View Full Version : Supination pain - Flexor/Extensor?

08-09-2008, 11:28 PM
Recently (2 weeks) I changed to a Western forehand grip from an Eastern one. It has allowed me to more naturally use hip and shoulder rotation, thus I have improved my forehand and I am able to generate decent amount of topspin and power. btw, I am a leftie and 3.0 or less player. I also changed racquet around the same time I changed my grip from a basic 10 oz one to Babolat AeroPro Drive Cortex, 11.6 oz. Thus, in the last 2 weeks I have made my grip quite extreme and increased racquet weight.

2 days ago, while trying to hit a forehand on a short slow ball, I was not in a position to use much body rotation. Ended up using hand power and twisted my wrist in a weird fashion. Since then, I have pain and am unable to play forehand at all. Specifically, the pain happens when I try to supinate my arm, eg. if my forearm is resting on thinghs with palm facing up, if I put a 5 lb weight in the palm and supinate, I can sense pain in ulnar region, perhaps flexors and extensors. In the regular game, during the forehand contact, the hand naturally supinates a bit due to collision with the ball which causes pain.

I have been icing ever since the pain started. I don't notice any inflammation. Has any one gone though a similar problem? Can someone suggest remedies? I do plan to see a physical therapist next week. I want to start playing tennis again soon enough.. Thanks!

08-10-2008, 03:44 AM
How do you supinate your foreams with the 5 lb weights in the scenario you describe? It sounds like you are already starting from a fully-supinated position.

Yes, it is true that you would probably use much more supination in the forward swing of your FH using a Western grip then you would for the Eastern grip. If you really must keep playing while injured, you should probably back off the W grip for a while. Try an extreme Eastern (mild SW) for now. When you are recovers, you might consider a real SW rather than a full W grip.

You may still have inflammation if there is no discernible swelling. Ice or ice massage several times a day. Also try Stopain (http://shop.stopain.com/) (extra strength), BioFreeze (http://biofreeze.com/), or an Arnica (http://www.nutritionalcenter.com/site/en/catalog/product/7958) gel (http://www.nutritionalcenter.com/site/en/catalog/product/7958) to alleviate pain & minimize inflammation.

08-10-2008, 07:37 AM
What I intended to say, if I try to further supinate my hand, i.e rotate the forearm in counter clockwise direction so that thumb goes down and pinkie raises, it causes pain. This kind of arm movement happens on forehand as well, which triggers the pain.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have been icing. Thinking of doing stretching flexor/extensor exercises as well. I wonder what caused the injury in the first place, does it have to do with training the muscles to do a different kind of movement and strenghtening them so they can bear more stress?

10-01-2008, 12:10 PM
I was wondering if you had any resolution to your symptoms. Did you have a dislocated distal radius/ulna. The same symptoms occurred with me this past week. I am unable to fully supinate my forearm. I am limited by pain. All other motions are fine except there is pain at end rom of pronation. My pain is at the end of my forearm. I have not been diagnosed yet. Before heading to the doctor, I would like to have information about your recovery. My doctor is likely not to know much because of this being such an uncommon thing.