Arm pain, not arm pump...ideas?

[stormer94]

I'm 37, reasonably outta shape, but riding enough lately that I'm over most of the pain that new guys get.

What I've gotten the last 2 times we've ridden is a serious pain in my right arm 3-4" inches up from the wrist, and pretty much straight back from the thumb. Really notice it after a hard rear tire first landing, or any real hard landing. I haven't had any 'get-offs' and I've never had trouble with it or had a previous injury that might be flaring up.

If I move the wrist up and down, like I'd be using the throttle, you can feel it, but it's not bad. If I push on the spot on the arm and move the range of motion like the throttle would, it's kinda painful, and it doesn't take much pressure to make it unbearable. Like I mentioned above, it's the right hand, inside of the arm thumbside about 3-4 inches back from the wrist. Grip is good, with fingers and thumb, and there is no increase or decrease in pain from gripping.

Did I pull something in there? Is it possible I cracked it or tweaked it hard and it's healing? I've never broken anything, so I don't know what that feels like. It's just a nagging kind of thing. Wonder if anybody had any insight.

A riding buddy complained of a similar thing today, so it got me thinking.

Thanks for the thoughts.
Bob

 

[Jaybird]

I had a similar pain for years. It seems it was work related. I didn't do any one thing to cause it, just repeated heavy lifting. Seems I had a bone that had actually fractured in my wrist. This bone was re-fractured many times until it had "died" according to the ortho. In my case I underwent an experimental surgery that actually took about a 3mm hunk out of my arm bone. I got lucky and was one of the 60% that the procedure seems to work for.
If your problem persists , I would go have an Ortho look at it. I still have problems with that wrist pain from time to time, but I find it's because I tend to grip too tight. Try gripping more with your knees, it will help reduce the tension on your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders....it does make a difference.
Try riding no hands with just your feet on the pegs, then try it sqeezing with your legs. (be careful with the former) There is no comparison in the control difference. You have little or no control with no leg pressure so you need to grip and do all the controling with your arms... with leg pressure, very little is needed from your arms.

 

[stormer94]

Yea, nothing to do with the wrist, just the arm, but I suspect the same theory may apply.

I can put pressure on the wrist and try to re-sist movement in the arm itself in all directions and the pain does not change. So I don't believe it's the bone...Maybe it's a tendon / ligament thing. IT's almost as though I can here things in there moving, popping, snapping. I can feel them.

Bob

 

[Jaybird]

I didn't know till x-rays it was a bone in my wrist causing the problem. If you hear snapping and popping, it's doubtful that it's comming from anywhere besides a joint. I also wondered why they wanted to shorten my radius to heal a broken bone in the wrist.
I'd get it looked at just in case.

 

[Saratoga]

Why don't you have a doctor look at it ? I know I am suggesting the obvious. Just my 02 cents worth. In my opinion. For what it's worth.

 

[stormer94]

Went riding yesterday, and it still hurt, but toward the end of the ride, it was a lot less. Now today, it's not bad.

I think I'm pulling some muscle, or straining something.

Bob

 

[Showtime_144]

Just read your post and it reminded me of a motocross magazine I had gotten awhile ago and there was an article about wrist, hand, forearm injuries and none of them sound to good at all. It was saying if you leave them untreated it would just keep getting worse. There was one that sort of sounded like yours but it said you would have some swelling. But if I were you I would have it check out just in incase.

 

[slickhenry]

I have recently had something like this and it turned out to be a "bersitis like" inflamation in the muscles and/or connective tissues. Heat, excersise, and some anti-inflamitories (Advil) cleared it up in a week or so.
However I also stress fractured both my forearms lifting weights when I was younger and it didnt feel too much different. In my old age (34) I have found that seeing a doc is the better part of valor and I can get healed up faster and get back to riding hard.

 

[ted jackson]

forearm pain

your pain sounds like tendonitis in the forearm. (specifically the first two tendons to your thumb,) it's called Dequervain's tendonitis. You can wear a wrist splint sometimes (or better, a thumb-wrist splint) and take 3 ibuprofens before you ride. Ignore this if you have an allergy or medical condition that excludes use of ibuprofen. If you see a doc, a cortisone shot works wonders, and if that fails the surgical fix is real easy.