Are your wrists bothering you? In today’s blog post from WAGs, we discuss four common causes for wrist pain. Aside from a fall, wrist pain is usually caused by the cumulative effects of everyday activity and strain on the wrists.

We use our hands and wrists in almost everything we do, especially when we exercise. It’s almost impossible to strengthen your core and arms without using your hands. Sure, we can modify our exercise sequence to avoid bearing weight on our hands. We can skip the dips and push-ups, do planks on our elbows, and use light weights for our arm strengthening, but the results just aren’t the same! Wrist pain is a real inconvenience!

The four common causes of wrist pain stemming from exercise includes tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, or weakness. Check out the symptoms below and see if you can figure out which one is your cause for wrist pain.

1. Repetitive Strain Injury / Tendinitis

Symptoms of Tendinitis

• Nagging pain at the site of the tendon and surrounding muscles
• Constant pain and increased pain and stiffness over time
• Pain aggravated by wrist movement at full ranges or with resistance or weight
• Pain when using hands in daily tasks — gripping, picking up objects, using a mouse, etc.
• Swelling in the tendon, joint, or surrounding area
• Redness and warmth at the site of pain

2. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Tingling or numbness in your thumb, index, and middle fingers (intermittent or constant)
• Pain that radiates up your wrist to the forearm and shoulder or down into your fingers
• Worse symptoms in the morning, especially if wrists are curled (flexed) during sleep
• Noticeable weakness in your hands, i.e. dropping items or being unable to open jars
• Permanent nerve damage and muscle weakness (if CTS is severe and left untreated)

3. Arthritis in Wrists or Basal Thumb Joint

Symptoms of Wear-and-Tear Type Osteoarthritis

• Deep aching pain in wrist or base of thumb for basal joint (CMC) arthritis
• Increased pain with pinching, writing, grasping, or putting pressure on joint
• Joint inflammation and swelling
• Stiffness, especially with cold or damp weather
• Loss of range of motion and grip / pinch strength over time

4. Weak Muscles in the Wrists, Hands, and Arms

Symptoms of Muscle Weakness & Poor Form

• Muscles fatigue easily after several movement repetitions or static, isometric holds
• Inability to keep a neutral wrist position when lifting objects or holding hand weights
• Strained tendons because weak muscles don’t fully carry load (see tendinitis)
• Passively “hanging out” or locking joints
• Poor weight distribution throughout entire hand (sinking into wrists, not lifting out)

Do you know which of these four common categories your wrist pain falls into? Now you can learn what causes flare ups and how you can manage your symptoms and prevent wrist pain from returning!

“The Fitness Enthusiast’s Guide to Relieving Wrist Pain” was written by an occupational therapist and is full of helpful tips. You’ll discover what causes each syndrome, the steps you can take to relieve your wrist pain, and what you can do keep it from coming back!

To download your FREE copy of the Wrist Pain Guide, simply go to the side bar on the right, fill in your name and email, and click download.

You don’t have to abandon your workouts or yoga practice because of wrist pain. Do you want to enjoy yoga, Pilates, and exercising again — free from the interruptions, frustrations, and modifications of wrist pain? You can! First, start taking care of your wrists by downloading your Free Fitness Enthusiast Guide to Wrist Pain.

In the meantime, check out Wrist Assured Gloves for some hand and wrist support gloves for exercising. WAGs come in four supportive styles and feature a patented gel pad design proven to relieve wrist pain. Check out our WAGs workout gloves, and place your order today for a future without pain or discomfort!