Hi I’m Dr. Joe DeMarco, chiropractor and owner of OcraMed Health, and in today’s FREE myofascial release Youtube video, we're discussing brachioradialis pain treatment, an injury which gives weightlifters in particular lots of forearm and elbow problems.
What Is The Anatomy Of The Brachioradialis?
Originating off the lateral aspect of the distal humerus, the brachioradialis attaches near the wrist at the end of the radius, also called the styloid process of the radius.
The primary function of the brachioradialis muscle is to flex the elbow. Okay, so there's the anatomy of the brachioradialis.
Do Wrist Exercises Work The Brachioradialis?
First off, a big misconception is to work the brachioradialis by doing wrist flexion or extension exercises. I see people using resistance bands and dumbbells thinking these motions are working their brachioradialis.
As you just saw from the anatomy, the brachioradialis muscle does not cross the wrist joint, instead ending down at the styloid process of the radius, so wrist exercises do not work the brachioradialis.
Why Does My Brachioradialis Hurt After Lifting?
Second off, why are weightlifters more susceptible to brachioradialis injuries? This becomes a chronic problem for people, and I've experienced brachioradialis pain over the past years too.
Why does this happen when we exercise? Well, as an elbow flexor, the brachioradialis is strongest when the forearm is midway between supination and pronation, which is why the brachioradialis is referred to as the hammering muscle, as our arm is in this position when hammering a nail.
When the forearm fully pronates, the bicep is at a mechanical disadvantage, and since the bicep is also a primary elbow flexor—but at a mechanical disadvantage when the arm fully pronates—this makes the brachioradialis more susceptible to injuries due to picking slack from the bicep during pronation.
So how can you strain your brachialis when weightlifting? Well, one common exercise which can cause brachioradialis pain is pull ups. When the hands grip and pull on the bar, the weight of your body is causing immense stress on the brachioradialis, because in this position, my forearm is in pronation, creating a mechanical disadvantage for the bicep.
What other exercises cause a brachioradialis injury? Well, a lot of back exercises, such as bent over rows. Any back movement which creates elbow flexion causes a mechanical disadvantage for the bicep.
When you're performing any pulling motions with a pronated grip, more stress is placed on the brachioradialis, leading to strains and other injuries.
Why Is My Brachioradialis So Tight?
All weightlifting exercises are causing microtraumas, and over time, when weightlifting, our muscles are taking lots of abuse, creating a build up of fascial adhesions—commonly referred to as muscle knots.
Normally the brachioradialis is like any other muscle—very elastic. Let me demonstrate muscle elasticity.
When your muscles have fascial adhesions, between the adhesions, the soft tissue is stretching normally, but the adhesions are not.
Picture this, I’m moving my brachioradialis, causing the muscle to stretch, but I'm not getting normal elasticity through a fascial adhesion buildup, which is limiting my range of motion. By having these knots, the brachioradialis is tugging and putting pressure on the tendon connecting to the bicep.
How Do You Relieve Brachioradialis Pain?
So what do we need to do? We're going to break up those fascial adhesions by doing myofascial release to relieve brachioradialis pain.
Myofascial Release With A Massage Ball
For this first myofascial release technique, we're going to use an Ocramed Health Massage Ball, which features a spiky texture perfect for digging deep into the fascia.
Now, due to the anatomy of the brachioradialis, this is an awkward muscle to perform myofascial release on since the muscle’s location prevents you from putting your arm down on a desk or on the floor.
I find the best way to do myofascial release on the brachioradialis is to hold the massage ball in one hand and use your other hand to massage the opposite side of the brachioradialis.
Be careful applying pressure to the brachioradialis because this is a bony area. So I'm going to start real light, rolling in different directions back and forth; side to side; diagonally, moving up in roughly one inch increments, spending about 30 to 60 seconds per spot.
And every time I move to a new spot, I'm going to begin by spending 30 to 60 seconds applying firm pressure. Then, I’ll roll and dig the massage ball to break up any adhesions in the area surrounding the trigger point.
As I get deeper into the belly of the muscle, I’ll apply even more pressure, finishing with massaging the elbow joint at the distal end of that humerus (where the muscle originates).
Once I've done this myofascial release technique in several locations—and I should mention, if you find a particularly knotted area, spend extra time on it. If you don’t feel any more knots, finish up by making one-inch movements all the way up and down the brachioradialis.
Now we're going to flex the elbow, keeping the muscle in a relaxed position, and I'm going to use the massage ball to put firm pressure down on the brachioradialis, pulling the ball towards my elbow to trap the soft tissue while repeatedly extending and contracting the elbow. I'm going to do this technique five times per spot.
Once I arrive above the elbow joint at the origin of the brachioradialis, one last time, I’ll apply firm pressure with the massage ball, now pulling the soft tissue towards the shoulder while extending and contracting out the elbow five times.
Basically, we're trapping the muscle knots in a relaxed position, then stretching out the muscle and pulling the soft tissue apart, making breaking up fascial adhesions easier.
Myofascial Release With A Trigger Point Massage Tool
Now, another myofascial release technique you can do is place a trigger point massage tool around your brachioradialis and trap the tissue while performing the same elbow extension and contraction movements.
I'll move the manual trigger point massager across the brachioradialis, applying firm pressure across the muscle, and if you don't own a manual shiatsu massager—and I’d recommend trying one out—stick with a massage ball, again, digging around the brachioradialis.
And please, after you’re done doing myofascial release work, always ice down the area for about 20 minutes. Your brachioradialis muscle may feel sore the next day, but this is totally normal.
Prevent Brachioradialis Pain
Sometimes fascial adhesions can bother you for months, even chronically for years. You’ll find these myofascial release techniques for brachioradialis pain will help, but understand you need to stay consistent with these exercises to completely heal your brachioradialis.
Besides doing these techniques and icing after treatment, you need to avoid the weightlifting exercises which are aggravating the brachioradialis. You may need to make changes in your workout routine.
Regarding your pull up or barbell grip, if exercises involving a pronated or overhand grip are a trigger point for brachioradialis pain, you’ll want to switch up your pull-up technique and do your bent over rows with an underhand grip.
You might need to skip certain exercises or make other adjustments to your workout, but do what you need to do because you don't want to relieve your brachioradialis pain only to reinjure yourself again.
You’re better off skipping a couple exercises for a few weeks so you can recover quickly and get back to building lean muscle. Nothing impacts your workout progress more than injuries, and most injuries are preventable.
Treat And Prevent Any Injury With Ocramed Health
If you’re interested, you can schedule a personalized video consultation where you’ll pick the body area and I'll teach you how to do myofascial release and give you stretches to increase your mobility and relieve your pain.
Also available on ocramedhealth.com is my ebook, The Accommodation Avoidance System, teaching you how to do heavyweight training without hitting any plateaus.
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If you have any questions regarding strength training exercises, myofascial release, stretching and mobility, or any health related inquiries, don’t ever hesitate to send me a message. I always get back to everyone who writes in. And never forget, OcraMed Health is always here to keep you fit forever!