Strange wrist injury

[confuzzl3don3]

Ok so yesterday i did my usual workout - squats/bench/powercleans. Everything was fine, my wrist was fine. Now today i wake up and i found that my left wrist is painful but only in certain movements. If i put my arm out pronated it doesn't really hurt when i flex, extend and move it side to side. It just feels a bit tight. Once i supinate my arm, there is automatically a sharp pain seeming to be right along the ulna near the head starting from around the styloid process. It hurts to move it any direction too (flexing, extending, moving it laterally and medially). I have no idea how this happened because yesterday even after my workout in the morning it didn't hurt for the rest of the day.

[tnumrych]

Ok so yesterday i did my usual workout - squats/bench/powercleans. Everything was fine, my wrist was fine. Now today i wake up and i found that my left wrist is painful but only in certain movements. If i put my arm out pronated it doesn't really hurt when i flex, extend and move it side to side. It just feels a bit tight. Once i supinate my arm, there is automatically a sharp pain seeming to be right along the ulna near the head starting from around the styloid process. It hurts to move it any direction too (flexing, extending, moving it laterally and medially). I have no idea how this happened because yesterday even after my workout in the morning it didn't hurt for the rest of the day.

Just to clear this up (for me), with elbow extended, arm in supination, the pain is felt in the wrist performing flexion/extension/adduction/abduction/adduction? Well, since I don't have an anatomy book with me here, a quick wikipedia search reveals that the styloid is the attachment side for the wrist ulnar collateral ligament, the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon is located nearby, as well as the triangular articular disk. The hand is such a complex structure that it's probably really tough to pinpoint the sole culprit and with referred pain doing its thing. That isn't really that crucial at this stage of injury anyways, but inflammatory response management is. I'm neither qualified or able to help you from here, but I would just RICE the shit out of it for the rest of the weekend, and supplement with Vitamin I and see how it feels Monday.

I will bet however on the Power Cleans being the offending exercise as they tend to be tough on the wrists (did you use the same bar as always, does it spin?)

[confuzzl3don3]

Yep you were right, although today the pain seemed to be worse in that a variety of wrist positions are now painful. I'm hoping its not a bone thing but just a small muscle thing. RICE seems like a good idea, and hopefully tomorow it will be ok. I think i can still squat, but i'm not sure about presses. And i doubt i'll be able to PC. I'm starting to think it wasn't the actual powerclean racks that screwed me up, but rather unracking the bar and having the weight drop onto my thighs and then lowering the bar. Although it still could be the racks.

Oh yeah and my bar spins

[Dastardly]

What, no masturbation jokes? :confused:

I know someone who simulatneously snapped both wrists messing about in a playground.

I fractured my wrist last year, slipping i the bathroom. I was so embarrassed I did not tell anyone!

Just go easy on it for a while, I sure it will be get better pretty soon. You could even use a wrist wrap in the meantime to help you continue training.

Also make sure your squat grip isnt putting excessive stress on your wrist. I had the wrong grip for a long time and it was very straining on the wrists & elbows.

[Platus]

I sprained my wrist doing cleans a while back. One hand slipped off the bar, while the other hand tried to hold onto the bar, twisting my wrist. I really hurt when I supinated my hand - for instance, I could struggle through a couple of pullups, but chinups really hurt at first.

I did RICE and I wore a neoprene wrist sleeve on and off for a couple of weeks. I wore a wrist strap during heavy pressing movements, but otherwise I just worked through it. I was probably 2-3 months before chinups felt fine again, but most of the pain subsided within a month.

[confuzzl3don3]

Ouch that sounds bad. Yeah i'll try to make sure my squats don't aggravate it, which i don't think they did in today's workout. I gave the cleans a miss, but i could press fine. Hopefully a speedy recovery.

The strangest thing is though, is that when i squat or press or whatever, and am forced to use firm grip, straight after the exercise and during, i will feel no pain, doing any of the wrist movements (even arm supine). I only feel some tightness, but after a while the pain will creep back.