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Forearm Tendon Pain from Weight Training

It’s actually becoming a little hard to remember at this point, but the fact is that before the mid-1970s or so, not many adults exercised on a regular basis. But then a guy named Jim Fixx started the jogging craze, and a few years later a woman named Jane Fonda started the aerobics craze, and a couple of years after that some Austrian guy named Arnold something-or-other hit the screen and made everyone want to have muscles. Far from being mere fads, these pursuits have been part of the Western lifestyle ever since.

And this is great. The benefits of consistent exercise, especially resistance exercise, are legion. Aside from the obvious looks and health advantages, a recent study by Barbara Strasser and her colleagues in the May 2010 issue of Sports Medicine gave some pretty convincing numbers regarding how much money the average 50-year-old would save by starting a weight-training program. Even counting the costs of gym memberships, workout clothes and so on, it’s pretty obvious that you’ll end up saving a lot on medical expenses down the road.

But as with every good thing, there are some drawbacks. One of the biggest with weight-training is the development of tendon pain in the forearms, mainly from gripping the bar over and over again in exactly the same way. Barbells and dumbbells in regular gyms are all exactly the same diameter, which can quickly lead to overuse pattern injuries such as tendonitis and tendonosis. (Click here for a quick, free test to find out which one you have.) Ask anyone who’s ever had forearm tendon pain: it’s difficult just to shake someone’s hand, much less hold on to a bar loaded up with weights.

Fortunately, there are some ways you can get around this problem. One is to use machines, which often come with pads that don’t require you to grip anything. Machines are not as good as free weights, though, because you don’t have to balance anything, and therefore those small-but-important stabilizer muscles in your body don’t get trained.

A much better solution has been provided by a company called Fatgripz. Fatgripz are devices that you can attach to a barbell or dumbbell to make them, well, fatter. Instead of the usual inch or so diameter of the bar, now you’re dealing with 2.25″ (5.7cm).[vc_single_image image=”3934″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow”]

This means that your hand doesn’t close as much, which means that now you’re exercising with all the muscles and tendons in your forearm in different positions. The result? Less pattern overload, and less tendon pain. In fact, by using Fatgrips on a regular basis (not every workout, but maybe every other workout) before you develop tendon pain, you might just be able to prevent it altogether. But for those who do have forearm tendon pain stemming from their time in the gym, Fatgripz offers a convenient and economical solution.

They also come with a two-month money-back guarantee, so it’s hard to see a downside to getting a pair. If you decide to return them the company will even spring for the return postage. (You don’t see that every day!) But they’re quality goods, virtually indestructible, and I don’t know anyone who’s tried them and not liked them. When you compare the small chance of not liking these things to the potential for eliminating your forearm pain, it’s really a no-brainer.

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Tendonitis and Tendonosis – Can I have both?

I make a big deal out of distinguishing between tendonitis and tendonosis, but it’s perfectly possible to have both at the same time. In fact, it’s likely. Here’s what happens:

You do some repetitive movement for a while and something is not exactly perfectly aligned in your body (i.e., your movement pattern is wrong, etc.) or else you just do the movement so often that your body can’t recover completely. (Recovery issues are particularly important for hard-training athletes and older folks.) This starts to wear down the tendon, causing micro-tears and fraying. This is the beginning of tendonosis, although you don’t notice it yet.

After the damage passes a certain point it triggers a “fix it” response. Your body, trying to repair itself, will cause inflammation to occur, which brings with it the pain that causes you to notice on a conscious level that Something Is Wrong.

This is the point where most people will say, “Hey, I’ve got tendonitis.” From here, a couple of things can happen:

(1) You try to ignore the pain and work through it. Although the most common response, this is doomed to failure and will eventually lead to (2) below.

(2) You take NSAIDs, use ice, rest the area, etc. (the usual prescription for tendonitis).

Now there are two possible outcomes:

(2a) You didn’t have all that much tendon damage to begin with, and what you did have has been repaired to the point that you no longer feel pain. Congratulations, you’re cured!
(2b) You (may) feel some relief from the reduced inflammation, but you still have a considerable amount of pain. This means that while your anti-tendonitis regimen is working on the inflammation, the underlying tendonosis condition is severe enough that it has not been, and still is not being, fully repaired.

At this point, further anti-tendonitis measures like NSAIDs and so on are probably not going to help. You need to actively repair the damaged tendons – which is what I cover in detail in my book.