Advice to Avoid Wrist Pain

A common complaint that I receive from my clients is wrist pain. I remember the sensation when I first started working out on a regular basis. It's this aching pain in the wrists when doing, push-ups, tricep dips, bridge pose, or even holding a plank. Good news, like all the other areas of our body, our wrists are surrounded by tiny muscles that help to stabilize and support the joint. Like any other part of our body, as we strengthen the muscles in our forearms, hands and wrists, we should be able to support ourselves without any pain. But, how do we get through it when our wrists are still so weak? Here are a few tips:

• Alignment & Form: When supporting yourself with your hands, make sure that the palms remain in line with your elbows and shoulders. Don't let yourself press into the base of your palm, but rather think about pressing into your finger tips and into the front of your palms. 

• Make Fists: We have a tendon in our hand that runs from the inside of our thumb up through our wrist to the forearm. To make sure that we are not straining this tendon, if you feel tension on the inside of your thumb area, make a fist to alleviate any pain and protect the tendon. 

• Use Weights: Similar to the technique of making fists, we can also use free weights to support our wrists. As shown in the picture above, this seems to be the best way to alleviate any pain in the wrists for me and my clients. 

• Add a Cushion: If you're doing pushups or holding a plank on hard flooring, grab a mat or try doing these exercises on the carpet. The extra padding will help to absorb some of the extra weight on your joints. 

• Modify: Try your best to do a few repetitions on your wrists (otherwise how are they ever going to get stronger?!) but when you need to, feel free to drop down to the tops of your thighs in a plank position or even come down to your forearms. If you choose to take it to the forearms, be sure to keep your wrists in line with your elbows and press your palms firmly into the floor beneath you. 

Unless you experience wrist pain throughout your daily activities, I wouldn't worry too much about aching wrists during your workout. Again, as the rest of your body gets stronger, so will your wrists! Stay sting, babes xo