For many people, yoga and wrist pain goes hand in hand. Human beings walk on their feet, which is why our legs are accustomed to handling that much weight. On the other hand, our hands are not meant to support us, so obviously trying to balance our body weight on our hands can be tricky. Hands are generally weak, so if you put that much weight instantly on them it may lead to pain. People don’t understand this fact and go from giving no exercise to their hands to instantly holding their entire body weight on their shoulders at once. Without allowing your hands with some adjustment period, you ask them to do something really challenging without any practice.
The above reason is why almost every yoga class has someone who complains about wrist pain. The pain is just your body’s way of telling you that you are putting too much pressure on it without any practice or warning. Although, wrist pain can also be a sign of not balancing the weight on your hands in the right way. Now, this wrist pain doesn’t just start from yoga practice. Some people also experience it from twisting of your wrist, or because of continuous use of keyboard/mouse. Some exercises that can be hard on your wrists include- plank position, handstand, push-ups, and the crow.
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The biggest downfall of having wrist pain is how much it can interfere with yoga practices. If you keep stressing your wrist, even more, this pain can even lead to injury. Hence, it is necessary to increase the intensity of your yoga gradually and give your wrist enough adjustment time to become equipped with handling all that weight.
Why Does Wrist Pain Occur?
We have already told you that our wrists are not made to handle too much weight. Your legs have been bearing your weight since you were born. So, as your weight increases, your legs get accustomed to balancing more. On the other hand, people just want their wrists to hold their entire body weight in just one day. Just like your legs, you also need to give your hands the chance to get stronger gradually rather than pushing them to hold the entire weight in one go.
The pain can also occur if your core is not strong, this will lead to more weight falling on your wrists. Another issue can be; low flexibility. You are supposed to balance some of the weight on your shoulder, but if you are not flexible you will end up leaning more forward on your wrists and strain them.
The main thing that elevates wrist pain is the positioning of your fingers when you do these exercises. Bad positioning can lead to mismanaged weight. It is always desired to put more weight towards your thumb and index finger (forming the L shape) rather than your pinkie finger.
How To Avoid Wrist Pain During Yoga Workout
Wrist pain cannot be completely avoided while doing exercises. All you can do is know what causes you to have wrist pain and minimize the chances of that circumstance happening. Here are some things you can do to avoid wrist pain:
Recognize Wrist Pain Causing Factors
Your wrist has delicate tissues, if you put more strain than what they can handle your wrist is bound to have pain. Be sure of how much your wrist can handle and take it from them. You can increase the difficulty gradually. Mostly, if you start feeling pain, take it slow.
Shoulder Positioning
Try to place your wrist’s shoulder-width apart and not less than that. If you feel like this is too tight for you, you can extend your wrists a little.
Alter Poses
If you practice poses that require too much wrist strength, your wrists are bound to be sore. Try altering poses that need you to bear your weight on your hands. There are already available alterations to all popular poses like the plank. Try the easy versions and go from there. You can also alternate between the actual pose and the alternate pose to give your sore wrist some time to heal. This will allow inflamed tissues to heal faster. Here are some altered poses-
- Place your elbows on the ground instead of just your hand- this will give you more area to balance your weight on. Your weight will be evenly distributed on your elbow instead of just your hand.
- Try spreading your fingers wide apart- Try to engage your whole hand and balance the weight evenly.
- Don’t put too much pressure on just the palm- Make sure your entire hand is touching the ground and try to grip the floor or the mat.
- Try bending your knees- Sometimes just bending your knee will help in shifting your weight from just your wrist to spreading it on your entire hand. You can also try touching the floor with your knees. This lets you do the pose easily and reduces the strain.
Strengthen Your Core
A weak core will not only affect your wrist, but it will also make your workouts less effective. If your core is not strengthened enough, you may end up leaning more on your shoulders and hence put more weight on your wrists. Make sure you are looking in the mirror while you exercise, as it will help you in realizing how effectively you are doing the pose. Doing the positions in the right way will help in strengthening your core, it will also activate those muscles and make your workout more effective.
Adapt According To Your Needs-
It’s important to know that making your wrists strong takes time. You must take these traditional yoga poses and modify them if you have to; depending on your fitness levels. Know what your fitness abilities are and you can increase the difficulty of the poses as your wrist becomes strong. It is also necessary to keep making the exercises challenging as you are able to do more.
Try Using Wrist Wraps
If nothing else works, you can try using wrist wraps for your exercises. Wearing these on your wrists will provide some relief to your hands as these wraps provide compression. These wraps are also a great way to remind yourself to be extra careful.
All these remedies will help you reduce the chances of having wrist pain. But if you already have wrist pain and it lingers even after altering your yoga positions or if your wrist is swollen, you must get it checked by a doctor. Lingering pain can worsen your wrist hence it is important to get it addressed at the right time.
Mindfulness is the best remedy when doing any form of exercise. Accidents are bound to happen, and you can hurt yourself, just make sure you are doing everything to reduce these accidents. Be in charge of your body and know what it wants. It’s a good habit to challenge your body, just make sure you are not taking your body to the point of injury or prolonged damage. It’s important to know your body’s limitations and respect them.
