Drop and give me 20 – does that make you cringe? Not just from the exhaustion of doing a push up or burpee but from the pain you anticipate in your wrist from weight bearing.
In the Hand Clinic at SportsCare and Physiotherapy it is not unfamiliar to hear clients report pain in the wrist during or after weight bearing exercises. There are several reasons for why wrists don’t like weight bearing, and it is not commonly due to stiff wrists, in actual fact quite the opposite – they are too mobile. The wrist joint is very complex with many structures, interacting biomechanics and moves in multiple directions. This is great for function, but the consequence of the flexibility is instability.
Check out the tips on how to achieve the outcomes of weight bearing exercise without sacrificing wrist comfort.
- Monitor load – understand how much weight bearing your wrists can tolerate and spread your weight bearing exercises over the week.
- Consider previous injury – was the injury appropriately rehabilitated to allow weightbearing load.
- Hypermobility – make sure to look at your elbow posture. The elbow creases on the inside of your elbow should face each other, as opposed to facing forward.
- Neutral wrists – wrists are much happier in a neutral (straight) position, consider using push up bars, weight bearing on a clenched fist or WAG’s (Wrist Assured Gloves).
- Still not sure – it’s time to check in with a Hand Therapist at SportsCare and Physiotherapy.
We are here to help you.