Deadlift Blisters: Cause and Solutions

Since I began deadlifting heavy, I've struggled with blisters on my palms like those shown at left (it's a picture of someone else's hand, not mine, but the blisters I get are the same, though I haven't gotten any on my fingers yet). I don't know about other powerlifters, but when I get them they slow my progress as the pain and the desire to let them heal will cause me to go easier next time I lift. Additionally, my propensity for developing them greatly impacts my confidence, and it's a real challenge to give my best effort when I'm worried I'm going to tear my flesh open.

What causes blisters like these? Why does deadlifting in particular tend to produce them? I don't know if it's the same for every powerlifter, but in my case it appears that the culprit is calluses. Lifting heavy is rough on the skin of the palm and fingers, and just as the skin becomes darker to better protect itself from future sunlight, so does the skin develop calluses to better protect itself from future abrasion during deadlifting. Mine are primarily on the palm just below the middle and ring fingers (though I'm developing tiny ones just below the pinkies as well, and a couple of negligible ones on the fingers themselves).

Now, in what way do these calluses cause a problem for the very exercise that triggered the body's natural defense mechanism to begin with? As one begins to lift the bar, one's grip is usually closed firmly around the bar (and definitely should be), as shown in the picture above. But during the course of a workout, a set of deadlifts, or even a single, heavy lift, one's grip can tend to weaken and begin to open up. To see what i mean, watch the deadlifter's left hand start to open up at about 23 seconds into the video below.

When the grip starts to open up like this, notice that the bar starts to slip downward out of the hand. And those calluses that develop toward the end of the palm, just below the fingers, they stick out a bit from the plane of the palm. So as the bar slips downward out of the hand, the calluses tend to get caught under the bar, which pulls them down toward the floor as the lifter struggles to pull the bar--using, of course, his palms--upward. Eventually, the skin between the callus and the center of the palm gives way, and you've got your blister. From the description of the video above: "callous [sic] tore off of left hand mid lift. Couldn't hold, +blood made it slip even more."

So how can we powerlifters avoid this problem? Yeah, some will just "man up" and deal with. Fine, go for it. I, however, am a wuss, and I want to prevent these blisters if at all possible. Others will choose to use equipment that allows the bar to be lifted without much gripping effort. Wrist straps suspend the bar from one's wrists, transferring the weight from the fingers and palm to the wrist, requiring little grip strength. Lifting hooks do basically the same thing. The problem with this approach is that they are not allowed in competition. Relying upon them too heavily will cause one's grip strength to lag behind; it won't matter in competition if your legs and back can lift 800 pounds but your grip can't lift half that.

When I started training a few months ago, I didn't understand what causes the blisters. In researching the problem, one of the solutions commonly suggested (which I'll get to momentarily) opened my eyes to what was going on, and once this dawned on me, I realized that the single most important thing we can do to prevent deadlift blisters is this: GRIP TIGHTLY! I now make it a point to try and be conscious of my grip throughout the entire motion, concentrating on gripping it as tightly as possible, keeping my hand closed firmly around the bar. A mantra just came to me: "If the bar don't slip, the skin won't rip."

But I'm also experimenting with the solution I came across which revealed to me this connection between calluses and blisters in the first place: filing the calluses down. The idea seems to be, if we reduce the size of our calluses, they are less likely to get caught under the bar as our grip weakens and opens up. Plus, the softer, smoother skin of filed calluses should allow the bar to slip over them more easily than the hard, rough skin of unfiled ones. The comments I read suggested pumice; the bath and beauty section of your local grocery store may have pumice (volcanic rock) stones for filing down rough skin.

I found a brush at my local Walmart yesterday, pictured at right, which has pumice, as well as a couple of other surfaces with different levels of roughness. I spent some time working on my calluses and I must say that although my skin's a bit red and sore today, the calluses feel smaller and smoother than before. Just maybe there's something to this idea. Next week on deadlift day I'll post an update.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back... And Two To the Side!

Last week I explained that I had begun taking the stairs, rather than the elevator, to my 8th floor office. I mentioned that I was taking it a step further, going down one flight for every two I go up, thus doubling the number of stairs climbed. Today--in part to increase the range of muscles worked, and in part to help with my IT band issues--I added another twist. I climbed several flights of stairs sideways.

I looked for pictures of people climbing stairs sideways, but to no avail; these pictures are, I think, meant to demonstrate a particular stretch. Nevertheless, they illustrate what I did for several flights of stairs. I would climb one flight to my right, then one to the left. Then I'd go straight down one flight and go sideways up another two, and so forth.

My physical therapist yesterday explained that our exercise tends to be almost exclusively straight ahead or straight up, with little 360° movement. He said that next time we met he would give me a couple of exercises to do that would involve moving side-to-side and in all directions, which should help loosen up the IT band and strengthen the connective tissues. That inspired me to add this twist to my daily climb.

Whether or not this proves effective remains to be seen. However, I didn't have any knee pain after the climb, and even if it doesn't really help, it can't hurt to strengthen the surrounding muscles and tissues not exercised when climbing the stairs only straight up and down. I wonder what twist I'll think of next...

A Helping Hand for my IT Band

Today was my first physical therapy appointment to help with the pain in my left knee. Reflecting on my orthopedist's words from Friday, the fragmentation in my tubercle left over from my Osgood-Schlatter disease as a teen may not primarily be the cause of my pain. Instead, based on probing by my physical therapist, it's likely that the problem is common IT band pain.

The iliotibial tract or band, or IT band for short, is shown in the picture to the left (click for a larger view). It's the long, flat tissue extending from the hip all the way down the outside of the leg connecting to the top of the shin. As explained here, pain occurs in the knee and in the hip when the band is stretched and during movement rubs against a fluid sac cushioning it from the hip bone, or against the bones of the upper and lower leg near the knee, as shown in the picture to the right (again, click for a larger view).

In certain stretches imposed by my therapist, there was major pain in those two locations, typical of those struggling with IT band issues. He encouraged me, telling me that in a matter of a couple of weeks or so, that pain should be entirely gone. After applying heat and electricity for a while, then massaging and following up with cold and more electricity, my leg was feeling pretty good. He showed me some stretches he wants me to do several times a day, and I've an appointment again on Wednesday.

Anyway, all in all I'm encouraged and hopeful. Please keep me in your prayers; being without this pain will really help my confidence in the squat and deadlift. Also, please keep my therapist in your prayers as well. I mentioned that I was a Christian, and he said he was too, though I quickly discovered that what he meant was that he is a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which rejects orthodox Christian theology and doctrine). If it's God's will, perhaps I can plant some seeds of Truth in my brief time with him.