Are there exercises designed to strengthen tendons in the forearm?

hatrickpatrick · 04-10-2013 12:32pm #1

I would imagine a lot of you will already be familiar with this, but I'm getting that pain in my forearms everytime I do curls, particularly on the lowering half of each rep and at the moment I release my grip after putting down the weight at the end of a set, which I've been informed is likely the onset of tendinitis. I've decided to knock the barbell on the head for a few days and see if there's any improvement.

My question is, once this has healed, are there any exercises designed specifically to target the forearm? And can tendons be strengthened or lengthened through specific exercises? Basically I'm just wondering if this, like a muscle issue, can simply be trained over time to be able to cope with the lifts I'm doing so this never happens again, or is it more of a person-specific thing whereby some people just aren't built to be able to do curls without hurting the forearm? Can it be changed, or is the strength of that area innate?

I'm optimistic as I generally believe that almost anything in the human body can be improved with the proper methods.

NOTE: One thing people have said to me is to open my fist very slowly as I let go of the weight, and this will make it easier. It does - but that obviously means something in my arm is weaker than in people who are able to do it without this, and it's that inherent weakness I'm looking to change.

One more thing is that I notice the angle of my forearm is a little odd - even just now, sitting down with no weight, it feels quote unnatural to straighten it so that my hand directly faces my shoulder / face - it's much more comfortable having my hands facing eachother. Consequently, hammer curls are quite comfortable for me - just wondering is this something that's true for everyone or again is it indicative of a specific issue with how my body is put together?

Hanley · 04-10-2013 12:48pm

What makes you think it's tendon related?

amazingemmet · 04-10-2013 12:52pm

Ok the things you have to look after in tendon care are:

Inflammation: If everything is inflamed then you need to rest it, I know some people swear by high dose fish oil, others ice and some heat, try some and find what works for you

Tissue quality: Tendons in the forearm tend to get "stuck down" and not moving freely over each other. I found the "graston" technique to be great on forearms. You can replicate it at home

Train all directions of forearms movement: Flexion, extension, radial flexion, ulnar flexion, supination, pronation. When training forearms due to the short range of motion the time under tension is quite low so you need to shift the rep ranges a little for optimal stimulation ie where you'd do sets of 5 for strength you need to do sets of 8 etc

Tendons respond to two types of stimulation the best:

Eccentric loading this will cause hypertrophy of the tendon, thicker tendons are general more resilient

High reps 50-100 rep sets tendons have poor bloodflow so doing some high reps sets will increase circulation. The more blood you can pass through something the better the healing imo

Also a tight pec minor can present as elbow pain. Might be worth looking at that too

Hanley · 04-10-2013 12:53pm

amazingemmet wrote: »

Train all directions of forearms movement: Flexion, extension, radial flexion, ulnar flexion, supination, pronation. When training forearms due to the short range of motion the time under tension is quite low so you need to shift the rep ranges a little for optimal stimulation ie where you'd do sets of 5 for strength you need to do sets of 8 etc

BIG NB on this one!!!!

Excellent.

Also don't forget finger extension work. We close our hands against resistance all the time but never open it loaded.

amazingemmet · 04-10-2013 1:00pm

Hanley wrote: »

BIG NB on this one!!!! Excellent.

Also don't forget finger extension work. We close our hands against resistance all the time but never open it loaded.

I'm unsold on the merits of going heavy on finger extensions but doing some high rep stuff with a light elastic band is good.

Hanley · 04-10-2013 1:09pm

amazingemmet wrote: »

I'm unsold on the merits of going heavy on finger extensions but doing some high rep stuff with a light elastic band is good.

Not heavy... but loaded

hatrickpatrick · 04-10-2013 2:10pm

Friend of mine is a physiotherapist and he told me it was most likely a tendon thing, plus it really doesn't feel like a muscle issue at all. The pain sort of runs along the back of my arm (the hairy side

) but not the other side, it's pretty much directly between my elbow and wrist. Don't want any online medical advice though so for the moment I'm sticking with my friend's advice even if he is newly qualified

So I'm basically following his advice and resting it for a while, just wondering once it's better if there are steps I can take to strengthen my forearm so this can't happen again?

Also, I get it on both sides and far more from doing barbell curls than dumbbells (it's like my hands simply don't want to remain in a straight line as I move the weight up, they "want" to rotate on the way up) which is what makes me wonder if it's an issue with how my body is put together, and if the shape of my arms simply isn't conducive to being able to do barbell curls at all? Are there some people who just aren't the right shape for certain exercises?

Hanley · 04-10-2013 2:29pm

your physio mate told you what the issue is, and you're asking boards what to do help it...?

Does your mate not have any advice what to do once you've rested it...?

Are there exercises designed to strengthen tendons in the forearm?

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