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Kettlebell Wrist pain and wrist guard

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Abdul-Rasheed

Abdul-Rasheed

Level 6 Valued Member
When a kettlebell (16kg or higher) rests on my wrist (during TGUs or cleans) it hurts a lot, because of soft skin or pinch on the soft muscles/tissues. It is not a joint pain. I have a long hand, long wrist I think. When I do a TGU or a clean, I have been not able to straighten the wrists perfectly, and it was bending slighly backwards just a tiny bit (not a lot). Looks like this caused a minor nagging joint main in my right wrist. This bothers me.

What do you think of using a wrist guard with kettlebells? I saw a few on amazon.
Do you think the wrist guards will someow weaken my wrist (joint?) strength?
Do you think the the skin/tissue pain will get better and pain will go away over time?
 
Maybe the space between the handle and the bell is relatively short. Then it happens, that the bell rests almost on the back of the hand. That hurts, and your hand has a bad leverage to be straight. E.g. I do currently S&S swings with 47k (thinner handle, but short distance between handle and bell), and get ups with50k (the opposite than the 47k, but therefore resting more in forearm direction, no problem to have my hands straight).
You could make sure, that the line of the handle runs diagonaly on your hand. Then the bell sits maximaly in forearm direction. I use simple sweatbands as "protection", that works for me.
 
Abdul - first I wish to express my apologies for addressing you as Arasheed in an earlier post. I don't know if I misread your title or if you have changed it after I addressed you that way.

My personal experience with strapping leads me to believe that most (if not all) strapping is mostly a feel good measure that really does nothing. Our ligaments and tendons have evolved to withstand thousands of pounds of tension and torsion at the same time. No cloth bandage strapped to the skin will ever be a substitute for a healthy joint with in tact ligaments and tendons.

Unless you have a particular injury where the wrist ligaments or tendons have been severed, then I'd suggest that strapping will inhibit your ability to lock your joints in a healthy way.

People with injuries such as torn ligaments can benefit from strapping that reduces the ROM to a safe degree but for the most part strapping is feelgood BS.

If the bell is hitting directly on a joint when you clean it because of your body mechanics, maybe the handle is too short, but that would be very rare.

We all go through the pain of banged up forearms until we develop good form and our forearms toughen up, normally only a few weeks.

That pain will go away in less than two months - just keep your wrists fixed in a strong position and refine your technique so the bell is not banging hard on the back of of your wrists.
 
this is where a bit of goosenecking could be helpful - i know some in this forum guide against goosnecking the arm/wrist/hand during the get up and at the top of the clean, but a tiny bit will go a long way toward addressing the issue you describe. a direct quote from page 64 of ETK, "Roll onto your right side and spear your right hand deep inside the handle. Gooseneck your wrist slightly to counter the kettlebell’s determination to hyperextend your wrist. Grip the handle moderately. Keep it that way for the duration." practice this technique and wrist guards will become a thought of the past.
 
I've collected a couple of bruises on both wrists this first week of training. The 16kg is rather uncomfortable. I tried the 24kg and it felt better. Unfortunately I couldn't keep the kb in control and had to abort coming out of the part where you sweep the leg into lunge position. Yep, the 24kg is the boss now, but not for long!
 
Harald Motz said:
Maybe the space between the handle and the bell is relatively short. Then it happens, that the bell rests almost on the back of the hand. That hurts, and your hand has a bad leverage to be straight. ...You could make sure, that the line of the handle runs diagonaly on your hand. Then the bell sits maximaly in forearm direction. I use simple sweatbands as "protection", that works for me.
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@Harald Motz I think I have tried all possible angles. Let me look into it again.

Tarzan said:
Abdul - first I wish to express my apologies for addressing you as Arasheed in an earlier post. I don't know if I misread your title or if you have changed it after I addressed you that way.
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@Tarzan No need, that is how my name appeared before. I had it changed via Steve. :)

Tarzan said:
No cloth bandage strapped to the skin will ever be a substitute for a healthy joint with in tact ligaments and tendons.
....
Unless you have a particular injury where the wrist ligaments or tendons have been severed, then I'd suggest that strapping will inhibit your ability to lock your joints in a healthy way.

People with injuries such as torn ligaments can benefit from strapping that reduces the ROM to a safe degree but for the most part strapping is feelgood BS.

If the bell is hitting directly on a joint when you clean it because of your body mechanics, maybe the handle is too short, but that would be very rare.
Click to expand...
@Tarzan thanks for your observations. The pain I experience is mainly skin/muscle-related, due to the of the bell and/or the size and shape of the bell. I do have a minor wrist joint pain though on the my right hand..a minor one, I think because of the slight bend backwards (just slightly, not able to straighten it, I tried because I know what is safe/recommended wrist positioning is from StrongFirst). I was thinking with the wrist guard may be it will help me in straightening the wrist more (I mean really vertical) and that will address both issues. I will post a picture of my wrist positioning.

Keep Lifting said:
this is where a bit of goosenecking could be helpful - i know some in this forum guide against goosnecking the arm/wrist/hand during the get up and at the top of the clean, but a tiny bit will go a long way toward addressing the issue you describe. a direct quote from page 64 of ETK, "Roll onto your right side and spear your right hand deep inside the handle. Gooseneck your wrist slightly to counter the kettlebell’s determination to hyperextend your wrist. Grip the handle moderately. Keep it that way for the duration." practice this technique and wrist guards will become a thought of the past.
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@Keep Lifting I will try this!

I am consulting a SFG expert (not to mention any names except to point to @Steve Freides :D) within couple of weeks. So he can correct my form if that is really the issue.
 
I used wrist guards with plastic inserts for a while. It helped make the transition. I would do as much as I could without them, but when discomfort altered technique (for example, prevented me from straightening wrist because of the extra pressure), I put them on. I don't need them anymore. Just make sure to do as much as you can without them. Perhaps rack carries with lighter weight will help. Eventually, move on to just sweat bands for the wrists. You can double up on them at first, then transition to just one, then eventually you'll be good to go. I think they recommend the double sweat band in Gray Cook/Brett Jones' Kalos Sthenos getup DVD.

In retrospect, I don't know if it was worth the $25 or whatever for the plastic wrist guards. I think using two sweat bands per side and sticking with weights that don't alter technique (through pain and discomfort) until your body adjusts is better.
 
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Thanks @jca17 yes the skin/muscle pain does indeed prevent me from straightening the wrists. I think I know how the wrist should look like, just can't do it perfectly enough due to the pain. I am going to use it for the time being with then intention of getting rid of it as soon as possible.
 
FYI, I have been using a wrist guard successfully. It works for me. When I remove it, the pain owing to skin pinch is returning. So I will continue to use it especially since I have made some progress in TGUs since.
My wrist joint positioning during TGUs is okay too; I wasn't over extending it; verified by @Steve Freides.
 
Hi Abdul. I would still recommend doing things that will get your arm used to it. Perhaps some rack carries. Cheat curl the bell into the rack position and just walk around for a while. It really surprised me when all of a sudden none of the kettlebells caused pain on my skin, because when I started, even doubling up sweat bands was too irritating to do get ups with, I needed the plastic insert ones. I don't remember exactly what I did to transition out, I think every once in a while I would just try a rep without it.
 
@jca17 Thanks for your suggestions. Sure, I will try to remove it here and then and see how it is. I am hoping that I can get rid of it eventually. As for doing rack carries I don't have the setup in my home yet. I don't use gym.
 
beephsupreme said:
I've collected a couple of bruises on both wrists this first week of training. The 16kg is rather uncomfortable. I tried the 24kg and it felt better. Unfortunately I couldn't keep the kb in control and had to abort coming out of the part where you sweep the leg into lunge position. Yep, the 24kg is the boss now, but not for long!
Click to expand...

Don't rush it though - I remember one of my abortive TGUs with a 24kg during my first S & S cycle...It wasn't pretty.
 
@Abdul Rasheed
A rack carry with a kettlebell is simple enough to set up. A picture will help more than an explanation.
Here's a video of someone describing the rack carry. Don't worry about the clean. Use a pistol grip on the handle, with the arm you will rack actually touching the kettlebell. Then curl the kettlebell up with both arms. Then ease the bell onto the forearm of the side you will hold in the rack position. In the rack position, you want the elbow to be under the fist. You want your arm pressed into the ribs without shrugging the shoulder. Other's can probably explain it better if you want more clarification. The rack position is identical to this video, he uses a clean to get there, but the cheat curl will get to the same place.

 
jca17 said:
Hi Abdul. I would still recommend doing things that will get your arm used to it. Perhaps some rack carries. Cheat curl the bell into the rack position and just walk around for a while.
Click to expand...

I was doing some rack carries with a really light weight, 15 minutes a day. Was that too long?

Within a week my left elbow, specifically a line about 4" below my elbow on the bottom of my forearm felt like it was on fire.

I stopped doing rack carries when I started S&S a little over 2 weeks ago, and the fire is gone but my elbow still bothers me.

It cramps when I use my cell phone, and it can take me up to 60 seconds to fully extend my arm sometimes.

I don't feel it during swings at all, but I do feel it during the TGU.

Thoughts?
 
@jca17 Oh I know this one, I have been trained in it during a SFG course. I was somehow thinking you are talking about barbells, don't ask me why lol. I haven't been practicing it, but surely that can change. Thank you so much. I will report back in a few weeks.
 
Lew,
Do a search for "MWod elbow" or "Jill Miller elbow" for some helpful info. Kelly comes from competitive athletics while Jill comes the Yoga community.

That said, I use wrist bands if I am doing a Snatch workout because I tend to sweat enough that it impacts keeping chalk on my hands. While I have the fancy ones from Rogue, the plate was more of a hindrance than a help. Also, the extra length did not seem to offer amy benefit over the basic Under Armour bands. When the gym temp moves past 95 and is topped off with Houston's notorious humidity they are helpful.

Since going to S&S, I have not needed them.

All the best as you move forward. Live well!
 
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