Stretching and strengthening the muscles surrounding your wrists will help you avoid repetitive motion and stress injuries by keeping them supple and strong.
These stretches and exercises might help you regain wrist range of motion after an injury.
How It Helps?
Stretching and exercise both boost the production of synovial fluid, which lubricates and improves the function of your wrist joints.
What You Can Do To Strengthen Your Wrists?
The wrist bones are the bones that link your hand to your forearm. The forearm muscles are in charge of wrist motions. You’ll train a set of 18 muscles in your forearms to strengthen your wrists, each of which has a distinct purpose.
We’ll start with some basic stretches that can be done anywhere and don’t require any special equipment. Then we’ll go through some fundamental exercises that vary from easy to challenging.
Range Of Motion
If you’re making repetitive motions with your hands, this is a warm-up for stretching or a relaxation break.
- Sit in a comfortable position and bend your elbow, resting your upper arm on your thigh or a table, or holding it with your other hand.
- Make a fist, then flex your hand at the wrist as far as you can comfortably up and down.
- Maintain a smooth and continuous motion by moving your wrist back and forth 10 times. Only move your wrist, not your arm.
- Move your wrist to the left as far as you can comfortably, then to the right as far as you can comfortably, while keeping your hand in the same position. Again, move your wrist rather than your arm.
- Repeat the move 10 times in a smooth and continuous manner.
- Rep with the opposite hand.
It’s worth noting that you can perform this with your hand in the air and no support beneath your arm.
Loosen Up your Fingers and Hands
Before you begin exercising, do this basic stretch to loosen up your fingers and hands. If you’re conducting repeated hand motions, it’s also a good time to relax your wrists and hands.
- Sit in a comfortable position and bend your elbow at a right angle.
- Make a fist, then open it gently, spreading and extending your fingers apart.
- Rep a couple times more.
- Rep with the opposite hand.
Pray Stretch for Strengthen Your Wrists
- With your elbows bent and hands together, point your fingertips up to a position slightly below your chin.
- Keep your hands clasped together and tight to your tummy as you lower your hands toward your waist.
- Hold the stance for 30 seconds when you feel a mild stretch in the underside of your forearms.
- Rep 2–4 times more.
If you can keep your fingers together, you’ll feel the stretch more. As you lower your hands, your fingers will most likely begin to flex.
Pray Stretch + Steeple
- Stand in the same hands-together stance as above with your elbows bent and palms together.
- Extend your fingers and thumbs as far as they will go. Then, while keeping your fingers and thumbs together, slide your hands apart and back together. Rep a couple times during the day.
Here are some variants on this stretch as well as some extra stretches.
Ball Squeeze Stimulation
This practice may be done with any ball that is roughly the size of a tennis ball. You may also use workout putty, which comes in three different strengths: soft, medium, and firm.
Squeezing can also be done using a wrapped towel or a pool noodle.
- Sit comfortably and wrap your fingers and thumb around the ball or putty in your hand.
- Squeeze as strongly as possible.
- Squeeze for 3 to 5 seconds before releasing.
- Slowly loosen your hold.
- Rep 5–10 times more.
Rubber band Stretch
This is a basic workout that targets the tiny hand muscles. It’s also something you can do while sitting at a desk or elsewhere.
- Stretch an ordinary rubber band around the tops of your fingers and thumb.
- Slowly open your palm to stretch it against the rubber band, then shut it slowly. Keep the movement under control.
- Rep 5–10 times more.
Wrist Curls That Will Strengthen Your Wrists
With a clenched fist or 1- to 5-pound weights, perform this strengthening exercise. You may either do both arms at once or one arm at a time. It is dependent on your physical capabilities. A small food can or a water bottle can also be used as a weight.
- Place your arm across your legs and sit comfortably. With your palms facing down and your wrist dangling over the knee, hold a weight.
- In a calm and controlled action, raise your hand as high as possible and then lower it as low as possible.
- Repeat with a new set of ten reps.
- Rep the exercise, but this time turn your palms up.
- When you can easily complete two or three sets, you can increase the weight you’re using.
Wrist curls can also be done with your arm in the air.
Resistance band exercise 1
Resistance bands are easy to use and adapt to a variety of exercises. They are available in a variety of strengths. Start with a light resistance band if you’re healing from an injury. If you’re practicing for a sport, though, a thicker band is recommended.
This exercise engages the wrist flexors and extensors.
- Place your arm on a table with your palm facing down and your hand dangling over the table edge to sit comfortably.
- To keep the resistance band in place, place one end under your foot and the other end in your hand. To produce tension, you may need to wrap it around your hand.
- Pull up against the resistance with your wrist extended as far as possible. Maintain a smooth and controlled motion.
- Slowly return to your starting location.
- Rep 10 times more.
- Rep with the opposite hand.
Start with your palms facing up and repeat the exercise.
Resistance band exercise 2
- Sit comfortably with your arms bent at right angles and close to your body.
- With both hands, palms down, pull a band taut.
- Stretch the band by slowly rotating your wrists so that your palms are facing up.
- Maintain a firm grip on your arms and elbows.
- Rep a couple times more.
Wrist walking
- Stand with your arms straight, palms against the wall, and fingers pointing up near a wall.
- Walk your wrists along the wall as far as you can while keeping your palms against the wall.
- Then, with your hands turned around, point your fingers down. Walk your wrists back up as far as you can with your palms against the wall.
Strengthening Grip
Handgrip strengtheners come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The fundamental concept is to utilize a tool that generates quantifiable resistance against which you can squeeze.
Grippers are available in a range of tensions. Begin with one that is only a little difficult to close. Increase the gripper tension as this gets easier. Grippers range in strength from modest to those that need 365 pounds of force to close.
- Sit comfortably with one hand on the gripper and your arm bent at a right angle, palm facing in.
- Slowly squeeze and release.
- Rep 8–10 times more.
- Only your hand, not your arm, should move.
- Repeat with the other hand.
- Try a gripper with increased tension when you can comfortably accomplish 2 to 4 sets.
TIPS
Wrists and arms can be stressed when typing on a computer keyboard or a smaller device. Examine your workstation to see if you can make it more comfortable if you’re experiencing stress in your arms, wrists, or hands.
To maintain your wrist in a neutral posture, use a keyboard wrist rest. To preserve healthy posture and decrease arm and hand stress, make sure your chair, desk, and computer are properly set up.
Stretch on a regular basis. To relieve stress, softly massage your forearms, wrists, and fingers.
Summary
Wrists that are strong and flexible are essential for daily tasks. Your wrists are engaged in everything you do with your hands, including driving a car, swinging a golf club or racquet, lifting weights, typing, cooking, and anything else.
Warm up before you begin, as you would with any workout plan.
Try simple stretches, workouts without weights, and activities with light exercise bands if you’re just getting started with an exercise regimen. Use weights and bands that are appropriate for your strength while training for weightlifting or any other sport.
If you suffer wrist discomfort, see your doctor. They may send you for treatment or expert physical therapy, depending on the cause.
