Supinator Forearm Injury Question

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
1

I’ll try to be brief but specific.

I was lifting hard and heavy as of last May. Was following the endurance template because I also mountain bike. Didn’t miss a workout for months.

One day I was shoveling mulch all day and felt a twinge in my bottom forearm, underside of arm below brachioradialis . Figured I was just tired or over used it a bit. Next day I was doing pullups and it started to hurt not just annoy me.

Took a few days off but the problem has persisted since.

Finally, a few months ago, went to my bone and joint doctor. MRI said inflammation and some fluid, no tears or anything.

Tried time away from gym, time in gym with less weight, altered exercises, but it still persisted. Had very little strength or endurance in arm. It wasn’t so much I couldn’t lift heavy, but something like picking up my son was really hard. If I was to pick up a 25 barbell by the handle, I had to use two hands to get it on the bar.

Anyway, started physical therapy a few months ago.

I am incredibly frustrated at how slow progress has been,.

My therapist is pretty good and also lifts weights, so he seems to know his stuff. He finally pinpointed it was the brachioradialis giving me issues. I did exercises: concentric curls, band work, stretches, and he would massage the heck out of it. So it started to hurt less there.

However, the other day, perhaps stupidly, I felt pretty good. Tried high rep sets of hex bar deadlifts and barbell rows and my arm was killing me the next day, I would use the word pain not discomfort.

So anyway, at therapy, he was pushing on the muscles and the supinator is such a hot spot I can barely stand him touching it. The pain was radiating up the bicep a bit. So he worked on that, it hurts like hell, but felt looser if that makes sense.

So we have kind of pinpointed that seems to be the last issue.

So my question is, how bad is it to lift around an injury like that.

  1. If I bench and squat, but don’t deadlift or row, will that cause imbalances or other issues?

  2. Should I be doing dumb bell rows or other back things at low weight high reps and see how I tolerate them? It seems anything involving major grip or pronation bothers me.

  3. Is it bad to modify by using straps so as not to have to grip a bar so tight?

  4. External braces a possibility?

  5. Is there a template I should follow? Willing to pay, I don’t expect free advice.

I have not lifted consistently in months and am just beyond frustrated. All lifts are down, noticeably weaker, irritable, softer, and I am just angry and discouraged. I am shocked how long this issue has hung on.

I had patellar tendonitis but physical therapy was a godsend and knocked it out in no time. But this arm is going on 8 months now and really impacting things.

Even thought about PRP therapy or accupuncture. Getting desperate, lol.

Appreciate any insight, guidance, or help.

Thanks.

2
  1. If I bench and squat, but don’t deadlift or row, will that cause imbalances or other issues?

Nope.

  1. Should I be doing dumb bell rows or other back things at low weight high reps and see how I tolerate them? It seems anything involving major grip or pronation bothers me.

That would be reasonable. It sounds like you were actually on the right track until you acutely overloaded the area with the hex bar day. Start by reading this article carefully: Pain in Training: What To Do?

  1. Is it bad to modify by using straps so as not to have to grip a bar so tight?

No, this is not bad.

  1. External braces a possibility?

We would not recommend this.

  1. Is there a template I should follow? Willing to pay, I don’t expect free advice.

There is no existing template for this issue, but the article above should help, and if you would like individualized advice and/or programming, we offer rehab consults via the link on our website.

3

Thanks so much for the detailed response!