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

[yeloson]

So, you're feeling the beginnings of tendonitis/RSI.

1. Do not do flat wrist pushups at this time. It'll inflame the tendons, which will make things worse.

2. Consider an ergonomic keyboard. At work, I use this:

http://www.comfortkeyboard.com/keyboards_ergoflex.html

Being in 3 sections means I can move it wider or thinner and change the angles to meet my body. That ended my arm issues real fast.

3. Bodywork on your forearms. If you know a physical therapist or can contact one, they will give you great exercises to do to stop this before it gets bad.

You'll want to massage your forearms, all the way up to the elbow, on all sides. The muscles that the fingers use are all up in the forearm, so that's what you'll be wanting to relax as well.

4. Take breaks during massive typing. Once an hour, at least, stand up, stretch around, wiggle your arms, flump them around like a muppet and let things relax.

[weirdquark]

Seconded. One of my roommates had really bad RSI to the point where she couldn't type at all for a while -- getting an ergonomic workstation (keyboard, having the monitor at the correct height, etc.) and going to physical therapy and getting a few exercises to do improved things immensely.

Wrapping her wrists in heating pads every now and then also has been helpful, so that's something else the OP might want to try.

[paradox_dragon]

This was excellent advice, thank you. The arm massage and flumping around like a muppet are relieving the symptoms, I'm looking into ergonomic keyboards, and my doc agrees that it's RSI. Which sucks, but better to know than keep making it worse.