Wrist Hurts When Doing Push Ups – What Should You Know?

Push-ups are one of the most common ways of performing strength training at home. Millions of people every day start their day by performing a set of press-ups before their workout or even before heading to work.

The simple exercise has a range of benefits that can benefit not only the exercise-conscious person but also the complete novice. Since it is an exercise that can be performed anywhere and anytime, it makes sense that it is one of the most popular exercises there are. However, many people experience pain after doing press-ups. So, what should you do if you feel your wrist hurt when doing push-ups?

In this article, we discuss why your wrist hurts when doing push-ups and how you can prevent this from happening. So continue reading to find out more.

 

What Are Push-Ups Good For? A Complete Guide

Push-ups are beneficial for not only upper body strength but for balance and coordination. The exercise is a great way to strengthen and tone the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders by using your body weight.

When done correctly they also help improve the strength of the abdominal muscles and lower back.

Because of this more and more people that are starting an exercise routine combine push-ups with other forms of strength training.

Push-ups are not only great for strengthening and toning the upper body muscles. They are also good for sports such as running, swimming, rowing, and other sports that require a strong upper body and core muscles.

By strengthening these muscles you can hold better form and technique, as well as prevent muscle breakdown and injury.

When doing a push-up correctly, the exercise involves lying down on the ground with your hands, face, and toes against the ground. Then while keeping your back and legs straight you push the body up with your arms until they are locked.

While there are many different variations of the push-up, the above description is the most common.

Why Should You Do Push-ups Regularly?

There are many benefits to doing push-ups daily. However, there are also some disadvantages. Some of the advantages of doing regular push-ups include:

– Help strengthen shoulder muscles
– Improve coordination and motor skills
– Strengthen the abdominal muscles
– Help to strengthen lower back muscles
– Burn calories.

Doing push-ups every day can help you not only improve muscle mass and strength but can also help you to follow a consistent exercise routine. Because it is such a simple exercise to perform, nearly everyone can fit a set of press-ups in during their busy lifestyle.

By doing this regularly you will most likely notice gains in muscle strength and definition in the abdominals, pecks, arms, and abdominal muscles.

However, for best results, it is a good idea to vary the type of push-ups you do or add a small amount of weight to the workout. Better yet, you can also join one of the many push-up challenges around the world, which can help motivate you.

 

Wrist Hurts When Doing Push-Ups? What You Should Know

Unfortunately, like any exercise, there is always the possibility of pain, discomfort, or injury. Because a push-up is a repetitive pattern and requires force against the muscles and tendons it is not common to sometimes feel sore after a set.

The most common issue people face when doing regular push-ups is wrist pain. So, what should you do if your wrist hurts when doing push-ups?

First, you need to understand that wrists generally take the brunt of the force when pushing off the ground. The extreme extension and compression of the joints in the wrist can sometimes put stress on the tendons, muscles, cartilage, and bones.

If this is the case, it is important to check your form, both when pushing off the ground and also when lowering yourself down. Having your hands at the wrong angle or even too close together can sometimes place more stress than needed on the wrist.

Other reasons why you may experience your wrist hurting when doing a push-up, can be from repetitive movement. That means you may be overdoing the number of press-ups you are doing each day.

Either way, if you experience any type of pain, take a few day’s rest until the pain subsides and then slowly build up the number of push-ups you do again. You can even start by doing press-ups from the knees until you are confident the wrists can hold your body weight.

Left Wrist Hurts When Doing Push-Ups

If you only experience pain on one wrist, for example, the left one. You may be compensating for a lack of strength on the right arm or shoulder. If your right arm or shoulder is slightly weak, your left wrist and arm will take up the slack. While many people won’t feel their left wrist hurting when doing push-ups, they might find the pain comes on later once the body has cooled down.

If this is the case it is important to address the issues by trying to strengthen the right arm. Alternatively, if you have right wrist pain, look to strengthen the left wrist and arm.

By doing so, you can reduce some of the load off the more favourable arm when doing a press-up. this will help reduce the chance of overuse, injury, and fatigue.

How to Fix Wrist Pain From Push-Ups

The best way to fix wrist pain from push-ups is to take the wrist completely out of the movement. That means doing an alternative exercise like the low forearm plank can help you strengthen the same muscles without the added stress on the wrists.

Alternatively using a wrist brace can help elevate some of the stress placed on the wrist. However, it will have some effect on your technique and the muscles used.

The best result though is rest. Rest until the wrist pain has disappeared and then re-introduce push-ups on the knees. Then once you feel comfortable enough to add more weight to the wrists, move to the standard version.