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Wrist pain
Hiiiii beautiful polers.
My non-dominate wrist (guilty of not evenly training dom/non-dom sides but working on it) is in constant pain when poling these days. I know I’ve aggravated it several times when doing split grip and jumping out of it causing it to ‘twang’ resulting in me basically being unable to do split grip at all now. I’m working on using a grip strengthener to help build up the strength but does anyone have any tips to try fix the damage I’ve caused? Even had sports massages on my forearm and that hasn’t helped. All advice welcome as I don’t want to have to stop poling completely or doing any type of body weight exercise (affects me a lot in yoga too – particularly planking). Heeeeelp! Xx -
4 Replies
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This is a common problem in pole. Split grip needs more care than other grips. Jumping out of it should be avoided if you’re experiencing any kind of pain at all. Right now, it’s best to give your wrist some rest for a while. I know, no one wants to stop doing carousel spin or anything else that would use split grip, SO you can alter the grip a little for most things. Instead of rotating the arm so the index finger is down, grip the pole with a solid grip, thumb up, wrapping all the fingers around the pole. This grip isn’t as pretty as split grip, but is a great alternative while your wrist rests. When the pain is gone and you think it might be safe to try split grip again, go easy with it. Keep the index finger pointed down and your weight in the heel of your palm. Avoid jumping out of this grip until your wrists are stronger, because this is when the most strain tends to happen. Instead, focus on releasing the bottom hand first, so that your weight falls into the top hand, which is at a much safer angle to be bearing all your weight. Also, wrist wraps, such as you see weight lifters use, help some people, and various wrist stretches can help, too. My favourite is to hold the injured arm out straight at my side with the palm open flat against a wall or the pole, fingers up, at shoulder height. Then rotate the head slowly towards the opposite shoulder. You’ll likely feel an intense stretch, so go slowly with this. You’ll know it’s helping if you have immediate relief when the stretch is over. As you heal, you can experiment with moving the hand lower for a greater stretch. Use the stretch during yoga, or any time that your wrist acts up, as often as needed. Be sure to give extra attention to warming up and stretching your wrists as you heel. It does get better. Above all, listen to your body. Don’t push it too hard. If I recovered, you can too. ^__^
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Thank you, those tips are super helpful. I’m guilty of not pointing my index finger down when in split grip too which I’ve since found out can make your wrist more susceptible to injury – learned the hard way there! I’m trying my best to form a new habit when I CAN split grip but it’s one of those things that’s easier said than done when you’re used to doing something a certain way. But thanks for the tips on stretching, I’ve not tried the one you’ve mentioned and if I’m honest I try avoiding stretching it currently due to the dull ache but I will start with that tonight and see if it helps! Thanks again – much appreciated 😊
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Hi! Kirin has awesome advice! Also remember to always take time to stretch the hands and forearms after a pole session, I always say if you only have time to stretch one thing, stretch the forearms. There are some great conditioning lessons for hands, wrists and forearms in the conditioning section of the lessons here you can try too. Also if you’re newer to pole don’t use split grips every day, allow your body to build up strength.
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Thanks Veena 🙠Totally guilty of not cooling down after pole too so will try this along with Kirin’s stretches 😊
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