Day 23 - Wrist Stretch

Difficulty - Moderate
Muscle Groups Addressed - Wrists, Forearms

You may be thinking to yourself, "Desk jockies must have jacked wrists from all that typing and clicking!". And I would say to you, "Nay, sir, we do not." Repetitive motions in the hands and wrists lead to inflammation of the muscle tendons and the compression of nerves leading to tingling, numbness, and pain over time - a familiar condition known as carpal tunnel syndrome. To stave off any nasty, nagging pain, might I recommend a simple and effective stretch to elongate your wrist muscles and reduce inflammation? I'm going to assume you said "yes".

Hold the palm of one hand up and cup it with the other hand. Pull gently back with your cupping hand while you push the heel of the covered hand away from you. You don't need a ton of pressure here, just enough to feel a stretch. Think about pulling your fingers towards your forearm. Hold for ten seconds then release and switch hands.

A slightly more effective way to perform the same stretch is to do it on a surface like the floor or your desk. Turn your palms down and the heels of your hands away from your body. Slowly shift your body backwards so that you feel pressure on your wrists, such as in the picture here. You can slowly rock your body back and forth or hold the stretch then release. Bye bye wrist pain!