Pain in forearm while lifting

[foolscape]

This is a strange one. I have an intense pain in my right forearm while lifting weights. It is located in the center back of my right forearm, slightly to the left, and shows up during upright rowing, shouldder lifts (when my arms are extended away from my body), and curls. Other than that I don't notice it. I took a month off of weight lifting, and thought it was gone, but the moment I started again, it came back.

Any help would be much appreciated.

--Gary

[Heidi]

Hi

Did you go through a stage of increasing the weight you were lifting quickly? If not, check your wrist position when performing these exercises, it should be a perfectly straight line (no flexion/extension).

Pain and inflammation in forearm muscles is not uncommon, usually due to overuse, which is why i ask these questions. There may well be trigger points within the muscle which need releasing. Check out this page:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/wrist_forearm/inflammusctend.htm

I would visit a sports massage therapist who should be able to treat this for you, and with some massage, another rest period and gradual return with careful attention to your forearm/wrist posture, you should find a considerable improvement

Heidi

[foolscape]

Thanks!

Actually, I was decreasing weight, and doing longer sets.

The odd thing about it is that it's a very small area, no more than an inch or so long, and burried deep in the forearm muscle.

I'll monitor my posture. I've had so many injuries lately that I seem to be doing mostly physical theripy in the gym these days.

--Gary

[foolscape]

My doctor told me that it's tennis elbow, but I have no pain in the elbow. I thought it could be entrapment of the radial nerve, but I'm not sure. My fingers do become numb every now and again. On the site, there's something called "Mills test." I did get pain the the forearm while doing it.
Thanks!
--Gary

[Heidi]

If its radial nerve entrapment you should find the pain is about 4-5cm below the lateral epicondyle (lateral elbow bone). You may get numbness/tingling in the hand/fingers and an aching sensation higher up, above the elbow.

There will also be marked pain on resisted supination with the elbow bent to 90 degrees. To test this, get someone to resist as you turn your hand over from palm facing down, to palm facing up.