Wrist pain doing push ups yada yada but

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emergencytennis
emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My daughter does taekwondo and is well-conditioned to it. For the last couple of months, though, she has experienced pain on the left side of her right wrist. I suggested she just do a plank during push ups and rest the wrist, but she insists she should just train through it. She is young and fit and any minor injury will resolve itself quickly, but I would be interested to hear what experienced people think. She can't remember any impact that could have injured the area.

She doesn't do her push ups the way I see the boys do. Her elbows go out from her body rather than in line with the body.

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  • timeasterday
    timeasterday Posts: 1,368 Member
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    Pushups are painful on my wrists. Mostly due to 25+ years of computer use. I would recommend pushup bars or just use some small dumbbells that are hex-shaped to provide a stable place to put the hands. The idea here is to keep the wrists upright instead of bending them back.
  • EreborsPrincess
    EreborsPrincess Posts: 139
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    Is it on the left side of her wrist with the palm facing up or down?

    I had surgery a year or so ago on my left wrist. Somehow I damaged the TFCC (triangular fibro cartlidge complex) and had to have it debrided. Not fun, and it has decreased my range of motion and ability to bear weight on the joint. No more pushups for me.

    Although it's rare, it might also be ulnar positive variance, which occurs when the ulna is slightly longer than it should be and puts pressure on the bones of the hand.

    Get a referral to an orthopedist and/or a hand specialist if you have one close by. An x-ray will rule rule out a lot of things, and an MRI should be able to pinpoint any soft tissue damage.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    Is it on the left side of her wrist with the palm facing up or down?

    I had surgery a year or so ago on my left wrist. Somehow I damaged the TFCC (triangular fibro cartlidge complex) and had to have it debrided. Not fun, and it has decreased my range of motion and ability to bear weight on the joint. No more pushups for me.

    Although it's rare, it might also be ulnar positive variance, which occurs when the ulna is slightly longer than it should be and puts pressure on the bones of the hand.

    Get a referral to an orthopedist and/or a hand specialist if you have one close by. An x-ray will rule rule out a lot of things, and an MRI should be able to pinpoint any soft tissue damage.

    If you are looking down at your wrists in push up position, it is the inside/left side of her right wrist. She can point to the exact spot - it is not a general ache.

    She is not in terrible pain, she just mentions it is a bit sore, so we have not gone to the doc so far.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    Pushups are painful on my wrists. Mostly due to 25+ years of computer use. I would recommend pushup bars or just use some small dumbbells that are hex-shaped to provide a stable place to put the hands. The idea here is to keep the wrists upright instead of bending them back.

    Not quite sure what you mean by push up bars or hex shaped dumbbells. Do you mean bench presses? There is no scope for weights at training.
  • dylan1965
    dylan1965 Posts: 10
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    do pushups with dumbbells on the ground.
  • EreborsPrincess
    EreborsPrincess Posts: 139
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    I would really encourage her to rest it for a while, and if it still bothers her after that then go see a doc. It's probably something minor but if she keeps working the joint/tendon/??? it might get worse over time. Or if she's like my daughter and is stubborn (ha!) see if you can get her to wear a brace to give the wrist a little more support.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    do pushups with dumbbells on the ground.

    Is that what time is saying? Pretend I don't know anything (I don't).
  • EreborsPrincess
    EreborsPrincess Posts: 139
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    I think it's something like this:

    http://www.menshealth.co.uk/lose-weight/burn-fat/post-night-out-workout

    Scroll through to exercise #6. He's holding the dumbbell in his hand and leaning on it, so the angle of the wrist bend is smaller.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,622 Member
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    IF she can and since there are pads on the floor already, have her try doing push ups on her knuckles (closed fist). Should reduce the pain and will "toughen" up her hands at the same time.

    It's probably a minor sprain or minor tendinitis.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
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    Oh I see, erebor and niner!

    You are changing the angle of the wrists, whether it is a knuckle push up or on the weight thingoes.

    There are no pads on the floor and we don't have any weight thingoes. Men are expected to do knuckle push ups whilst women are exempted.

    I can get her to try knuckle push ups at home with some padding and see how her wrist goes.

    Thanks for the advice.

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