Forearms injury

michal potepa

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I decided to post my question because my injury is bit unusual and just recently after few years of it i found one person with the same symptoms but he didn't find the proper heal for it. It's happening from time to time sometimes when i don't warm up properly, sometimes after repeating new - usually hard (my max) problem, trying and trying for little too long. The symptoms are every time the same. Very strong pain (depends how tough the injury is but usually quit bad) in form the forearms starting from the wrist up to the middle of the forearms (ex 4 to 5 hours after session all adrenaline is coming down and pain kicks in). The forearms are bit swollen or stiff. After 2,3 days pain is gone but strength goes down to 10%. I just cant pull or pinch smaller holds. It's feels like my tendons in the forearms are blocked. The thing is that the problem is quit serious because resting does not help. I did it many times and after coming back from the brake tried to climb but usually end up in same pain, swollen forearms etc. I developed my own training to fix it but i still after few years didnt find the way to fix it completely. Let me know if anybody got something similar cheers

6 replies

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Bjoern Alber

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Hi Michai This most likely is a kind of comparment syndrome - that is you work out so hard that your muscles swells to a state where cirkulation is serverly impaired. Once there the condition perpetuates itself. Massage, heating and cooling the forarm , electrostimulating circulation and antiflogistics might be helpful in the acute phase. Try not getting there by performing alternative training to get your forarm cirkulation up ( longer cirquits on bigger hold, paddling, etc.). In some cases the restriction is so severe that you have to have the muscular faschias surgicxally opened but this is far from an ideal solution. Good luck training yoor forarms :-) Björn

Stuart McNeil

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Thanks for posting this Michal and many thanks for the reply Dr 8a. This is interesting, I'm suffering from a similar complaint and my physio thought it may be compartment syndrome, he had never seen it in the forearm before, only lower legs of runners. I've since changed training from mainly bouldering to long easy routes to try to increase blood flow and lean the forearm muscles down, I've been doing this for about 4 weeks now and improvements are slow. I've also seen a sports injury masseuse. Does that sound like a sensible short term solution? Do you think this alone can sure the problem or is more direct medical intervention needed? I've also read that the problem can change from acute to chronic, how can I know/find what stage the issue is at? Thanks, Stu

michal potepa

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Hello stu. The thing is that from my exprience i can say that this injury is impossible to fix. I found another guy who got similar story and he actually visited one of the best specialist from the forearms and wrists injuries and he just sad that some people got "weird" muscle, bone etc structure like us and without climbing we'll never find out about things like that. Try my training going on easy stuff up and down for 15 min, not traversing. Let's say 3 or 4 sets. Two, three days in the row. That sorts me out ususally. Bjorn sad not to do this sort of training but like i stated it before that's the only way to fix them, it's been happening to me last 8 years to the point where i gave up climbing for couple of year. Anyway posted it more to find out if there is more people with similar thing and how they are working it out, michal

Adrian Cighi

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Michal, I was reading your comments on the 8a.nu forum regarding the forearm injury. You mentioned that " Try my training going on easy stuff up and down for 15 min, not traversing. Let's say 3 or 4 sets. Two, three days in the row. That sorts me out ususally.". Do you do this training after a few days of rest after the injury? I am getting this forearm "pump" quite fast after starting my training, and not quite sure how to work it out. Thanks!

Petri Roetkoe

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Sounds like I have something similar too, im seeing a very good physiotherapist and she recommended sports massages after strenous training(climbing). Another short-term solution is to apply a very light layer of sportstape to forearms(from wrist to about halfway to elbow) to give some support. Getting rid of this needs a very specific training program that strenghtens the muscles that have fallen behind of the rest of them. This is ofc just my case. I suggest seeing a physiotherapist or someone who could help you set a personalized training routine just for you.

Robert Tyreone

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I too have had this problem. It's occurred many times over my nine years of climbing, although it's sporatic. The first time was the most serious and worrysome. My forearms swelled to the point that it was very visible and disgusting and soooo painful. It took over a mointh to regain the strength. My strategy: short sessions and continuous training. I've found that coming back from a break and having a hard session is the cause of my malady. I train every day that I don't climb, except one real rest day per week. I haven't had a serious episode in over a year. Just remember, you can recover and climb hard another day!