The Wrist

We take this joint for granted quite a bit, and next to the ankle it’s probably one of the most used joints in the body. There are 8 small bones that are held together with ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and fascia.

The wrist SHOULD be able to freely move back and forth, and side to side, along with some help from the radius and ulna bones attached to the wrist which provides rotation.

We grip, we type, we drive, lift weights, hold onto bike handles, swim, wash dishes, and the list goes on and on as to how often we use the wrist every day.

Just plop your elbow up on your desk, and very slowly move the wrist around in different ranges of motion. Don’t push on it, just see if you can ‘feel’ those little 8 bones that are connecting your hands to your forearms. Notice how the hand moves, how one side might feel different from the other. Just do small subtle movements.

Below are just some pictures of the wrist, the connective tissue, and some of the muscles and tendon’s that help the wrist move your hand. Be aware that what you are doing with your shoulder can affect your wrist. Your posture can affect your wrist. Your forearm can affect your wrist. Everything is connected, and quite possibly if you can relieve tension in your neck you might just free up your wrist.

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Here are a couple of simple video’s that you can spend 5 minutes on each day this week to help the wrist (and hand, etc) feel better and move better.

And the next one is even easier to do, and kind of fun to play around with while you’re sitting on the phone talking to someone.