Exercising is essential for maintaining a healthy body, but sometimes pain in your hands, wrists, and arms can be a deterrent. This pain can be caused by the stress and strain that comes with working out, but it’s essential to know when it’s normal and when it’s time to seek help from a trained hand therapist.
One of the most common causes of pain in the hands, wrists, and arms during exercise lack of stretching or warm up maneuvers, working out with weights or resistance bands that are way to heavy or poor body mechanics. Then there is also the “weekend-warrior” scenario where you don’t build up your tolerance with a consistent exercise routine.
However, if the pain is sharp, focused on one spot, or accompanied by popping, clicking, or grinding sounds, it’s best to back off from the exercise re-trace your steps. Did I forget to my warm up stretches, did I skip a level of weight progression or did I not rest enough in between routines. . If the pain is accompanied by swelling, and rest and over-the-counter medications don’t help, it’s best to consult a hand therapist for a movement analysis or Upper Body Screen.
Having a therapist analyze how you move or what exercise routine you are trying to complete, will help to problem solve the pain patterns that follow you during daily functional activities. Your hand therapist will be able to create a custom treatment plan. They can assist you in becoming more flexible and stronger, which can prevent pain and injuries.
In conclusion, pain in your hands, wrists, and arms while exercising is not uncommon, but it’s essential to know when it’s normal, and when it’s time to seek help. Remember that a little soreness after exercise is normal, but sharp pain or popping, clicking, or grinding sounds are not. Don’t let pain hold you back from exercising, and seek help when needed, your hand therapist can help you to prevent and modulate pain through activity modification, hands on care and use of supportive techniques incl. Graston intervention, Kinesiotaping or bio-feedback.
