11 Oct Tips for Looking after your wrists.
Why do our wrists hurt?
These easy, daily techniques can strengthen your wrists and prevent injury.
Wrist pain can be a common side effect of exercise and can also arise from office work or extended mobile phone use.
Yoga, body weight/strength training require most if not all your body weight or added weight being put onto your hands and wrists. Sometimes for extended periods of time. This additional strain can cause weakness and pain in the wrists as well as very tight forearm muscles. If left unattended to, after a period of time can build up to a point that leaves the wrists susceptible to further weakness and impairment or in extreme cases arthritis.
Wrist stretching and strengthening techniques
The best remedy for common wrist pain is to have a daily routine of stretching and strengthening the muscles and tendons around the wrist and forearm.
A simple stretch for the muscles of the forearm utilizing a hard ball is to place either side of your forearm onto a ball on a table or counter top and then slowly roll back and forth along the length of the forearm for at least 20-30 seconds while applying as much pressure onto the ball as required to feel a deep stretch/massage. Repeat the same process for the other side of the forearm then the other arm.
Once the stretching part is completed, the next step is to strengthen the wrist and grip in its current weakened state. A simple technique for this utilizing a soft squeeze ball or a wrist strengthener is to do 1 second squeeze holds. With your wrist in a neutral/straight and strong position, squeeze the ball slowly for a count of 1 then hold for a count of 1 before slowly releasing. The trick is not to go to failure but rather stop at the repetition where you feel your hand just starting to work at its hardest without beginning to ache. This will ensure that the strength occurs gradually and safely.
A daily routine will go a long way correcting and minimizing any further wrist pain.
Vin Chand has extensive experience in treating musculoskeletal and soft tissue dysfunction. He has a background in personal training and is passionate about all things health and fitness. Coupled with his mantra ‘ treating you as the individual you are, means your treatments are meticulously specific to your needs and goals. To book an initial session or follow up session with Vin online at www.balancedstate.