Weak wrists and yoga pain

April 6, 2009 6:32 PM

New to yoga and my wrists are killing me.

I started taking a yoga class (Anusara, if that makes a difference) a few weeks ago and I love, love, love it... except for the fact that my wrists hurt like hell when I have to put weight on my hands.

I sprained both wrists in a fall in college (more than 20 years ago) and they've never quite been right since. For a few years after, I could re-sprain either wrist just by flicking my hand too quickly.

So now, in yoga, I'm fine in Table pose but Downward Dog and others like it really hurt, and I can't sustain the pose. I try to focus on the "four corners of the hand" but I can't seem to shift my weight away from the wrists and forward onto the pads at the base of the fingers. My wrists hurt, and then I start to think/worry about it, and then I'm not in the moment... which kind of defeats the purpose.

Google shows several different devices that claim to reduce wrist pressure/pain but none are free, of course - so I'd appreciate any advice/testimonials from MeFites. Thanks!

posted by Sweetie Darling to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (14 answers total)

For Downward Dog, and other poses like it, you could try resting on your forearms instead of on your hands. That's the alternative my instructor proposes for those who find such poses to be too strenuous on the hands and wrists.
posted by blithecatpie at 6:40 PM on April 6, 2009

My physical therapist recommended pushing out on the balls of my index fingers. If that isn't good enough, then you should rest on your forearms instead as blithecatpie suggests.
posted by grouse at 6:51 PM on April 6, 2009

I'm prone to wrist discomfort. I sometimes find it helpful to put a rolled up towel or blanket under my palms for down dog.
posted by Caviar at 6:54 PM on April 6, 2009

I had the same complaint, and my instructor is supposed to get these little foam wedges (foam like the yoga blocks) that you can use to slightly adjust the angle of your wrists in these poses. Haven't gotten them yet, but she said they've worked for her in the past.
posted by olinerd at 7:12 PM on April 6, 2009

Bend your knees a little. The whole point of the pose is to flatten your back, tilt your hips back and create length backwards, along your back and legs, towards your feet. So if you have enough of your weight forward and on your hands that you are having wrist pain then you'd benefit from bending your knees just a little, to get the stretch along your back and shoulders getting the right idea.
I have the tightest hamstrings in the world and down dog caused me a lot of pain and ag until I had a teacher tell me to start the pose with slightly bent knees - it was like a whole new world. It went from being my most hated pose to one of my favorites.
posted by 8dot3 at 7:14 PM on April 6, 2009

I have problems with wrist pain in yoga sometimes as well. What seemed to help me was when an instructor said to feel as if you are pulling up from the tops of your hands. It's hard to describe and sounds silly, but it really helped me. I think it must engage some arm muscles to remove some of the wrist pressure.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 7:54 PM on April 6, 2009

When I went to Anusara classes, they often had us cup our hands so that only the tips of our fingers and thumbs were on the mat in order to relieve pressure on the wrist and strengthen the hands. It didn't really work for me, but I think it's worth a try (under the supervision of your instructor)!
posted by mustard seeds at 7:59 PM on April 6, 2009

The instructor of my yoga classes talks about using more upper arm strength to reduce pressure on the wrists. Yeah, I haven't quite figured it out yet, but have you spoken to the instructor about this?
posted by cestmoi15 at 8:11 PM on April 6, 2009

This wrist issue, not specifically upper arms... duh.
posted by cestmoi15 at 8:12 PM on April 6, 2009

Bend your knees as much as you need to, and try bending your elbows just a touch. Focus on keeping your back flat - as if there's a rope round your hips pulling your hips back towards the back wall of the room - this will shift weight back onto your legs. Try moving in and out of the pose rather than focusing on holding it for a long time (move from down dog to cat pose for example). And defintely tell the instructor before your next call - they should be able to tell you a suitable modification.
posted by girlgenius at 8:33 PM on April 6, 2009

You can build your own wrist strengthening thingy. See instructions under 5. Wrist rolling on this page.
posted by Gor-ella at 7:26 AM on April 7, 2009

Feedback From the Field: Wrist Modifications - can't say I know of the publication, but the advice is generally in line with what everyone's said here: focus on the knuckles (balls) of the hands, particularly the index and thumb joints, and bend the knees to shift weight back.

A good instructor should know of alternatives. If s/he doesn't, I'd look for a new one.
posted by hobbes at 1:57 PM on April 7, 2009

An exercise one of my first yoga teachers taught me, which I do believe helped a lot, is to put your hands together in front of your chest in a prayer position and then lift your arms so that your elbows are sticking straight out to your sides. Basically your hands and arms at this point are at a 90 degree angle to each other. Push your palms together in this position with as much pressure as is comfortable, and hold it for as long as you can. Rinse, repeat whenever you can/want.

My instructor said this somehow counteracts the odd angle that most of us keep our wrists at all day (read: keyboard). I don't know about that, but this exercise did help me through the first few weeks of excruciating Sun Salutation chatturungas and downward dogs. Good luck!
posted by Eudaimonia at 10:29 PM on April 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

Late to this party, but what's always been good for me is to do downward-dog on my knuckles, that is, by forming my hands into fists. That straightens the wrists.
posted by JimN2TAW at 6:35 AM on April 13, 2009