Forearm pain when doing bicep curls

[Power118]

I attemped a search for this, but it was generally unhelpful, or at least not specific enough to what I'm experiencing to give me much confidence.

Two relevant facts:

• I do my two sets of barbell bicep curls (with a fixed-weight barbell, not the EZ-curl bar) right after doing three sets of pullups.
• I did not experience any pain when using the same weight before I started doing pullups, but I have also recently switched back to the barbell from concentration curls, which also caused strain in my forearm, though not this kind of pain (and only when I tried to keep my wrist straight).

The past two times I attempted to do BB bicep curls after my pullups, I experienced a very disconcerting pain on my left forearm. It was on the right side of the forearm (i.e. the side that's easy for me to look at), pretty much right below the point where the hair on the top of the forearm stops. It runs from about halfway between the elbow and the wrist to about a quarter of the way from the wrist to the elbow (that is to say, it runs about quarter of the length of my forearm, closer to the wrist than away from it) in a straight line with a very slight incline as though it could continue over the skin on my arm and end up at the center of my wrist. It seems to be directly in between two veins that run in the same area. It feels... Very bad, almost like something is very tense and going to snap, though when I press the area with my fingers it doesn't feel appreciably harder than a similar area on my right forearm (maybe a little harder, but it could have been my imagination).

The previous threads would only lead me to guess tendonitis, but that strikes me as an odd location for a tendon... Sunday I will be attempting the same weight first thing in my workout to see if the condition only occurs when the forearm is previously aggravated by the pullups, or if it occurs even straight up. It's not a huge weight, just forty pounds, and I could previously do this weight just fine with no forearm pain at all.

So, what is this, and how do I stop it? I've been meaning to axe my isolation bicep exercise for a while but I've been too lazy to learn the form for bent-over rows (which I mean to replace them with), but just because I don't intend to do the exercise anymore doesn't mean I like the idea of having a lingering problem (especially if it's damage being caused by the pullups, which I don't see how I could be messing up).

Thank you in advance to everyone who can help me.

[RibosomalRob]

It was on the right side of the forearm (i.e. the side that's easy for me to look at)

pinky side or thumbside?

[Power118]

Thumb side.

Heh, didn't even think to reference the appropriate digit to indicate sides...

[RibosomalRob]

hmm...well I don't really know what to tell you; usually pain from any type of curling movement that require a very tight grip on a bar occurs on the palm side of the forearm, not the top as you are experiencing....

I would recommend going to the doctor and getting his/her opinion and/or and x-ray/MRI...If I had to take a guess, I'd say that its possible you have a bone issue (maybe a hairline/stress fracture)...especially because stress fractures usually happen from repeated loads of excess stress on a bone...and since you said that you didn't experience any pain until you started incorporating pull-ups into your routine, I'd say its a definite possibility that the pull-ups could have caused a fracture...it just seems like a very unlikely place for this to happen; usually stress fractures occur in the legs or feet

[Quarter Nelson]

That's your ulna. The pain is because because you're arm isn't naturally built to lift that sort of weight when your wrist is suppinated (when you use that underhand grip on the barbell). It won't kill you or anything, it's hardly a cause for concern.

If you're uncomfortable with it, use an EZ bar or dumbbells instead.

[RibosomalRob]

That's your ulna. The pain is because because you're arm isn't naturally built to lift that sort of weight when your wrist is suppinated (when you use that underhand grip on the barbell). It won't kill you or anything, it's hardly a cause for concern.

If you're uncomfortable with it, use an EZ bar or dumbbells instead.

No, the Ulna is on the pinky side..

I'm pretty sure let me check my anatomy book..

[RibosomalRob]

...yea ulna runs on the pinky side, and the RADIUS runs from the thumb to the elbow on the lateral side of the forearm

[Quarter Nelson]

No, the Ulna is on the pinky side..

I'm pretty sure let me check my anatomy book..

My bad man, I didn't fully read the post. Almost all the threads I see here regarding curls and forearm pain is related to what I was saying, but that case is unique in that it's on the radius side. Sorry.

[Power118]

Herm, so it's clear as mud, then? Well, tomorrow I'll see if it only happens after I do pullups, or if it will happen straight away. I'll also make sure I try it with the wrists tilted backwards: that made the forearm strain go away when I was using the dumbbells (though, as I said, that was a different kind of strain).

Thanks for trying to help, anyway.