The Importance of Protecting Your Wrists While Working Out

By: CrossFit Fortify

Safe and proper technique while exercising is key to avoiding injury, but it's always a challenge to protect our most fragile body parts. As a tiny joint with many tiny bones in a cramped space, the wrist is particularly vulnerable to stress and trauma. The wrists are also used in many essential CrossFit exercises (and throughout our daily lives!), so it's even more important to keep them protected through preventative measures. The following tips will ease any concern you might have about how exercise will impact your wrists and what you can do to prevent injury.

Proper Form Goes a Long Way

If you're currently experiencing wrist pain during exercise or have in the past, it's possible that your form or technique needs correcting. For example, push-ups should be performed with the hands aligned with your shoulders. Be sure to keep your hands flat and straight, and make sure all parts of your hand are touching the ground to help better distribute the force of your weight.

When you lift weights, work from a comfortable starting point and only slowly increase the weight. Of course, you can always make small modifications to your bodyweight exercises if you're susceptible to wrist pain. For instance, instead of doing straight arm planks, go with elbow planks. As you learn more about how your body reacts to exercise, you'll be in tune to foreign wrist pain that might signal a problem.

Supporting Equipment Can Be a Big Help

Wrist braces and wraps can help a lot in wrist protection. They aren't going to prevent all injuries, but they do make them less likely. The tighter you wrap, the more mobility you sacrifice in exchange for extra support. The different wrist brace materials include cloth, elastic, or even tape; if you're doing heavy lifting, make sure to use elastic wraps for the extra sturdiness.

There are additional commercial products you can use to make some exercises less hazardous. Push-up handles, foam wedge blocks, and pull-up assistance bands can boost your ability to perform a variety of strength training exercises without the hindrance of wrist pain.

Wrist Flexibility Exercises

By working on your wrist stability through exercise, you can prevent future wrist pain. Wrist rotations, wrist curls, resistance bands, ring push-ups, hand grips, and more can help to strengthen and stretch the mobility of your wrists.

Targeted work on your wrist flexibility can help prevent debilitating issues like tendonitis, fractures, sprains, and carpal tunnel syndrome. To be clear, if you ever notice alarming wrist pain while exercising, please see a nearby orthopedic physician group like the Texas Orthopedic Hospital.

Symptoms that should be checked out immediately include:

Aching, stabbing, or shooting pains, especially if persistent
Inflammation of the wrist
A popping or tearing sound or sensation
Numbness and tingling
Noticeable weakness

As long as you properly perform your exercise, protect your wrists with wraps, and increase their mobility through training, you'll be poised to shut down any wrist problems before they arise. For more information on proper wrist care during exercise and to get started in your training with a 20-minute no-sweat intro, please contact us at CrossFit Fortify today.

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