How to Fix Torn Hands From CrossFit and weightlifting?

There’s NOTHING worse than when you hands rip in the middle of a tough CrossFit workout. It hurts, makes a mess, and ruins your training for the next few days while your hands heal!

While most of us take this for granted, there’s actually a lot you can do to treat your hand tears, and also prevent them from happening in the first place. We’ve put together this article to help with that!

That time you spend waiting for your hands to heal may vary from one person to another. For one person, that may mean waiting for three days. For another, it may be a week. By the time you return, you will be behind schedule. And you’ll have a lot of catching to do.

 Hence, it is always crucial to prevent getting torn hands as much as possible. The good news is there are several ways that you can use to ensure that you don’t get torn hands. (More about this later.) In this article, you’ll find a few tricks you can use to heal or prevent torn hands.

But before we dive in, first things first:

What exactly causes torn hands?

Torn hands are a significant problem for many CrossFit weight lifters. Torn hands during weightlifting are mainly caused by bars and the weight your hands have to carry. So what usually happens is that your hands will build up calluses gradually. The more weight you add, the more calluses you’re likely to get. When there is too much callus buildup, your skin will eventually tear off. It is as simple as that. 

How to treat torn hands?

There are several ways that you can use to treat rips on your hands. Here are some of them: 

1. Clean your torn hands. 

According to this study, microorganisms like bacteria viruses thrive on dirty hands. One practical way to prevent viruses from thriving on your torn hands is by using warm water and soap. Make sure that you gently rub soap on the affected areas of your hands as well. Then rinse your hands thoroughly and wipe them off with a clean towel. 

2. Moisturize your torn hands.

 If you want to make blood vessels regenerate on your hand, you may need to use a moisturizer regularly. But ensure that the moisturizer that you use contains all the necessary properties that help your hands heal a lot quicker. Use an antibacterial ointment such as Neosporin. Or even something simple like Vaseline or Zambuk. 

3. Trim your skin nicely. 

If any skin is hanging off due to torn hands, don’t leave it hanging just like that. Cut it off. The same you’d typically do with your long nails. You can consider using a tiny nail clipper or small scissors.

4. Take a break from working out.

Working out with torn hands will only expose you to all sorts of bacteria and infections. So taking a break for a couple of days is the only sensible thing you should do at this stage.

5. Cover your wounds with a bandage.

Research shows that covering torn hands with a bandage enhances healing. Generally, rips on your hands take an average of three to five days to heal. But if you have wounds, they may take longer to heal. Remember, you will be using a moisturizer throughout the healing process at least once a day.

6. Use a pumice stone

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, using a pumice stone can help you remove the dead skin around your palms. How do you do this? By soaking yourself in warm water for 5–10 minutes until the skin softens using a pumice stone.

How to prevent torn hands caused by CrossFit workouts

Prevention is always better than cure. Besides, when you prevent torn hands, it means you don’t have to wait many days for your hands to heal. 

1. Cover your hands.

One of the best things you should consider is covering your hands. You can do this before every training session. It will help you prevent calluses on your hands.

There are weightlifting gloves that you can also buy that will help prevent calluses. But if you can’t find the best gloves, you can always consider using tape. Then use the following method to tape your hand:

• Tear at most minuscule a 14-inch-long tape.
• Place the tape on your hand.
• Then, press it down against your skin, and start taping from the inner part of your wrist.

2. Moisturize your hands.

Research proves that when you moisturize your hands, you’ll prevent calluses. And you don’t have to use an expensive moisturizer. Something as cheap as Vaseline can do the trick. Or any other hand moisturizer that contains vitamin E oil.

3. Condition your hands.

One other trick that proves to work for many people is “hands conditioning” exercise. What do we mean by that? By getting your hands used to holding heavy weights properly. The more your soft hands get used to weights, the more likely they will handle heavyweight better.

Final Thoughts 

Lastly, don’t wait until you get torn hands. Start taking care of your hands as soon as you start with your first workouts. Use some prevention measures highlighted, and always have a hand moisturizer in your bag.