Carpal Tunnel While Benching?

While benching or overhead pressing, the fleshy part of my left palm feels pain, as if there’s a knot inside it. I can generally locate the knot of pain with a knuckle and massage it (if that helps).

I’ve had this for awhile, and just accepted it as an “occupational hazard” until yesterday, when a lifter half my age came to me describing the same thing and asking me if it were carpal tunnel and did he have to worry about it.

I’ve done some searching on WebMD.com, but can’t confirm that this symptom alone is a sign of carpal tunnel.

Does anyone have a diagnosis for this pain?

I bet a pair of wrist wraps would relieve it. Fat bar wouldn’t hurt either.

[quote]tveddy wrote:
I bet a pair of wrist wraps would relieve it. Fat bar wouldn’t hurt either.[/quote]

Bingo!

Thanks for replying, but…

The knot of pain inside the fleshy part of my palm exists, whether I’m benching or not. Maybe wrist wraps would have prevented it. It is clearly too late for that. I doubt that putting on wrist wraps will make it go away, so that response isn’t helpful, given the question.

Is there anyone with a diagnosis for this? Any idea whether it’s temporary or the start of something worse, like carpal tunnel?

[quote]TShaw wrote:
Thanks for replying, but…

The knot of pain inside the fleshy part of my palm exists, whether I’m benching or not. Maybe wrist wraps would have prevented it. It is clearly too late for that. I doubt that putting on wrist wraps will make it go away, so that response isn’t helpful, given the question.

Is there anyone with a diagnosis for this? Any idea whether it’s temporary or the start of something worse, like carpal tunnel?[/quote]

doctors make diagnoses, but if it hurts whether you’re benching or not I would take a couple weeks off, then try again and focus on keeping your wrist in line with the elbow. Also change up your grip to find something more comfortable for your wrists. Dumbells might also be an alternative that would keep your wrist from getting worse.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is more like a numbness, not like a knot. It’s also most significant in the fingers. By “fleshy part of the palm” do you mean at the base of the thumb? There’s a muscle there that could have problems, but there’s also a tiny pea sized bone at the base of the thumb that could be giving you problems too.

Yorik is corect, what the OP describes doesn’t appear to be CPS. IIRC that involves the cuff in the wrist through which the nerves to the hand pass closing up, thus putting pressure on the nerves and leading to numbness and tingling sensations in the fingers. Treatment involves inserting a balloon in the cuff to try and open it.

On a related note for along time I pressed with a thumbless grip and, over time, got problems with my left wrist due to hyperextending said wrist. I’ve switched back to a normal grip and the pain is subsiding.

I get a “knot” in my right palm and my right wrist and forearm feel tight all the way to the elbow with the most intense tightness just below my wrist when I bench/press etc. it seems to come as a shooting pain followed by a dull ache after the excercise and I’ve found that stretching the hand and forearm really helps. I don’t think it’s cts but do blame it on taking notes with a pen all day.

It seems that stretching helps relieve all sorts of aches that people blame on more insidious culprits. Relieving the pressure tight muscles put on your bones and joints can be very healing.