Cure wrist pain

In this age of “mousing” and computer typing, wrist pain is common. Doing so with your wrist cocked back can overstress the muscles in your forearm. The same thing happens with sleeping or riding a bicycle or motorcycle with your wrists bent back. 

These muscles, the extensor wad, are not located at the wrist; they are just below the elbow. They have long tendons, like puppet strings, that go down the arm, between the bones in the wrist and over the tops of the fingers. If they are overly tight, the tendons will rub the nerves that go to the hand and the wrist bones. This results in wrist or hand pain (usually involving the middle three fingers). If this rubbing continues long enough, you will develop scar tissue in the wrists, which further irritates the nerves. This is carpal tunnel syndrome, which may require surgery to cut the ligaments around the wrist to relieve pressure on the spaces between the bones.

You can relieve wrist pain and possibly avoid carpal tunnel surgery by loosening the extensor wad muscles. With your forearm flat on a table, palm down, the muscles can be found on top of the arm just below the elbow. They are about 3 inches long. Using the elbow of your other arm, push into the muscles. If you find painful spots, these are active trigger points that are keeping the muscles tight. Keep pressure on these painful spots for 10 seconds at a time. I can usually find about three spots along the muscles. 

Once you have hit them all, start again and again. Each time, the trigger points will become a little less painful. When the pain is gone, either step into a hot shower or heat them with a hot damp towel for 5‒10 minutes. If you do this daily, your wrist pain will likely be gone in a few days. Then, all you have to do is figure out what you’ve been doing with your wrist cocked back and quit doing it.