How to Relieve Wrist Pain When Doing Push Ups

How to Relieve Wrist Pain When Doing Push Ups

The pushup exercise is one of the best exercises to help you achieve your goals. Strengthening the core and upper body can be accomplished with pushups. Many people incorporate pushups into their exercise routine. The benefits of pushups include improved cardiovascular health and improved muscle mass. This exercise will provide a strong core and muscles to strengthen your upper body, easy to learn, and can be performed without any equipment.

However, wrist pain during pushups is very common. Pain in the wrists during pushups may be due to a lack of mobility in the wrist joints. It may also be caused by overuse of the wrists and the hands while performing the exercise. And you don’t want to experience wrist pain while performing the push-up exercise.

The pushup position requires your wrists to be extended, with much of your body weight on the wrists. Spending more time in the pushup position may help loosen up your joints. But you don’t want to be in that position for too long if it is painful, especially with your body weight on the wrists.

This can happen to anyone but is especially common in people who spend a lot of time typing at a computer. When you are typing, your wrists are flexed, which can tense the muscles and cause the joints to be stiff. Suppose you want to avoid experiencing wrist pain During the pushup exercise. You must ensure you can perform the exercise properly without discomfort. 

How to Relieve Wrist Pain When Doing Push Ups

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Some people with flat hands don’t have the flexibility in their wrists necessary to do the pushup movement, which leads to wrist pain. If you decrease how much the middle finger gets pulled back, it’s easier on the wrist.

You can perform the pushup movement on a ledge, a riser in the gym, the edge of a machine, or even on a half foam roller to decrease the extension in your wrist, decrease the flattening of the hand, and decrease the pulling back of the middle finger.

Push Up Tweak using a Ledge

Edge Push Up

Home Remedies for Wrist Pain

Minor soreness and discomfort are something you might manage with some simple home remedies. Thus, it’s best to consult your doctor if you have questions or if the pain is severe. Here are some of the home remedies to relieve wrist pain:

  • Perform daily stretches.
  • Arrange your workspace ergonomically when working at a computer or desk.
  • Wear a wrist brace or splint when doing exercise.
  • Rub some cream on your fingertips and massage the forearms.
  • Do contrast therapy of heat and cold on your forearms and wrists.
  • Soak your hands and wrists in warm water and Epsom salt for 20 minutes.
  • Take an anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving medication.
  • Rest your wrist and keep it elevated.

Outlook

Wrist pain and muscle pain can happen with any type of exercise that requires a lot of energy to be flexible or push the weight. To build the strength needed to perform an advanced move like the pushup, you may need to start with a modified version or alternative exercise. The good news is most of these alternatives target the same muscles and can be just as effective as a standard pushup.

To decrease joint and muscle pain, check out The Top 10 Morning Movements to Loosen Up Your Joints here!

0 Morning Movements to Loosen Up Your Joints