For the last few weeks, my right hand knuckles had been bothering me when I practiced. I wear 16 oz. gloves when I do padwork, but even through them, my knuckles felt sore and hurt during and after hitting. Yesterday my trainer showed some new technique adjustments, putting my shoulder into my punches more, and I was getting a lot more power in my punches. I had to stop halfway through though, because my knuckles hurt too much. It's the same feeling you get when you roll your wrist, only it's in my knuckles. It hurts to make a tight fist, let alone punch.

I'm wondering if maybe the repeatitive heavy shock of hitting hard has damaged my knuckles, and what can I do to speed up the recovery time.

Oh my God... you are hitting so hard you are actually damaging your skeletal system!

You wrap your hands, right? And hit with the first 2 knuckles? If you did damage something, take a break. Pounding on them even harder won't fix anything.

Or maybe we should just call you Lefty from now on?

PL

Try soaking your hands in a basin filled with warm water and those sports salts... You can buy them from the local pharmacist/chemist.

Oh my God... you are hitting so hard you are actually damaging your skeletal system!

You wrap your hands, right? And hit with the first 2 knuckles? If you did damage something, take a break. Pounding on them even harder won't fix anything.

Or maybe we should just call you Lefty from now on?

PL

Yeah, I wrap my hands also. Specificly, it's my 3rd (middle) knuckle that hurts the most. And you can call me lefty, all I did today was jab and kick. :(

You could use a ironpalm lotion like dit da jow. They can help increase blood flow to the area and help bring down swelling. Generally they help you to heal faster.

I think that there are a lot of crappy jows available, especially online, so you might want to watch out if you are interested in getting any. My school makes it's own, very good stuff. If you're interested and have $25 I can mail you some.

Thanks for the offer grond, I'll consider it. Let me wait a couple more days and see how it feels.

Sounds like they're a little fucked up. Can you lay off for three days in a row? If it still hurts at that point you might need to look at other stuff.

You need to get yourself a pair of really good bag gloves. Not a cheap pair of throw away vinyl junk, but a really good pair of well fitting leather bag gloves. I suspect that your fist is "floating" in your pair of well worn, and poorly supportive, 16 oz boxing gloves. 16 oz boxing gloves are meant for sparring, not hitting pads or heavy bags, day after day after day. Your fists aren't getting the proper support in these 16 oz gloves, and your knuckles are paying for it.

You need to get yourself a pair of really good bag gloves. Not a cheap pair of throw away vinyl junk, but a really good pair of well fitting leather bag gloves. I suspect that your fist is "floating" in your pair of well worn, and poorly supportive, 16 oz boxing gloves. 16 oz boxing gloves are meant for sparring, not hitting pads or heavy bags, day after day after day. Your fists aren't getting the proper support in these 16 oz gloves, and your knuckles are paying for it.

Hrm could be, I have had the pair for a while. They're very good gloves though, got them back when I was with SBG.

Hrm could be, I have had the pair for a while. They're very good gloves though, got them back when I was with SBG.


Yeah, you probably need to get a pair of leather bag gloves. 16 oz boxing gloves don't last very long, maybe 6 months of heavy pounding and their done. You have to remember that 16 oz gloves are meant to "mush" when you hit your sparring partner in the face. So when you're hitting much more solid heavy bags or pads, your fists are going to be floating around, torquing in all kinds ways, in these very mushy soft boxing gloves.

You should probably take a little break, heal up, and then return with a brand new pair of bag gloves.

Good luck!

You need to get yourself a pair of really good bag gloves. Not a cheap pair of throw away vinyl junk, but a really good pair of well fitting leather bag gloves. I suspect that your fist is "floating" in your pair of well worn, and poorly supportive, 16 oz boxing gloves. 16 oz boxing gloves are meant for sparring, not hitting pads or heavy bags, day after day after day. Your fists aren't getting the proper support in these 16 oz gloves, and your knuckles are paying for it.

???

I've heard that using bigger gloves is recommended over regular bag gloves because they have more cusioning to save your joints.

PL

Ice it. Take ibuprofen or naproxen or some other antinflamatory. Rest it for a couple days.

My hand hurts when I punch the bag.
Q: What do you guys think I should do?
A: Uhh. . .how 'bout laying off the bags for a while?

Hmm. . .the gloves could be at fault. But, I am trying to figure
that particular knuckle getting stressed, with the gloves on, and
while wrapped.

Anyway, heal up, and try varying your bag work when you get
back. Hit with just wraps, with bag gloves, and with gloves.
This way your hands get more variation, and conditioning. You
can also change the actual techniques you work on, as well as
what's on your hands.

Make sure your (a) trainer watches at least a little of your
workout. There may be some variation in your technique that
could be causing the problem. Just check it. . .

And for God's sake, if the pain lasts a while, see a doctor. You
don't want that nasty arthritis to set in there later in life just
because your ego wouldn't let you go to the doctor.

G'Luck!

`~/

Soak your hands in brine like Kid Blackie did.

If it worked for him(the gloves of his time were alot smaller than yours) then it should work for you. ;-)

???

I've heard that using bigger gloves is recommended over regular bag gloves because they have more cusioning to save your joints.

PL

This is true, but only in the first couple of months. After 6 months of pounding a heavy bag, your 16 oz bag gloves are dead. The padding is formed in layers, like home insulation, and after 6 months of heavy pounding the padding begins to separate, stretch, and migrate away from your knuckles. At that point your fists are floating and torquing all over the place. Bag gloves are usually made of a solid foam core, so they're not likely to lose their shape and structure, as much.

Ahhh sooo.... Good advice, thanks.

PL