• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Got Wrist Pain? How to Identify and Avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome can drastically affect strength, power, and overall athletic performance. Perform these stretches before and after weight lifting.

Levi Harrison

Written by Levi Harrison Last updated on July 28, 2014

As an orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon, I have the opportunity to take care of a wide variety of athletes from various realms of competition. Recently, I have noticed a trend among my patients, primarily those who engage in heavy weightlifting and bodybuilding. These individuals, both men and women, appear to be developing carpal tunnel syndrome at an alarming rate. 

How to Identify Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

It is clear these athletes are committed to the sport of weight training; however, their bodies are rebelling in a not-so-subtle way with the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome itself is a compression of the median nerve of the wrist (pictured below) and unfortunately, this compression causes numbness, tingling, pain, and a debilitating lack of grip strength and dexterity. 

Often, the numbness and tingling that accompanies this syndrome is more pronounced in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and a part of the ring finger. Patients will also present with complaints of episodic or constant night pain, which is a herald sign of significant carpal tunnel syndrome.

Stretches and Exercises to Prevent Wrist Pain

Listed below are several recommendations for all bodybuilders, gym-goers, and weightlifting athletes. These recommendations may help you to avoid the negative effects of carpal tunnel syndrome, which can drastically affect strength, power, and overall athletic performance. These stretches and exercises should be done before and after weight lifting.

  • Gliding exercises should be done for five minutes before lifting weights.
  • Keep the wrist in a neutral position when lifting weights as much as possible. Avoid hyperflexion and hyperextension of the wrist.
  • Stretch all fingers and your wrists before and after lifting weights.
  • Place hands and wrist in warm water before going to the gym.
  • Perform Nirschl exercises (see video below) in your post-workout stretching routine to assist in avoiding tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), which is also a common injury in the weightlifting community.
  • Wear well-padded lifting gloves when lifting weights.
  • After you finish lifting, simply flex and extend the wrists.

These suggestions should be helpful in your quest to stay healthy and lift weights, while also preventing carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist pain in general. I highly recommend lifting weights for individuals of all fitness levels, as this also helps to strengthen your bones, hence decreasing your risk for osteoporosis and osteomalacia. So keep on exercising – exercise is life!

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Levi Harrison

About Levi Harrison

Dr. Levi Harrison earned his medical degree at the University of California at Davis, School of Medicine and completed fellowship at the internationally renowned Indiana Hand Center in Indianapolis. He completed his Orthopedic Surgery residency in Los Angeles where he now resides and sees patients.

Dr. Harrison's practice is the center of excellence for sports-related upper extremity and shoulder injuries, as well as hand rehabilitation. He has a special interest in hand and wrist trauma and fracture care. He also provides exceptional care in the area of repetitive motion, work-related injuries, and aesthetic and restorative hand function procedures.

Dr. Harrison's medical practice serves a culturally diverse population comprised of elite collegiate and professional athletes, celebrities, and service personal that includes fire fighters, police officers, armed service personal, teachers, secretaries, artists, and musicians. He offers a wide variety of customized weight loss and training modules to assist patients in attaining their lifestyle and fitness goals. In addition to being an avid sports enthusiast, fitness expert, motivational speaker, and philanthropist, he hosts a weekly radio show on LA Talk radio.

Dr. Harrison has developed his skills during more than two decades of education and training, and as such, he finds himself guided by three core values: commitment, compassion, and service, which he shares in his life and daily practice.

In his own words: “My mission is to heal, restore and rejuvenate with compassion and integrity. I am grateful to provide clinical and surgical excellence to support my patients as they return to an improved quality of life. My involvement in the community extends beyond my practice into the lives of those I serve through motivation, fitness and healthy living and weight management presentations.”

You can learn more about Dr. Levi Harrison on his Facebook, Twitter, and website.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

scarsandmobility
The Relationship Between Scars and Mobility
cyrringmuscularman1
Balance and Efficiency: A Method to Stabilize Your Body
womanrunninginforest
5 Essential Yoga Poses for Runners
Rethink What It Means to Be Mobile

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Strongman Legend Hafthor Björnsson Receives International Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Iain Valliere Believes the 212 Division Should No Longer Exist in Bodybuilding

Ryan Terry Diagrams His Ambitious 1,874-Calorie Mass-Building Protein Shake

Andrew Jacked’s Trainer Thinks His “Best” Will Come at 2023 Arnold Classic

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About