 |
By: Jill Miller | Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 |
Comments 41
|
As promised, here’s a great wrist extension yoga therapy stretch that can help change the tone in the tissues of the wrist muscles. If you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, this stretch is a must! You can also find it as part of the 10 Minute Quick Fix DVD for Hands, Wrists and Elbows here.
Jill Miller, Creator of Yoga Tune Up®
After studying yoga, movement, and the human body for over twenty years, I created Yoga Tune Up® as a simple way to restore my body and mind, keeping me balanced and free of pain. Using a specific and unique set of poses, movements and self massage tools, you too can LIVE BETTER IN YOUR BODY WITH YOGA TUNE UP®.
[...] Tune Up® Blog « Core Strength: Find Your Tubular Core Wrist Extension Preserves Healthy Hands [...]
This is fantastic! I certainly do more flexion of the phalanges in the hand than extending them. So, I’m always on the look out for a good stretch by extending the phalanges. Great video! Now I know what hypermobility in the elbows looks like
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is such a common phenomenon, especially among people who work at a computer all day. Wrist extension seems like a wonderful way to take care of the tissues of the wrist muscles.
I love this wrist extension stretch! I’m on the computer so much. It’s very convenient to do whether you are at home or work.
Couple minutes of this stretch with various the movements of metacarpals and phalanges gave a relieved to my tired hands & wrist from long hours of typing.
Because I spend a lot of time at the computer keyboard with my fingers and wrists flexed, I appreciate this wrist/hand extension strecth.
Although this is somewhat uncomfortable for some of my students, most just love this stretch, esp. when we are doing a lot of down dogs.
I love this stretch. I have taught this o my students. It works!
I have found this exercise has greatly improved my hand positions in inversions, particularly down dog, and hand stands.
This exercise is very intense but I feel it helps to extend my wrist and counter balances typing on the computer all day.
having spent years developing tight wrists through practicing martial arts this sequence seems like a perfect fix; the pisiform bone tends to receive so much stress in down dog, mayurasana, and other poses if the wrists are tight that a little preparatory work in these poses could go a long way to sustaining wrist health over years of practice.
Great stretch for the computer-user (which is all of us!)
I do this all the time–and it has helped my hand pain. I do this during the day by just stretching my hands on my thighs. I also do this before starting my practice. I have found that many other struggle with how much they can stretch their hands in this pose.
I don’t think I have carpal tunnel but I do have some hand/wrist pain and I feel my hands/wrists are weak, in general. Would this stretch help strengthen my hands/wrists at all? At any rate, I’ve done part of this stretch, but there is more to this version that seems it would be helpful, thank you for this as I will definitely start trying it!
I try to stretch my wrists often, but I usually just use one hand to stretch the other back. The exercise in this blog gets much deeper, and I plan to use it at work. I can imagine how delicious it will feel after a day of sitting at a computer!
I suffer from wrist problems–as I think most computer-bound Americans do. This is a great stretch. I will definitely do this on my desk.
What an easy stretch to learn and do…ouch my wrists and hands are tight. I will try to incorporate this stretch into my daily routine to loosen them up.
Awesome! Would you suggest this for students suffering from wrist pain from practice (from plank and repeated vinyasas?). How many times a day and for how long would you have someone do this stretch? Is there such a thing as too much? Thanks!
This stretch is so helpful because I work at a computer all day long and often need a wrist strech. Thanks for helping!
One of my teachers, Allison, definitely focuses on wrist stretches which are so important for counteracting the everyday stress we put on our wrists.
This is a great stretch. I had to go through occupational therapy for wrist issues a few years ago and hopefully this stretch will strengthen my wrists to avoid having the problem again.
Great stretch! I still suffer from wrist pain from an old injury, and I always forget to stretch them out. This one is great – thank you.
I get carpal tunnel from distance bicycling. This looks like a simple, yet elegant, therapy. Again, thanks.
This wrist stretch will provide a deep stretch for the wrist extensors. It will also provide an antidote to the constantly flexed position of the wrists for those of us that do computer work.
We make our wrists vulnerable by doing repetitious actions. For me, playing guitar all day, on top of sending emails and writing at the computer, can really stiffen the joints in my wrists to great discomfort. What would I do with out all of this helpful and healing knowledge brought to me by Jill and yoga tune-up! Thanks again for the good love!
Thanks for the info. I am going to try it. My wrist feels numb and tight after typing. Hopefully this will help.
My right wrist commonly is in pain from playing Shakuhachi ( the Japanese bamboo flute) . I am always seeking relief for this pain – i will give it a try. Maybe i can avoid balance wrist pain with music bliss.
Jill’s range of motion is almost disturbing. No offense Jill! It’s a compliment. I wish I had that range of motion. I have had several wrist and forearm injuries (and dislocated both thumbs too) but even before that I found my wrists and fingers are extremely tight. It seems like my fingers just don’t want to open. Maybe its also all the typing I do. I’m sure that doesn’t help. Anyway, I’ve done this exercise starting with just the fingertips on the floor and then slowly lowering the palms but I like this version better. Peeling back instead of pressuring down helps my mind and nervous system from going into panic mode about pressing further into a stretch that already makes me want to scream.
Thanks Jill!
I really like pushups with extended wrists. I can do only few and it might not be very comfortable, but it is worth of it.
I will teach this to my pilates students tomorrow. I’m certain it will relieve any achiness in their wrists, but also give them a greater strength and stamina in the hand-supported movements.
This is working for me. Thanks
this is so important especially in a texting/technology based society!
I really like this pose for my arthritic fingers as well. If I don’t stretch my fingers and toes regularly the become more swollen and contracted.
That’s a very strong stretch for the wrists! A few of my clients have wrist sensitivity so I will definitely use it.
Thank you!
Wow zee ! Its all too easy to forget the wrists until we get a serious strain or break one…or develop arthritis etc etc
This is great, quick and so Applicable to all of us especially the computer rappers and tappers out there !
It’s just amazing how this simple move helps me! Since I am in Yoga Teacher Training program my yoga practice takes more hours and energy and after the first week of this intense work I started feeling pain in different parts of my body, especially in my lower back and wrists. I have been doing this stretch during my practice every time I can ( usually after spending a long time in Down Dog, doing lots of Chaturangas or a Wheel) and it really helped me survive all these weeks and save my wrists. It stabilizes blood sirculation and revives numb wrists after holding the pose.
I appreciate any and all care for the wrists and fingers. As yoga teachers we are literally “on our hands” for a great part of the day. It’s a stark contrast to the other part of the day when my wrists and fingers are typing or texting, or scrolling some device! It’s smart to tend to the wrists and feet at the beginning of practice. Thanks for the great sequence.
Jill’s website is an amazing resource. I’m finding more and more clients with wrist issues, asking for help -which seemed possible to address in yoga. The way this exercise is broken down is so clear, helpful and useful.. I also plan to employ this routine in my self maintenance practice every time I can.
we don’t think about the wrists until we have a problem whit them. Thank you , thank you, thank you! This technique is a must, several times a day at work. My coworkers will be happy.
I was taught this yoga move a couple of years ago in a yoga class and although I found it quite painful at first, persistence has paid off. It has lessened the pain I sometimes get from carpal tunnel when I overuse my flexor muscles. It has also helped to alleviate the tingling or numbness I felt in my fingers from putting pressure on my ulna nerve during lengthy bike rides. A definite must for everyone’s repretoire of Yoga Tune Up therapy.
this stretch is so important to do but can be forgotten – i try to remind myself to do these after using my hands all day and also remind my clients that they may need this after a long day texting or at the computer!