Wrists & 7 ways yoga can keep them healthy
Yoga is not about flexibility but about developing and improving strength and mobility. This allows our body to support and align in a way that minimizes stress on smaller joints or vulnerable areas. We may start a yoga practice loosening the wrist joints with non-weight bearing movements and easing into the neck area with some gentle stretches and mobilizing movements. Then we may move into gentle weight bearing movements such as cat posture on all fours or gentle balances such as extending the arm and opposite leg for a core strength posture that also helps strengthen the wrists. Weight bearing postures in yoga may also help bone density and hence reduce the tendency towards osteoporosis.
Our hands can be used for many things, such as to communicate (especially if like me your ‘talk’ with your hands!), to eat, to express ourselves and to survive! We use our hands for so many things if you injure your hand, wrist or arm you will find yourself restricted in day-to-day life. This also means that healing can be slow as we often find ourselves using the hands without thinking. The wrists are also a common place of injury as modern day life uses many repetitive movements such as texting. Typing, driving, using a mouse or lifting and carrying shopping bags. This can result in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) plus carpel tunnel syndrome or tendonitis of the wrist. Poor habits in our yoga practice such as collapsing into the outside of the hand in downward dog or weight bearing postures may also result in wrist pain.
Poor postural habits also contribute to problems at the wrist and the elbow. If the shoulder or back isn’t supporting our arm movements effectively then the smaller joints may try to compensate. The forward head slumped posture that computers and driving contribute toward, is so common in today’s lifestyle that most yoga practices will include postures to encourage opening, strengthening and relaxing of these tight areas and habits. We may find that alignment issues in the shoulder can restrict or constrict nerves, which may manifest as swelling, pain, numbness or pins and needles in fingers, wrists or elbows. Often I have students concerned at pins and needles in the fingers or headaches, which are then relieved by a shoulder opening yoga sequence. Nerve compression may be released as the upper trapezius muscle relaxes allowing the neck to lengthen and move freely. We often do not realise how much our shoulders have snuck towards our ears or our chin has collapsed forward until we remedy it!
7 ideas for useful yoga postures may include
- Tadasana against a wall with arms raised, focusing on the alignment of the back against the wall as we lift arms.
- Lying with arms relaxed out to the side/ over head to lengthen the pectoral muscles which may be shortened by the forward slumped postures
- Maybe also seated or standing arm stretches/ sequences including linking fingers and stretching the palms upwards. Remembering to swop the link of fingers.
- Gentle prone backbends such as cobra posture, maybe changing the hand/ finger position to strengthen fingers as well as wrists. With wrist injury that prevents weight bearing this could also be done against a wall!
- On all fours (cat posture) or kneeling and leaning forward onto hands, the wrists can be strengthened and mobilized with different hand positions. Turning fingers forward, to the side or even towards the body as much as possible….like turning the hands around a clock face at 12 o’clock, 3 and 9 o’clock then 6 o’clock
- Cat on all fours.
Using wrist support can reduce the extension at the wrist joint if there is weakness or injury. - As wrists strengthen this could be advanced into one armed balances or twists and downward dog. Downward dog can also be done with hands on the wall as rehabilitation for wrists.
- Plank can also be used to strengthen wrists or can be done with injured wrists by taking the weight onto the forearms.
Yoga can be used to strengthen and mobilize wrists, both preventing and rehabilitating from wrist injury and RSI issues. Yoga also aids our body awareness throughout the day, especially when driving or working at a computer, of keeping shoulders relaxed and down the back and wrists in a comfortable position. Yoga is not just for when you are on your yoga mat, yoga principles of body alignment, awareness and mindfulness stay with us through our day-to-day activities helping us stay happier, healthier and stronger in minds and well as our wrists!
