forearms hurt after barbell curls

[nolanb123]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you could help...

My forearms hurt like hell after performing heavy barbell curls.

Does this mean my forearms are weak and I need to do forearm curls and reverse curls until they get stronger?

Should I use an EZ curl bar instead?

Has anybody had similar pains and remedied them?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanx.

 

[nolanb123]

I see crazeinc addressed this problem already...
my bad!

 

[wootoom]

man i have the same thing. i have been taking glucosamine and chrondoitin. and a muscel rub and it seems to be helping. when i do curls the pains just shoots up my arms it sucks.

 

[danielson]

clench your hand into a fist. now do he forearm curl motion. and then go back he other way, pronating it

which way if any produces pain?

 

[nolanb123]

The bottom edge where the bone is right up against the skin.
The pain seems to originate midway between wrist and elbow.

 

[oubeta]

My elbow hurts for weeks after curls. I think i have chronic inflamation in my elbow,, no more Viox

 

[ManOfArms]

My elbow hurts for weeks after curls. I think i have chronic inflamation in my elbow,, no more Viox

I've had this problem several times throughout the years. If I do any type of barbell curls, easy bar or straight, I have this intense pain between my wrist and elbow. If I use the straight bar, the pain is even more intense. I've heard from several other guys in the gym and in other forums complaining about the same exact pain. I never seen a Dr about this, maybe I should have, but for the time being, I've stuck to dbells (although the pain hasn't totally dissipated).

 

[bigstve12]

work your wrist extensors guys. They are very underdeveloped in lifters, muscle imbalance and overuse is probably causing a bit of tendonitis. during the day put a rubberband on your fingers and open and close them...do like 100 reps each hand. let me know how it goes...worked wonders for me

 

[Joester]

Big Steve is on it again.
Tendonitis can be hell and back.

 

[ManOfArms]

work your wrist extensors guys. They are very underdeveloped in lifters, muscle imbalance and overuse is probably causing a bit of tendonitis. during the day put a rubberband on your fingers and open and close them...do like 100 reps each hand. let me know how it goes...worked wonders for me

I have to try this, thanks, I hope to be back to this thread in a couple of months to see if it worked.

 

[D.C.]

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) who's pratice specializes in sports injury. I have gone through this same type of weight lifting problem myself when I was in my early 20's. So here is my opinion for elbow tendonitis....

The solution is not taking some kind of anti inflammatory drugs that will damage your liver and kidneys over time, the solution to this type of condition is the correction of the biomechanics used with the lift (curl). Using a straight bar to do curls with is damaging to your elbow joints from the very start. When you grab a straight bar in a bicep curl position, you are externally rotating your elbow joint (turning the palms of your hands out which turns elbow out) to its limit and then curling the weight. This amount of un-natural positioning of the elbow causes tremendous amounts of wear and tear on the elbow joint (ligaments, tendons, cartilage). TO CORRECT THIS, due your curls not using a bar but instead using dumbells or universal grips with a more neutral type of position. Make sure your arms are not turned out too far; about 45 degrees from your side at the most. Anotherwords, when you are standing up with your arms naturally at your side, look at the way your hands are positioned. The palms of your hands are facing the sides of your legs. Now turn your hands out about 45 degrees (1/4 turn) and this is the position you should be holding the weight when curling. The position should look like its between a hammer curl position and a straight bar position.

If you presently have elbow and/or forearm pain, make sure you use very light weight if you are to curl. There should be extremely little if no pain at all when curling with the correct amount of weight. Over the next couple months increase the amount of weight gradually with the new curling position I explained above. Make sure that the curls do not bother your elbows/forearms. If they do, decrease the weight curled until it doesn't cause pain. It will take time 4+ weeks on average to start getting back at the weight you want to curl. REMENBER, ICE IS YOUR FRIEND, I RECOMMEND YOU ICE YOUR PAIN AREA ABOUT 4-5 TIMES DAILY WITH AT LEAST ONE HOUR IN BETWEEN ICINGS. Ice for about 25 minutes each time with one layer of t-shirt in between the ice pack and your skin. Becareful of ice burns.

Also doing very light forearm curls and extensions with very light dumbells is a good idea to strenghten the damaged tissue in the elbow joint.

Treatment from a Chiropractor who deals with extremity (elbow, etc) and spinal adjusting may help greatly.

What I wrote above is my opinion as a Doctor. Treatment plans will vary from patient to patient depending on the exact condition and the severity of it. If you decide to take any of my opinions, do at your own risk.

If you have any questions, post them in this forum and I will give you my opinion!

 

[bigstve12]

but without full supination the biceps brachii wont be worked to the full extent. Yes the brachialis is responsible for most force produced during forearm flexion, but its the biceps brachii that most lifters want to develop to show some size in the arms and this isnt possible without supination.

 

[B0dybuilder]

Had exactly the same problem.. still get it on the odd occasion... Doc's right , using a hammer will releive this problem, but like most guys i still love doing my Preacher curls! I just droped did hammer curls first, some stretching on my Forearm flexors and then hit the Preacher.. no problems!