Sore wrists
Through our different lifestyles we sometimes unfortunately experience pain in the body which can be from repeating the same movement day in day out or holding our body in the same position everyday. This translated into the medical field would be RSI – Repetitive Strain Injury, various disorders that occure after prolonged use or repetitive use of the hands which results in swelling, soreness, swelling, loss of dexterity, and general weakness in the hands or arms. There is other variations of these repetitive strain syndromes but another well known one is Carpal Tunnel syndrome of the wrists. CTS is brought on by again repetitive strain of the hands or holding the wrist(s) in a position for long periods of time.
Having come from a graphic/web design background, I too have experienced both of these at certain times when working in front of the computer for long hours. I even had a cyst develop on one of my wrists at one stage, weakness in my right hand, pain up along my arms and fatigue from using my right hand so much with the mouse. Its probably worth mentioning that at the time I resented doing my work, and felt I could spend my time more wisely but modern day life & bills sometimes dictate what we do with ourselves.
The wrists and hands in the body represent activity and doing – we use our hands and wrists to drive, to write to express ourselves, and give affection. Sore wrists sometimes reflect a certain resistance to what your doing or perhaps feeling slightly restricted from what your doing. Or sometimes it might possibly mean a feeling of pressure in that certain activity i.e. working within deadlines or working in a tight, pressured environment. Those at risk aren’t simply computer users i.e. assembly-line workers, stock clerks, warehouse workers, drivers, transcriptionists, garment workers, athletes, meat and poultry processors, painters or artists, writers, musicians, gardeners, golfers, carpenters, bank tellers, data entry clerks, accountants, bricklayers, secretaries, construction workers, CAD and graphic designers, programmers, silkscreeners, draftsmen, gardeners, sportsmen, knitters, crocheters, checkout clerks and anyone else who uses their hands continually or forcefully. Often sore wrists or wrist symptoms develop from continous activity, holding the one position for long periods of time which leads to musclular holding and tension in the muscles in the arms and around the wrist area. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage in the wrist formed by ligaments and the eight carpal bones. Carpal Tunnel syndrome is caused when the median nerve to the hand gets compressed in this tunnel. Anything that decreases the space of the wrist joint and compresses the median nerve leads to CTS.
Yoga teaches that if your alignment is bad or you have poor posture this can travel down from your shoulders into your arms and can lead to problems in the wrist. Sometimes treating the specific area is not enough, you need to find the source. Habitual rounding of the back, closed chest, rounded shoulders leads to shortening of the muscles, tendons and ligaments and also affecting nerve functioning. Hence the ripple effect if your alignment is bad in one area of the body. Breathing can also play a role in or lack of breathing correctly can increase symptoms. When sitting at a computer remember to have the ergonmonics of your computer area correct ie.
- Monitor at eye level
- Don’t slouch forward so that head is more forward than the rest of the body
- Soft typing as opposed to hard striking of the keys is also recommended
- Get up every 20-25min for a walk so that you break your habitual patterns.
- Notice any tension anywhere else in the body i.e in the jaw, face, lips.
When driving, become aware of the way you hold the wheel i.e. are you gripping, so that tension is travelling along the hand up the arm? A lot of drivers don’t hold the wheel at a ‘four o’clock’ / eight o’ clock positioning – thus increasing mucles tightness in the arms and shoulders. Monitoring your anxiety and stress levels also is a must for any type of pain in the body whether you are in the car or in a work related situation. Certain Yoga poses work with improving alignement in the body and also bringing awareness to the hands, wrists and shoulders.
Tadasana pose - the body should be in neutral alignment. When you are standing, your biceps and thumbs are facing forward and your palms face into towards your thighs. Feel top of the shoulders gently pressing back and shoulder blades travelling down the back. Soften the front ribs but lift your sternum and heart. Often we are not aware that we are standing with a big arch in our back or with rounded, slouched shoulders. Often we feel that we are standing correcty or don’t see the misalignment. Sometimes looking at ourselves alongside a long mirror can often indicate misalignment.
Prayer pose (namaste) – Bring your hands together in prayer pose, by placing the palms together softly in front of you chest.Thumbs resting against the chest. Elbows below the wrists. Your fingers should be pointing up to the sky/ceiling. Soften the elbows down, and feel sternum lift towards the thumbs. Bring a little more pressure to the palms feeling the sensations, weight and warmth. One becomes more aware of the tissues, muscle and bones in the hands as you slightly increase the pressure. Bring the elbows more into a 90 degree angle with the wrist joint and press a little harder. Good for bringing flexibilty into the wrists and relieving discomfort.
Wrist flexion and extension - While seated, interlace your fingers and have your plams facing down, almost like they were resting on a counter. Move your elbows to the sides so that they are in line with each other. Gently pull the wrists away from each other, creating some psace in the joint – keep that pull, genty raise your right arm and lower your left arm – creating an ‘L’ shape. Make sure the right arm is gripping the fingers of the left hand and pullig the left wrist more into a backbend. Repeat movement on other side. See photo.
In Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward dog) there is a lot of weight and pressure that goes down on the hands and wrists for most beginners or even more regular yoga practioners. But downward dog is great for strenthens the arms, hands and wrists and creating good alignment in the shoulders. Often the rounding of the shoulders in downward dog can lead to misalignment which usually travels down into the hands and wrists. Rotate your shoulders away from your ears, so that the elbow moves to outwards and the crease on the inner arm points upwards. You should feel your chest broadening. Dropping the shoulders away from the ears. By spreading the fingers, and pressing down through the base of each fingers one is distributing the weight more into the entire hand rather down on the wrist which sometimes takes a lot of pressure. Also we counteract the action with the shoulders by pressing through to the thumb and index fingers – if you don’t do this all the weight will slide into the little fingers leading to more pressure on the wrists. If you recently are dealing with a wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome, fold the top of the mat,rest the hand on the fold so that wrist is at higher level to take the pressure off or ease off on doing too many downward dogs!
When the wrists have healed and you are on the way to strenghtening the wrists, then along with a regular dynamic yoga practise and practising as many ‘planks as possible’ one can move onto Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose) which is a powerful arm and wrist strengthener.
Always consult a medical practioner or doctor if the pain cannot be controlled. Sometimes other therapies such as deep tissue massage, myofacial release and physio can be useful for relieving tightness in muscles, ligaments etc. Also accupuncture has been proven to be very helpful for any pain relief in the body.