Wrist Pain. Ways to strengthen wrist?

[jswang519]

I have been experiencing wrist pain in my leading hand's wrist. It might be caused from overuse, it might be caused from not hitting the balls on the sweet spot. Whatever the cause is, I was wondering what kind of stretches and tips you guys recommend because I feel like it is a common problem for golfers.

The pain is kind of like a sharp pain, that is felt around the boney side of the wrist, on the pinky side. It only hurts when I rotate the wrist. No pain is felt while I keep it still or while I type this entry.

I feel like the right way to treat this is to not practice so much. However, I am fully addicted to golf and feel like I need to practice everyday. I have been playing for about three months now, and the pain just recently occurred. I was wondering if there was any strength training exercises for the wrist.

[EastbayEd]

I experienced the same type of pain a few years ago while I was building a sun room in my back yard. I twisted it bad with a power drill when the bolt I was screwing in locked with the torque setting too high. The drill kept turning and twisted my wrist along with it. I didn't hurt or bother me at the time but over the next few days I had pain in the outer wrist.

I went to get it checked out by a specialist in joints (knees, wrists, elbows, ankles). They x-rayed my wrist and diagnosed a  tear in the cartilage. The treatment was to layoff the wrist for about a month or two, and I wore a brace to stabilize the wrist. This meant no golf for a while until most of the pain went away.

You should see a doctor and see what might be causing that pain in your wrist. I hope it gets better.

Originally Posted by jswang519

I have been experiencing wrist pain in my leading hand's wrist. It might be caused from overuse, it might be caused from not hitting the balls on the sweet spot. Whatever the cause is, I was wondering what kind of stretches and tips you guys recommend because I feel like it is a common problem for golfers.

The pain is kind of like a sharp pain, that is felt around the boney side of the wrist, on the pinky side. It only hurts when I rotate the wrist. No pain is felt while I keep it still or while I type this entry.

I feel like the right way to treat this is to not practice so much. However, I am fully addicted to golf and feel like I need to practice everyday. I have been playing for about three months now, and the pain just recently occurred. I was wondering if there was any strength training exercises for the wrist.

[saevel25]

Exercise 1, sitting down with your forearm on your thigh for support, so that your palm is facing down. hold a light weight and pull the back of your hand upward

Exercise 2, same position but your palm facing up, and do the same motion, palm moving towards you.

Exercise 3, same position, palm facing down, rotate your wrist with the weight.

If you want to work on grip strength, squize a tennis ball, or grip a dumbbell by the end with the finger tips only.

Use light weights, these are very small muscles.. Maybe like 5 lbs max..

[newtogolf]

Another great wrist / forearm exercise is the rollup.  You can buy them in the store or make one yourself.  It consists of two dowels one large for holding in your hands and a smaller one to hold weights that are connected via a rope.  The rope should be long enough so that when your arms are outstretched the weight just touch the floor.

You hold the dowel straight out and using only your hands and wrists in a hand over hand motion roll the weight up until it's at the top, them slowly lower the weight doing the reverse.  The weight should be heavy enough that you are struggling but not cheating when the weight is near the top.  You'll feel an intense pump in your foreams after a set of these.

[jswang519]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Another great wrist / forearm exercise is the rollup.  You can buy them in the store or make one yourself.  It consists of two dowels one large for holding in your hands and a smaller one to hold weights that are connected via a rope.  The rope should be long enough so that when your arms are outstretched the weight just touch the floor.

You hold the dowel straight out and using only your hands and wrists in a hand over hand motion roll the weight up until it's at the top, them slowly lower the weight doing the reverse.  The weight should be heavy enough that you are struggling but not cheating when the weight is near the top.  You'll feel an intense pump in your foreams after a set of these.

Oh I almost forgot about that exercise. I used to do that years ago when I used to play tennis.

[GJBenn85]

I have weak wrists to begin with and when I started golfing earlier this year, my wrists became very painful with a limited range of motion.  What helped me the most was gripping a stress ball in my hands and then rotating my wrists in a circular motion as well as back and forth.  Another thing that helped was a Gripmaster.

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

If you are in pain and needing R & R, I sure wouldn't try exercises except on a doctor's advice.

As to wrist exercises, in the mid 60s I read in Reader's Digest that astronauts used a weight tied to a broomstick which is the wrist roller exercise New to golf mentions.  This gave a better forearm pump than any other exercise I tried.

About the same time, I used a tennis racket or baseball bat and now use a small 3 lb sledge hammer or grip the big end of a softball bat.  There are four exercise positions for each wrist that do not involve rotation.  I do high reps, 50-100 per position, sometimes fast, sometimes slow once a week.

What has really improved grip strength is what Saevel describes, using a weight held with your wrist braced against the knees (or a padded bench), one exercise done with the hand under the weight and one done hand over weight.

Another exercise is lying on the right side off the edge of a bed, gripping a golf club and doing a fast waggle multiple times.

Much of the stress on the wrists is from the impact of clubhead against ball.   You can hit or fast-tap against an old tire to get used to that.  (We rednecks always have old tires lying around;  yuppies and the compulsively neat are disadvantaged.)

And don't forget stretching.   Lean over a desk or table palms flat and strreeetch the muscles.   Hold a golf club and keeping the left arm straight and your right elbow against your side go into a strreeetching wrist cock.

Come to think of it, that pain along the ulna could come from what you do in the wrist cock at the top of the swing.

[jswang519]

Originally Posted by Ole_Tom_Morris

Come to think of it, that pain along the ulna could come from what you do in the wrist cock at the top of the swing.

What about the wrist cock at the top of the swing could cause this? Is it possibly from over breaking the wrist?

[Icedude]

I'm 6"1' and have had continuous chronic back problems over the years. Tried to work the core muscles as much as possible but continued to have pain especially after a round of golf that could last 2 or 3 days after a round. Tried monthly massage treatments and recently saw a chiropractor as my back locked up twice on me. After several sessions of cracking and stretching, it actually solved some other ailments - shoulder problem - I had been suffering for a while with and did help to clear up my back over time but I continued to suffer with back problems frequently.

Believe it or not, I purchased a SABONA magnetic bracelet when I was down in Myrtle Beach last fall and it has done miracles for my back. Apparently the magnetism helps balance your body, helps your body rejuvenate itself naturally and my back problems are no more. I wear it as often as possible and definitely when I play golf. Go figure!!!

[Robato]

I look at what NBA players do for the precious ligaments in their knees after every game: ice it! I also feel like the more my swing becomes smooth and sound, the less pain issues I get, so I would hang in there, take it easy on the long shots and focus on your short game as you take a break.

[TheGeekGolfer]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Another great wrist / forearm exercise is the rollup.  You can buy them in the store or make one yourself.  It consists of two dowels one large for holding in your hands and a smaller one to hold weights that are connected via a rope.  The rope should be long enough so that when your arms are outstretched the weight just touch the floor.

You hold the dowel straight out and using only your hands and wrists in a hand over hand motion roll the weight up until it's at the top, them slowly lower the weight doing the reverse.  The weight should be heavy enough that you are struggling but not cheating when the weight is near the top.  You'll feel an intense pump in your foreams after a set of these.

+1 - I did this for a number of years to strengthen my wrists and help with carpal tunnel.