[Mi|es]

Basically, on the top of my forearm (i.e. opposite side to my palm) about half way between my elbow and wrist I'm experiencing pain.  When I'm not climbing it can ache a bit (not particularly painful but I'm worried it could worsen) and when I am climbing it can give quite a sharp pain when I move the hand on that arm from one hold to another (it's the releasing of the initial hold that hurts,it can sometimes feel as if something within is 'pinging' a bit), especially if I'm crimping fairly hard with that hand.  It can also be quite painful when I pull hard on a bad hold, i.e. before I release my hand, (I think it tends to be worse on crimps than slopers) but this is rarer and tends to be after a longer, harder session.  When I've been climbing harder, typically bouldering rather than doing routes, it can be quite tender so that simply applying pressure to the area causes pain.  However, there doesn't seem to be any pain in my elbow at all (I've had problems with that before but I seem to have it under control at the moment).

From what I've read, the problem I have is that there is muscle imbalance in my forearm where the muscle on the palm side of my forearm is disproportionately larger and since the tendon/ligament on the other side is weaker it is somehow being damaged causing the pain.  From what I've seen, the solution to this is eccentric reverse wrist curls ( from 1:00 if, like me, you didn't know what that was either). 

My question is whether my diagnosis seems correct to you guys and whether the proposed solution is right/could be improved upon.  Any kind of insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance :D

EDIT: Also, if I am taking the right course of action, what should I do in terms of climbing, I imagine it's best not to continue redpointing hard stuff, would ARCing or something similar be a good idea for now?

[mrjonathanr]

Have I got this right: you've got pain and you're asking whether it's worth trying to step down your activity to a level that doesn't cause pain?

I don't know the answer to your problem btw, but I'm about as convinced of the accuracy of your explanation as you are.
Clearly there is some tissue damage in the tender area which becomes inflamed with use, that's why it's tender. So you've got some inflammation, none at tendon insertions/origins but sounds like some where the body of the muscle is. I'd follow the logic, and see where it leads... Probably to a physio, but snake oil's good too.

[Mi|es]

I've stepped down the activity before and it gets better but then I start to climb harder again and it comes back.  Clearly just resting isn't the solution, I'm asking if anyone has experience with this sort of thing and has an opinion on my diagnosis and whether my proposed solution (eccentric reverse wrist curls) seems the best one.

[The Sausage]

If you're worried about it, get it seen to. If your car was making a terrible noise and belching out black smoke, you'd chuck some £££ at it to get it better.
It sounds like some sort of tear at the musculo-tendinous junction. The usual rest/ice/anti-inflammatory advice certainly won't do it any harm. Any activity that doesn't flare it up should be fine. Once the inflammation has settled a bit, some reverse wrist curl things probably isn't a bad idea - basically, if it's a tear, you need to gently stretch & load the fibres as they heal to prevent scar tissue build up.

[Mi|es]

Yeah that's true, it's just being a student I don't have much money to spend on physios etc if I can fix it myself.  Thanks for the advice, I'll try to go easy on it for now and get stretching/curling.

[mrjonathanr]

Get referred by your GP. See what happens, could be great, could be a waste of time. One thing's for sure, if it drags on and you didn't bother, you'll probably wished you'd made the effort.

[Mi|es]

Out of interest, how do I get referred by my GP? I'd have thought if I went to see him he'd just tell me to rest.  Do I have to ask for a referral or what?

[slackline]

You could ask, and if they say "Well I think you should rest for X weeks and see if clears up, if not come back and see me for a referral" you then wait do as advised (of course if you have genuinely already been resting and it hasn't made any difference at all then you should say so to avoid that part of the too-ing and fro-ing).

[Fultonius]

Out of interest, how do I get referred by my GP? I'd have thought if I went to see him he'd just tell me to rest.  Do I have to ask for a referral or what?

Just make up some shit about it "causing you probelms at work", "not sleeping properly"...lay it on think and say you feel a referral to a physio would be beneficial - usually works!

[ricktheclinic]

eccentric strengthening is the first line treatment for tendonosis (degeneration of tendon seen in tennis elbow etc). 3 sets of 15 3 x daily. expect it to be slightly more sore in the first 2 weeks and then begin to improve.  Increase the weight as you are able to with out increasing pain. keep doing this exercise for at least 3 months for maximal tendon recovery.  However the symptoms you describe are not classic  tennis elbow usually there is some tenderness around  the outer most bony bit of the elbow and pain when you resist extending the wrist. You also often get increased tension and knots within the muscles that attach to the tendon and this maybe the  cause of the pain. I would suggest trying the exercise and if you get no improvement within a month seek expert advice.

[Mi|es]

Yeah I think I've had mild tendonosis before but I'm pretty certain this isn't it (no elbow pain).  I've been stretching and doing eccentric reverse wrist curls (as well as not pulling too hard when climbing) since I first posted and so far there's been some improvement.  I guess whatever's wrong with me, what I'm doing seems to be working so I'll continue and see what happens.  Thanks for your post rick