in taking a rest for at least a week or even a bit longer. Especially if you hurt your wrists, then you should be doing a lot better if you take a bit of time to heal first. However you should be able to change the exercises a bit, for instance I think the neutral grip (palms facing each other) is the most natural and least stressful when doing pullups or negatives. So maybe you could try that next time you plan to do the negatives?

    I think you should maybe try and ice your wrists if the pain becomes worse. I know how you feel, it sucks to do all that hard work and then get sidetracked by injury. Hopefully you'll bounce back in no time!

    Thanks for the advice! I might just take a rest week now. I have four workouts left of the stage but if I really am injured and force myself to do them I'm just going to end up even MORE injured in the long run. I was talking to one of my friends about my wrists, she's in PT school right now, and she said it's probably more from the push-ups rather than the negatives. It makes sense, because I've been adding 2 second pauses at the bottom of the push-up, so I can see how it'd put strain on the wrist! (My push-ups are done with my hands on a bench because, even all the way in stage 6, I still can't do a real one....so maybe the bench is also part of the problem!)

    I'm not sure. I feel a bit lazy not working out- I've taken rest weeks between stages but have always felt like I 'earned' them. I've never taken a rest week in the middle of a stage. Prior to NROLFW I was a cardio queen, steady-state on the elliptical with my Nook for an hour was pretty typical. But Alwyn is soooo against steady-state, I don't want to go do the elliptical all week and somehow burn off any of the muscle mass I may have built (likely miniscule, I know, but still). Would you take a full rest week from all exercise or throw in some cardio?
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Maybe some HIIT and some yoga while you're recovering?