TLC for your hands and wrists

Your hands have many skills – typing, playing an instrument, knitting, and chopping vegetables to name a few.

But there’s little you do daily that requires you to bear a lot of weight on your hands.

Then you practice yoga poses. All of a sudden, your hands are asked to act like feet and support a lot of weight!

Weight-bearing poses have many benefits and strong arms help you live a healthier life. They are even linked to longevity (1,2). But you must also listen to your body.

Recognize pain as a red flag. It’s not something to grit your teeth through.

If your hands and wrists are uncomfortable when bearing weight keep reading. And even if they aren’t, keep reading. The tips below will help keep your hands and wrists healthy by bringing awareness to them.

My hope is that you find what works for YOU.

Set the foundation

Look at finger spacing. When you place your hands on the floor pay close attention to how you space your fingers. The pinky fingers often have extra space. Try to space your 4 fingers evenly.

Look at your thumbs. They are often really far from your first finger. Take care of those opposable thumbs! Bring your thumbs closer to the first finger and see how that feels. How close depends on what feels best for you. But it can make a big difference.

Adjust the weight. Picture your hand like a suction cup. The edges stay down while the center of your palm is lifted.

Now notice when you place your hands on the floor where you’re dumping the weight. Often one part of the hand bears most of the weight.

It’s common for the weight to collapse into the heels of your hands, close to the wrist. Either the weight goes to the hand’s outside heel or the fleshy thumb mound.

To counteract this, shift the weight forward by rooting down through the knuckles where your fingers attach to your palms.

It’s often suggested to evenly spread the weight, but if a joint is grumpy then try shifting the weight away from it.

I’m often asked if making a fist instead of placing the palm on the mat is a good alternative. I don’t see this as a sustainable alternative because your wrist is not in an optimal alignment. And you’re placing a lot of weight on that misaligned wrist.

Your wrists are happiest at a 45-degree angle. I don’t recommend that you regularly place a lot of weight on your fists. Check out this article for more information on that.

Bring the ground to you

Using props to lift the ground can also help your hands and wrists. The goal is NOT to remove the props. The only goal is to make your hands and wrists more comfortable. That’s it.

Using blocks. Yoga blocks are amazing props to use. Use the middle height of the block and place your hand on it. You can still ground down into the block and it’s a little easier on the wrist and hands.

Use a slant board or yoga mat. You can also raise the heel of the palms slightly so the wrist isn’t extended so much. This is helpful when the wrists don’t love being at a 90-degree angle.

Using a slant board or rolled-up yoga mat place the heels of your palms on the incline and let your fingers rest on the floor. Start with a small roll in the mat.

Don’t use a blanket here. Your palms will sink into the blanket too much and make the wrist angle sharper.

Use pushup grips. These props can reduce wrist strain by taking the hands and wrists out of the equation. I have students that regularly use these in class.

Keep your hands & wrists moving

Your hands are in a flexed position most of the day – holding a steering wheel, typing, or holding your phone. Moving your hands and wrists can loosen them up.

Open up

Open and close your hands multiple times. When you open them really open them, extending the fingers. You’ll likely feel a nice stretch down the fingers into the palm.

Circle your wrists

Move your wrists by making circles with them.

1. Place one hand on the opposite elbow. This is to prevent the elbow joint from creating the movement.

2. Circle your wrists 10x in each direction.

3. Repeat on the other arm.

Gently extend the wrists

1. Place your hands in a prayer position at your breastbone.

2. Make sure the heels of your palms are touching.

3. Gently, lower the hands down.

4. Keep the palms touching. The corner of the palm under the pinky finger will want to lift. Don’t let it.

5. Lower enough to feel extension, but don’t overdo it. Be gentle.

6. Breathe here for 10 breaths.

Listen to your body!

My hope is that using some of the tips above you can find a position for your hands with no pain in your hands and wrists.

Now be patient and listen to your body. Slowly start bearing weight on your hands. There’s no need to jump into a full-on plank! Start by spending a little time almost every day on your hands and knees and practice making the adjustments that work for you. In this position, there is relatively little weight on the hands, and the wrists can become accustomed to weight bearing.

Remember that yoga is meant to be a beneficial, healing practice. Go slow. Your hands and wrists will thank you!

Sources:

1. Celis-Morales, C. A., Welsh, P., Lyall, D. M., Steell, L., Petermann, F., Anderson, J., Iliodromiti, S., Sillars, A., Graham, N., Mackay, D. F., Pell, J. P., Gill, J., Sattar, N., & Gray, S. R. (2018). Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1651

2. Bohannon R. W. (2019). Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clinical interventions in aging, 14, 1681–1691. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S194543