For people reading this comment about RSI and considering this recommendation: please see a doctor and a physical therapist first before you adopt a gym routine. It is very, very easy to hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing and you already have an injury. Speaking from personal experience.
People always chime in with this and it's weird. It's just scaring people and making them think exercise is more dangerous than being sedentary (it isn't). Have some common sense and don't jump into something that hurts and you'll be fine. Watch some videos of how to do established exercises, start with far less weight than you think you can handle and slowly work up to a higher amount over the course of weeks (so you know you're not bending in weird ways), and be consistent with it.
You can hurt yourself doing anything. Nobody says to consult a doctor before doing anything else, but there's lots of fear mongering around exercise. Going from sitting at a desk all day to doing some weightless squats, curling tiny weights, and bench pressing a bar isn't going to ruin your body. It's only risky if you're physically disabled and already know it.
I even see people saying you should see a doctor before you start walking or jogging. No. Start slow, and if it majorly hurts your bones and joints, then talk to a doctor because you may have something wrong. If you just feel a burn in your muscles after a while and an ache in your muscles the next day, you're fine. You're getting stronger.
The recommendation was not "see a doctor before starting an exercise routine if you are sedentary".
It was "If you are going to try to use an intense exercise pattern as a treatment for an RSI, consult a doctor first".
> Start slow, and if it majorly hurts your bones and joints, then talk to a doctor because you may have something wrong.
If you have an RSI, you already have something wrong; that's your starting point. And a lot of common RSIs affecting the risk and elbow can have a lot of impact on ability to safely do lots of common exercises (especially with free weights) at weights way (like, literally, an order of magnitude or more) below what would even be useful from a strength perspective. And, yeah, the right focused exercises can help, and if you've got a decent doctor, they (or, more likely, the physical therapist they refer you to), will actually provide you both appropriate exercises for your particular RSI and also appropriate guidelines on how to avoid exacerbating it with other exercise.
Don't let hubris get in the way of getting an informed medical opinion when it comes to not making your existing injuries worse with exercise. I'm speaking from experience as someone who once thought like you do, at least when it came to my own health. Take injuries seriously.
The two times I had RSI it actually turned out to be a postural issue. I never would have figured that out without going to physical therapists, who were able to figure it out in 15 minutes. They gave me specific instructions on how to hold my body and some exercises to do, and things cleared up in a few weeks.
RSI and similar mean there's something specific that needs fixing. PTs can dramatically speed up that process; trying to solve it on your own can result in more damage simply because you're not fixing the problem.
I'd agree that exercise is all well and good. But you should also make sure you're fixing the right problem.
It has been a while, so I don't remember the exact details. In both cases, the symptoms were pain and paraesthesia in my hands and lower arm, although the locations might have been somewhat different. In one, the issue was that I was holding my head and neck forward, sort of cantilevered out. This caused muscle inflammation in the back of my neck, irritating a nearby nerve. In the other, it had to do with holding my shoulders forward, causing a nerve impingement on my chest. In both cases, it was part of an overall hunched-forward posture, so... you know, "don't do that". :-) I don't remember the specific exercises, but I think they had something to do with strengthening opposing muscles.
Right, I think a good takeaway is: In extreme cases of anything, you are likely to want to get doctor input -- but presently "seeing the doctor" is in no way a guarantee of anything?
More like, do your homework on whatever it that's wrong with you. Often, a doctor's input is very helpful, but that too comes with limitations and caveats.
Doctors and PTs never helped my wrist, forearm, and arm pain but finding a really good personal trainer and going to the gym 3+ times a week for several months is what finally did it
The doctors just prescribed the PT and the PTs had me doing basic stretches that ChatGPT would done a better job with
The vast majority of doctors, when presented with a patient asking such a thing, will do a 30 second "examination" (if you're lucky), then spout some platitudes about exercise being beneficial in moderation (which you could have gotten from a lifestyle magazine or a fortune cookie), then usher you out after 5 minutes so they can see the next patient waiting in line.
Unless you know the doctor personally, or are rich enough to see high-class private practitioners who will actually pay attention to you because of your money and/or status, that would be a gargantuan waste of time. Needless to say, I too am speaking from personal experience.
This might be true if you just go ask a generic doctor with no training on the subject but someone trained in sports medicine or a physiotherapist can be very helpful.
In the US at least the most helpful is to find an out of network doctor, pay them the $200 for 1hr detailed examination, where they don't offload you to an assistant after 10 min, and use that + the offered program as a guide book, and never book another session. Much better than doing 15 in-network therapy sessions for $15 each. (hand wavy on insurance costs but you get the gist)
I’ve found it helps to go to your doctor with a game plan. Research your issue, figure out what the desired course of diagnosis and/or treatment is, then ask for it at the doctor’s.
They will usually just give you the referral you want. They may ask you to do some wrist exercises first, but if you are persistent, it will happen.
Think of primary care as talking to first level support at the call center. If you already know your problem needs a specialist, lead the conversation in that direction.
There are almost no medical contraindications to exercise, so this is meh advice. Feel free to consult professionals, but there is no need to abstain from exercise due to fear of doing something "wrong".
Obviously don't do things clearly aggravating your symptoms, but there is no magic diagnostic that would make a doctor tell you you can't exercise because of your wrists.
No no some doctor with their 8 or more years of formal professional education knows nothing compared with some rando on the internet who may have read a book by some other rando and has an anecdotal testimonial. This is patently true because I read it on my corner of the internet all the time. And sometimes hear it on talk radio.
