Wrist issues

[paradox_dragon]

I have noticed that when doing push-ups (or anything that requires me to exert force with my palms flat and my wrists bent), I get sharp pains in my wrists. This is lessened, though not eliminated, when I do the pushups at an incline (like against a wall). I have also found that doing floor push-ups with my hands wrapped around the shafts of a pair of dumbbells really helps. I have tried doing push-ups on my fists, and it feels like all my knuckles are being ground into powder, so that's a no-go.

What I am wondering is: If I keep doing wall push-ups and limited numbers of floor push-ups with my palms flat, working my way up to more, will my wrists strengthen up, or will I make it worse? Are there any exercises I could do to help with these issues? I would rather fix the problem than just compensate for it, if it's possible, but I also don't want to end up breaking myself.

Note: I suspect that these issues are from spending 6+ hours a day on my laptop. I sometimes get aches and pains in my wrists and forearms even without exerting pressure, if I've been typing for a long time or whatever.

Comments

[daedala]

Oh dude... I would actually recommend seeing a doctor if you can. And not doing any more pushups until you have done so.

I have an lj friend with a similar-ish issue; I have asked if I can point you to her posts on it (and linked back here, so she might post herself). But her issue seems to be an overuse problem, and if doing pushups makes it worse, doing more may continue to make it worse. Especially if you have to be on a keyboard a lot, it seems very risky to me until you find out what the real problem is. The fact that incline pushups are a problem as well -- which means you're putting only some fraction of body weight on your wrists -- seems pretty worrisome to me.

With all the usual caveats that I am not a doctor, and nor do I play one on tv.

[wired]

That's me! This is the post where I talk about the realization that it was the pushups doing me in: http://wiredferret.livejournal.com/1596424.html?nc=6

[paradox_dragon]

Ah, reading that was really helpful--I also crochet and do a lot of needlework; until you mentioned knitting, I hadn't even thought of that being a contributing factor. That plus typing plus push-ups may be kind of a perfect storm of wrist damage for me.

[paradox_dragon]

Thanks for the reality check--I have made an appointment with my doc!