sprained finger

[LiftGirl]

Well, I suppose if I did the same stupid thing again, I'd probably hurt it again

But there's no lingering weakness or other kind of feeling that it's more injury prone. It seems to be completely and totally all better.

[Merrida]

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

Thanks for asking It's all better now. About a week and a half after the initial injury I was able to do free weights again. I taped the joint to limit it's ROM because full bending was still painful at that point. About three weeks after the injury it was completely better. There's still a bump, but no pain or stiffness or limited flexibility persits. My dad says the bump is just scar tissue and will go away in a year or so.

Is the bump hard (palpable?) or soft (like edema?)

And how are you feeling now?

.

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by Merrida

Is the bump hard (palpable?) or soft (like edema?)

And how are you feeling now?

.

The bump is hard (you can definitely see and feel it) but not at all tender. The finger now has complete ROM with no pain, discomfort, tenderness, etc. As far as I can tell, it's completely and totally healed. Other than the bump, it feels totally normal.

[Dan C]

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

So I guess machines were not quite as ick as i thought.

I've gone through the same realization over the last year or so. Machines are just another tool - nothing more, nothing less. Like anything else, they have their pros and cons.

The common argument against machines is 1) you don't work your stabilizers with machines and 2) they force you into an unnatural plane of movement. Though I think the stabilizer argument is a valid one, is it really that big of a deal? I mean, how often do you fail to make a lift because of weak stabilizers? The unnatural plane of movement was a bigger concern back in the day but modern machines have adjustable seats, arms, legs, degrees of motion, etc. Machines now-a-days can be adjusted to fit anyone from a midget to a center in the NBA. (Note that Smith machines do not fall in the category I’m speaking of and do force you into a single movement pattern.)

As for the benefits of machines, well for one you can work a lot harder, safer. Take squatting for example. Not everybody can squat safely; for those that can’t leg pressing is a good alternative. Even if you can squat safely, once you start to fatigue, your form starts to fall apart and sooner or later you have to stop. It’s possible (and what I’ve found to be very likely) that your thighs could stand some more work. Enter the leg press. No reason to neglect your quads, hams or glutes because you can’t squat another rep.

The other thing about machines is they eliminate the need to work against gravity. Freeweights only offer resistance when they are being lifted directly up. Think of a curl, the first few degrees of motion the weight is moving laterally and only when you reach the “sticking point” are you moving directly against gravity, after that you begin to move in a lateral motion again. The best example I can think of for use of a machine is for the lats via a pullover. Full ROM at it’s finest… and that is a movement that cannot be duplicated with a barbell or any other piece of equipment.

Of course, I still prefer to use freeweights for 99% of everything I do but I don’t snub my nose at machines the way I used to.

[westside24]

Originally Posted by Dan C

Of course, I still prefer to use freeweights for 99% of everything I do but I don’t snub my nose at machines the way I used to.

Good recovery, I was starting to think you were a bodybuilder...

haha that was a joke, sorry. thats good that you have a more open minded opinion about that aspect of getting fit... very good point made about squatting.