Yoga and Wrist Pain

FrankyOsage

Hey Ya'll. I love doing yoga and lifting weights but lately the pain in my wrist has become more and more insistent and now my left one is starting to ache as well. And if you've noticed, a lot of yoga work is done holding yourself up on your hands (I can only hold a plank for 20secs before they start screaming)! I want to continue towards my goal of keeping up with yoga and doing an unassisted pullup but if this keeps going I'll have to stop!

Any advice or wrist-friendly yoga moves??

FireMonkey

There are yoga moves where you're standing; the tree, flamingo, warrior poses etc. Then there's tai chi which is sometimes called "yoga in motion", and doesn't require you to put any weight on your hands. But I think the most important thing for you at this time is to see your doctor! If your wrists are hurting this much then something is not right.

sprags

Ahh! I had this same problem! It was miserable! I couldn't hold my own weight! The only thing I can tell you (that worked for me), was to do modified poses (like going to your elbows in plank) until you can strengthen your wrists back. I have tendonitis in my wrists and yoga just about killed them. As for the pullups, I would wait a bit. If you pull something now, it's SO much harder to re-train!!

Good luck!!

RentThisSpace

One thing you may want to try is not putting as much weight in the wrist as in the fingers. My yoga instructor has told me this several times as part of correcting my technique. Your fingers should be white from holding your body up taking some of weight off of your wrist.

As always, with any chronic injury like this, you may want to see your physician before continuing your training.

hedkie

There are certain characteristic types of post-yoga pain that tell us we weren't doing the postures right, like sore neck muscles and definitely wrist pain. Make sure you're putting your weight in your fingers (you shouldn't be able to lift them off the floor at all), but I agree with others that you should also go see a doctor at this point. Good luck!

repete11

I agree with putting more of the weight into your fingers vs. your wrists. I struggled with this for a long time and finally learned to adjust to take the weight off of my wrists. Also, make sure your weight is adjusted evenly between your legs and your hands - push through to your feet and your fingers for poses like down-dog. Hope this helps, however, if it does continue, be sure to see a doctor.

dclarsh1

I had the same problem and went to see my doctor about it. I had developed a ganglion cyst on my left wrist. It's not anything serious, but can be quite painful. He recommended gymnast braces for when I do yoga and other activities that involve putting weight or strain on my wrists. They're called Tiger Paws and you can find them at http://www.american-gymnast.com/shop/Tiger-Paw-Wrist-Supports-P109C33.aspx
They're a bit expensive, but they seem to be working and from what I can tell they're made of quality materials that will last a long time. I've had mine for about a year. They're more flexible than a normal wrist brace so you can still do downward dogs and whatnot in them, but they keep your wrist from hyperextending. I would not recommend getting one in a bright color though... the color tends to bleed if you sweat a lot. Hope that helps!

yoginimary

Another option is to do plank on your fists. This also works for cobra and up-dog. You can do down dog with the elbows down or, if you want to be hard core, on your fingertips - or you could roll up and extra mat and put it under the wrists, so the palms are at an angle. This will also improve your form as it forces you to put more pressure on the base of the fingers.

For full backbend (wheel) or handstand, they are out for now. You can do camel and elbow balance instead.

Hope that helps.

FrankyOsage

Thank you!! This helps immensely!!