Sore knuckles after brick breaking

Well I broke my first brick about 4 weeks ago. It was pretty easy. I had good form and power, so I tried two bricks went pretty easy also. I stopped there though. The thing is, I felt no pain at the break or immediately after. But as the day went on I began to fell some small soft swelling and discomforting pain in the middle knuckle. I applied ice, the swelling went away and most of the pain. Now its been a month and the only pain I feel is when I clinch a fist tight or straighten out my fingers tightly. The pain isnt that bad though so I dont think its broken. But what else could it be? A damaged tendon?

What do you guys think, and how long will this go on?

Thanks.

The short answer is take it to a doctor.

This could be anything from a huge list. If you want a fully informed answer you need to go to a medical professional who can examine your hand and get x-rays/scans as needed. It would be worth doing just in case.

The damage could be in the joint, or in the connective tissue, or to the bone, it depends on the exact nature of the pain and the exact location and the exact sensation and whether or not the pain goes away if you warm up and train hard only to come back later. One trick some osteos use is to touch a vibrating tuning fork to the bone - if it doesn't hurt then the bone isn't broken (apparantly).

IMO it couldn't hurt to massage it with some good jow and take glucosamine for a week or two. If it's connective tissue or a bruised bone and it hasn't gone away after 24 hours then you're probably looking at six weeks if you let it heal and your training isn't exasperating it. If it's in the joint itself then it is difficult to train around it and difficult to fix without very specific work or intervention.

__________________
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

knuckles are complex joints and adding serious amounts of trauma to them can and will cause permanent damage.

I have not had any problems but then I use serious amounts of Iron Palm medicine and never break with the knuckles and only use open hand palm strikes.

Get thee to a doc and see what it could be.

Any condition your hands more as its a very slow tempering process that is taking place.

__________________
Be well, train hard and heal quickly.

Don't force breaking stuff with your knuckles from bad karate movies or because other people do that. It can and usually will ruin your hands, unless they're hardened from WORK, over a long period of time. That's why plumbers and such folks have so big hands. You can easily test your power using palm strikes instead of knuckle strikes, or a hammer fist. Safer.

__________________
"Fawning, but proud!" - (at least sometimes, in rare cases)
"Killing them all didn't make it any better..." - "Are you a freak or something ???" - Max Payne
"Theft is a crime, even in Iraq." - Me.

Thanks for the reply's and the advice. I've never used a jow before. There seems to be many jow's on Plumbdragons site. Which do you recommend?

John100 mentioned if the pain goes away if Im warmed up. Well I have noticed that after my weight training session that the pain is nearly gone for a while. I guess from havin to use my hands so much for gripping, that its warmed up and loose.

Also I can pull the finger and pop the knuckle with no pain at all. I can grab the finger and pull it back as close to the back of my hand as possible with no pain either. But if I take the finger and try to press it close to my palm there is some pain there. If I move the finger side to side there is a small amount of pain, but almost nothing.

sleepyman1,

If you have any doubt, get an X-ray and a check-up.

You know a hammer works much better right

If I did any brick breaking, I would agree with Dale Dugas67, and use the palm instead.

__________________
"To alcohol ! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" - Homer Simpson

And which type of jow from Plumdragon should I use?

sleepyman,

For bone or tendon injuries, the JKD jow and Ho Family are good choices. The iron palm jow will focus on bone and tendon a bit more, but its not really used for injuries like the JKD and Ho Family jows are. use JKD or Ho family for the injury, and then make sure to protect your hands by using an iron palm jow for conditioning in the future.

You might also consider Great Mender Dit Da Wan as an internal addition...

__________________
PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

I never break with a fist or knuckles. I always use an open palm strike. To me it's less painfull and you don't scrape up your knuckles. I suggest a doctor or some type of dit da jow for the swelling and/or bruising of your knuckles/hand.

Check out Plumdragons web site for the jow. He knows what he's talking about.

__________________
Mark R.

“	Originally Posted By: john100 One trick some osteos use is to touch a vibrating tuning fork to the bone - if it doesn't hurt then the bone isn't broken (apparantly).	”

This method doesn't always work. When I broke my hand years back, my accupuncturist tried this as well.... I didn't feel a thing. And then we all know what happened after that.

I say go get it x-ray'd.... best bet right there. Oh, and stop punching bricks.

__________________
It's all about the nitty gritty.......

“	I say go get it x-ray'd.... best bet right there. Oh, and stop punching bricks.	”

yea.

__________________
"To alcohol ! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" - Homer Simpson

Sorry but was i the only one who laughed at the title? I mean c'mon, the "you don't say?" comment of the year right there.

__________________
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought the fool, than to open it and prove it so." KungFuTze
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." T. Geisel

Yes to everything Above!!!,..'and', I've had good luck with "Tiger-Bone Bruise" linement from 'Oriental Herbs' in Chicago. You can order it on-line. But,..as if you haven't heard it enough; X-Ray, Stop hitting Bricks with Knuckles, and Always use some Dit-Dat-Jow before and after ALL breaks or toughening exercises! Coach Li

obviously bricks hit back

__________________
a knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork, thats the way we spell new york

I don't really see much practical connection between breaking a brick and breaking a bone.

Maybe one day if a brick-man attacks you, you can smash him up good

__________________
"To alcohol ! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" - Homer Simpson