Wrist pain ulna side

I’m not sure if it’s a tfcc tear because it doesnt sound as severe as the symptoms ive read. It hurts in all of the motions that a tfcc tear would have, but one thing is that even after climbing, my wrist usually feels fine the next day morning. In fact, in the morning, my wrist feels pretty good, but throughout the day, it’ll start to hurt kore and more. I still went climbing with it because although it hurts immediately after, the next morning it feels better than last morning. This was up until this weekend, where i noticed it hasnt been improving every morning. It’s stayed relatively the same. I’m wearing a wrist widget but it doesnt seem to help that much since it mainly hurts going side to side, and i’m already pretty good on not moving it as much. Any advice? I’m going off to college in a week so i’ll be seeing a physical therapist there, since I figured it might be a bit difficult to get everything diagnosed in a week.

Had a similar issue. Mine was inflammation of the ulnar tendon. The tfcc wrist widget actually made the injury much worse as it just rubbed on the tendon. I solved the issue with the classic high volume extension work; palm up lowering a weight into an undercling, with weight going from thumb up to palm up, and rice bucketing. The usual tendon tricks. Hope this helps!

Edit: go get an MRI if you have good insurance, itll be much more conclusive. 

Misha Sweeney wrote:

Had a similar issue. Mine was inflammation of the ulnar tendon. The tfcc wrist widget actually made the injury much worse as it just rubbed on the tendon. I solved the issue with the classic high volume extension work; palm up lowering a weight into an undercling, with weight going from thumb up to palm up, and rice bucketing. The usual tendon tricks. Hope this helps!

Edit: go get an MRI if you have good insurance, itll be much more conclusive. 

Did you do those exercises while your wrist was still hurting? How long did it take to get better for you?

Yeah I mean the wrist really didnt stop hurting for like a half year but I was back to limit bouldering with underclings in like 2-3 months? I still do the exercises occasionally and my wrist still hurts somewhat on moves where the pinky is close to the arm. Much better though. I started the exercises as soon as I realized it wasn't the tfcc... hence the importance of getting the mri.

Misha Sweeney wrote:

Yeah I mean the wrist really didnt stop hurting for like a half year but I was back to limit bouldering with underclings in like 2-3 months? I still do the exercises occasionally and my wrist still hurts somewhat on moves where the pinky is close to the arm. Much better though. I started the exercises as soon as I realized it wasn't the tfcc... hence the importance of getting the mri.

I see. I’ll be getting an mri but since i leave in a week, i’ll have to wait. do you think i should climb in the meantime even tho it hurts (but recovers fast the next day) or do you think taking a break would speed up healing? I think the reason why it recovers fast is because climbing has a similar effect to doing those wrist exercises, but im not sure if climbing might be a bit more strenuous

I had a similar issue a few years back. (thought it was a tfcc issue based on google and it wasn’t)  For me I’d just let my flexors and extensors (particularly the extensors) get way too tight.  I think it started with an extensor strain that I climbed through/ignored.   4-5 months of dedicated arm-aiding and stretching and the problem gradually fully resolved.  I’d start stretching and massaging regardless as it’s free, easy to do, and good for joint health long term. 

Max Tepfer wrote:

I had a similar issue a few years back. (thought it was a tfcc issue based on google and it wasn’t)  For me I’d just let my flexors and extensors (particularly the extensors) get way too tight.  I think it started with an extensor strain that I climbed through/ignored.   4-5 months of dedicated arm-aiding and stretching and the problem gradually fully resolved.  I’d start stretching and massaging regardless as it’s free, easy to do, and good for joint health long term. 

A lot of the stretches are pretty painful on the wrist at the moment. If i dont move it too much it’s not bad, but if I start doing wrist curls or rice bucket twists, it starts aggravating the wrist, worse than just typical climbing sometimes too. Should I continue doing them though?

This is the stretch I'm talking about: http://www.physiowarzish.in/wrist-extensors-stretch-straight-arm.html  I also do the inverse to stretch the flexors.  Not sure if it's PT-recommended or not, but I like doing the same idea with a closed fist for extensors.  My entirely uneducated opinion (only backed up by a semi-extensive history of dealing with tweaks and injuries from climbing) is that you should stretch until the point of pain (granted, subjective) and stop.  Eventually the point of pain will be deeper and deeper into the stretch.  If wrist curls and rice bucket twists mean the same thing to you as they do to me, they're not actually stretches, but rather exercises.  Seems like not doing exercises that cause pain is probably a good idea. 

Max Tepfer wrote:

This is the stretch I'm talking about: http://www.physiowarzish.in/wrist-extensors-stretch-straight-arm.html  I also do the inverse to stretch the flexors.  Not sure if it's PT-recommended or not, but I like doing the same idea with a closed fist for extensors.  My entirely uneducated opinion (only backed up by a semi-extensive history of dealing with tweaks and injuries from climbing) is that you should stretch until the point of pain (granted, subjective) and stop.  Eventually the point of pain will be deeper and deeper into the stretch.  If wrist curls and rice bucket twists mean the same thing to you as they do to me, they're not actually stretches, but rather exercises.  Seems like not doing exercises that cause pain is probably a good idea. 

That makes sense thanks! Any other stretches you did and what type of arm-aiding are you referring to? Also it's weird but i wanna add that although those exercises hurt, if I do it too much in one sitting, it actually eventually subsides and I don't feel it as painful anymore. After I stop though the pain starts coming back (not really any stronger than before the exercise). Did you have something similar?

I bought an Armaid (specific forearm massaging tool) and dug into my extensors with it for months as directed to by their 'how to' video.  Honestly though, you could probably save the money if you wanted to and just use a lacrosse ball or your knee to dig into the muscles.  I'd armaid for 10-20 minutes and then stretch for 10-20 minutes 2-3 times per day.  As far as the exercises go, I honestly have no idea.  I'd guess that the reason they hurt at first is that as the muscles warm up, they relax and lengthen and allow the wrist to operate properly. (but again, that is 100% a wild-ass guess)  Whether or not continuing to do them is a good idea or not from a recovery perspective, I have no clue.  

Im in the same boat, except my ulna feels like its bruised.