Bag is hurting my hand ... why?

[Tim]

I have hurt my funnybone nerve a bit from outward elbow strikes. I would guess that's a sign of striking incorrectly.

I've done that on downward elbow strikes... using a bag with very prominent seams...

[JimR]

I have hurt my funnybone nerve a bit from outward elbow strikes. I would guess that's a sign of striking incorrectly.

[rellik134]

Haha.. yah. im going for like 3 to 4 hours straight. I guess I should shorten that a bit. Just got the speed and heavy bags so naturally im going at it all day till my fists are swollen. Cant wait for the calluses! Ill probably stick to the wraps for a bit longer for protection since im a newbie, until my fists get stronger. It seems like they are already. Thanks for your responses guys!

[SpeedBagSkunk]

yep

lol be aware that the more you hit the speed bag the more your hands will start to look ummmmm a little weird lol such as ur pinky finger and ummmm elbow and most of ur knuckles will callase over.

[Tim]

A couple of things to consider:

1. Is your bag overinflated? I can hurt my hands pretty quick if there is too much air in the bag.

2. Are you repetitively hitting with the same part of your hand? Try to mix it up, circle punches, straight punches, reverse punch, back of the hand, etc. Be sure to hit equally with your left and right also.

3. Smaller, lighter bag = less force needed = less wear and tear on the hands, elbows, and shoulder joints. A 5.5 oz 8x5 Title Classic speed bag is noticeably lighter than a 8 oz Everlast 9x6.

4. Some bags have a softer texture than others - the Title bags being a good example. The consumer quality Everlast bags (like you see in sporting goods store) have a pretty rough texture that is hard on the skin.

5. Finally, you may just need to back off the frequency a bit. I limit speed bag to 3-4 times per week for about 20-30 minutes at a time.

I don't wear gloves or handwraps and I don't currently have any hand injuries, in the past, when hitting for long periods of time with the same portion of the fist I frequently had hand pain.

[rellik134]

What are the common injuries and how do you avoid them? My hands are hurting, especially my left pinky knuckle. I use wraps. Is that enough or should I be using gloves?