While forearm pain isn’t necessarily rare, it is rare that a pulled muscle in the forearm is the cause. Muscle strains happen when a muscle is stretched too far or overused, tearing muscle tissue. It’s very difficult to overuse your forearm muscles or stretch them far enough to tear them, so it’s worth your while to explore some other possible causes.
Occasionally, forearm strains can occur after intense overuse during an activity you’re not accustomed to doing. Gripping your handlebars during a long bike ride or gripping a racket during a long afternoon playing tennis could potentially cause a forearm strain.
This article will discuss potential causes for pain that feels like a pulled forearm muscle and what to do if it doesn’t go away.
What does a pulled forearm muscle feel like?
Pain from a strained forearm muscle may come on all at once or gradually. Your forearm will feel stiff, and it may feel tight or tender to the touch. You may feel aching pain, and there may be some swelling. You may notice your pain more at night or when performing repetitive hand movements.
What else might be causing pain in my forearm?
More often, pain in the forearm is caused by tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, or referred pain from nerves in the neck or shoulder. Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are a lot like pulled muscles. The difference is that both muscles and tendons around the outside of the elbow (tennis elbow) or the inside (golfer’s elbow) become irritated and inflamed. You may feel pain, tenderness and a warm feeling near your elbow as well as stiffness, weakness or tingling.
A pinched nerve in your neck or upper back, known as cervical radiculopathy, can cause referred pain that radiates down the shoulder and into the arm. This happens when a nerve is compressed or irritated where it branches away from the spinal cord. Sometimes it’s a result of a herniated or ruptured disc. It can be difficult to tell when pain in the forearm is referred from another part of the body. A licensed physical therapist can help determine the likely cause of your pain with an in-depth assessment.
Another potential cause of forearm pain is pronator syndrome, or compression of the median nerve by muscles in the forearm. The median nerve is the same nerve that causes carpal tunnel syndrome when it’s compressed by irritated tendons in the wrist. If you have weakness in your forearm that makes it difficult to make an “OK” sign with your thumb and index finger, you might have pronator syndrome.
What should I do to get relief from forearm pain?
If you suspect you have a low-grade pulled muscle or tendinitis, there are a few things you can try to relieve your forearm pain at home. You can start by icing your forearm to numb it and resting from activities that cause irritation. When you start feeling better, you can strengthen your forearm muscles with exercises to prevent your pain from coming back. See the next section for some ideas to get you started.
If you’ve tried these home remedies and you’re still in pain, you should see a physical therapist. They’ll be able to evaluate your entire upper extremity and give you a better idea of how to recover.
How can physical therapy help relieve forearm pain?
When muscles and tendons in your forearm are irritated, the tissue can become stiff and inflamed. Stimulating blood flow in the area can help bring in fresh nutrients and oxygen so your body can repair tears and swelling faster. Physical therapy treatments promote healing by mobilizing tissue and improving circulation.
Your physical therapist may use any of the following treatments for a pulled forearm muscle and similar conditions:
- Manual therapy — Your PT may use manual therapy to release “trigger points” or knots of stiffness in your forearm. They’ll ask you to hold your arm in different positions while they use gentle massage-like movements to break up stiff tissue.
- Dry needling — Dry needling is a bit like acupuncture, except it focuses on trigger points rather than energy flow. Your PT will sterilize your arm and insert thin needles into stiff areas to stimulate blood flow in stiff muscles and tissue.
- Therapeutic stretching — Depending on the cause of your pain, stretching out your tendons or “nerve flossing” may help. Wrist flexion and forearm rotation are two types of stretches you can try. For wrist flexion, extend your arm out in front of you and make a fist, flexing your hand up and down a few times, and then repeat with the other arm. For forearm rotations, hold your arm out straight with your palm facing down and slowly rotate your hand until it’s facing upward. Do this a few times and then repeat with the other arm.
- Therapeutic exercise — Once your forearm muscles have started to heal, conditioning them will make them more resilient to help prevent more injuries. You can start by squeezing a tennis ball or a stress ball. Do some biceps curls without a weight at first, and then add just a bit of resistance by using a can of soup.
If you’re not sure why your forearm is in pain, or if your pain doesn’t go away with the methods mentioned here, you should see a professional. Determining the cause of your pain is critical so you can find treatments that work. -With forearm pain, it’s best to narrow down the likely cause and rule out the possibility of referred pain.
At Forever Fit, we start each new patient relationship with an in-depth assessment. Our compassionate physical therapists get to know you by asking a lot of questions about your activities and how your pain is impacting your life. We’ll create a treatment plan with natural, evidence-based treatments chosen specifically for you. Our aim is to improve your pain and your overall health, and your input is an important part of the process.
Are you ready to find out if you’ve really pulled a forearm muscle or if something else is going on? Contact our team today to schedule an initial appointment.