Wrist flexibility

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Smaug97, Feb 6, 2017.

  1. Smaug97

    Smaug97 Valued Member

    Hi guys- I'm getting a bit concerned about the lack of flexibility in my wrists (I'm having trouble doing conventional pushups owing to the angle my wrist is at), i do work a desk job so I'm expecting some loss of performance but given that I'm only 19 I'd like to retain full flexibility for as long as i can.
    I'm already doing a fair amount of stretching to try and alleviate the problem but I'm just curious if there is anything else i should be doing.
     
  2. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    Has your flexibility actually been better before?
    Or do you want it to be better then normal?

    I have had a very flexible wrist and it is still rather flexible (I had my arm broken), but my physiotherapist mentioned, that I am actually better of if it stays in "normal" ranges, due to longer term ouchies.
    I'm again more flexible than "normal" but I did keep it in mind.
     
  3. Smaug97

    Smaug97 Valued Member

    It's taken a downturn as of late, (I'm suspecting because of my desk job- trying to rearrange my desk to see if that helps), it was at a fairly normal level before but as mentioned previously it's making pushups when I'm not on my knuckles really hard as i can barely do 10 without having to take a break due to pain/discomfort.
     
  4. spawn2031

    spawn2031 New Member

    Was there anything that happened? An injury? Carpal Tunnel from all the typing? Or did it just all of a sudden start tightening up on you?
     
  5. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Make sure you are using proper form on pushups. You should minimize lateral elbow movement. I.e., bend your elbows towards the ground, not out to the sides. Going out to the sides will stress your wrists.

    Also make sure you are pushing into the floor with all your fingers--this will take some of the load off the wrist.

    If you are already doing all that, then yeah I'd stick with knuckle pushups or get a push-up helper device you can grip in a knuckle-pushup like manner.
     
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  6. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Sorry, I left out a few things:
    - For pushing your fingers into the floor, do it like you are trying to grip the floor (but hand stays flat).
    - Keep your arms parallel to your body as much as you can, tight to your sides/underneath you. This will set up a good position to lower yourself by the elbows bending down, rather than to the side.
    - During the downward motion, do not just fall towards the ground by lessening your pushing force. Actively pull yourself towards the ground with your lats. (This is something I am working on; I'm not an expert on proper push-up form, but my personal trainer is. Not doing this can strain the shoulder, which is a problem I ran into. I didn't know this was the way to do it til I asked him to just double check my form, as usually I'm not doing push-ups in front of him, but as part of a martial arts class or as a warm-up on my own.) Note that this will be harder and expend more energy than just letting yourself fall towards the floor, but will help protect from shoulder problems (and also work your lats, which is a good thing).
    - At the very top of the push-up, when you are in a high plank, your serratus muscles should be engaged, pushing your shoulders forward. As you pull yourself down with your lats, you retract your shoulders; at the bottom they will be in the 'packed' position (pulled backwards, closer into the shoulder socket, using your lats/back muscles). As you come back up, they should push forward again, being fully pushed forward by the time you are back in the high plank position.

    It turns out there were many things I didn't know how to do properly for body weight exercises. It was fine when I was in my twenties, I could slam out push-ups and squats and whatnot without getting body problems.
    But as I approach 40, doing things with not-quite-right (or fairly wrong) form has more of an impact, and I start getting strains/tendon issues/etc.
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2020
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  7. Grond

    Grond Valued Member

    I don't know if the original poster is still around but pain in the wrists is usually a sign you're not doing pushups with good form. Since most of your muscles and core have to work in unison for a good pushup, a bad form pushup moves all that stress to your joints, tendons, etc. And that will make you wince (not necessarily injure), because you're not used to it and you're going past your usual range of mobility. Try these exercises for improving that. Note that the first image her hands are inverted.

    I had a great coach and PT who ran a program at a local franchise gym for flexibility training, especially for old people. He used to point out how many of the old people had lost basic abilities like standing up straight, looking up straight, holding out their arms etc. According to him, a lot of that had to do with occupational issues (ie sitting long hours, standing, etc). Maintaining your posture is really important because otherwise your slump starts to become your natural pose.

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  8. Smaug97

    Smaug97 Valued Member

    Hey guys- thanks for the advice! I've got a big weight cut to do so I'll probably have a good chance to implement a lot of this whilst im working out.
     
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  9. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I got a couple more corrections today from my trainer.
    Hands shouldn't be completely flat, the pads on your palm underneath the knuckles (corresponding to the ball of your foot if it was a foot) should be arched a bit, not flat. And you should be gripping the floor and applying a screwing force outward with both hands.
     
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  10. Grond

    Grond Valued Member

    If you're not using all your finger and hand muscles during a pushup, you're not using all of the musculature available to you, and again the leftover ends up on connective tissue, which is typically bad. Not only that, the bloodlow to connective tissue is limited enough as it is, if you injure it, you're looking at a long recovery.

    I've tried the "Perfect Pushup" and some other similar devices, and generally find them to be good ways to get all the necessary muscles engaged. Your coach is right, people who just flat palm it are doing it wrong. The best part of the hand to put the most weight on in my opinion is the hard part of the palm, because it's the best part of the hand equipped for stress, if you get what I mean.
     
  11. Terry7987979

    Terry7987979 New Member

    Lacking flexibility isn't any problem if you feel no pain. I think you should do some stretches and follow some exercise techniques to increase the flexibility of your wrist.
     

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