Wrist Issues & Yoga by Ting-Ting Foster

Wrist Sprain is the stretching or tearing of one or more ligaments in the wrist. It often result from the wrist bending back too far.

This can happen falling on an outstretched hand, playing certain types of sports, or in motor vehicle accidents.

Depending on the severity, wrist sprains are classified as stretch injury, partial tear and complete tear.
Two major tendons connect forearm muscles to bone. One that cross the palm side of the wrist are the flexor tendons.

They curl the fingers and thumbs and they bend the wrist. The tendons that travel over the back of the wrist is extensor tendons.

They run through a series of tunnels, called compartments. These compartments are lined with a slick substance called tenosynovium,
which prevents friction as the extensor tendons glide inside their compartment.
There are other tendons involved in finger flexion and extension that pass by the wrist on their way to the fingers.

Wrist tendonitis is the inflammation due to small (micro) tears in one or more tendons of the wrist.

Tendonitis may develop as a result of a sudden acute injury or repeated micro-traumas to a tendon or group of tendons.

Many medical doctors suggest tendon inflammation is uncommon, and what is often diagnosed as tendonitis, may actually be tendinosis which is caused by repetitive
strain-injuries to a tendon without adequate time to heal.
Some experts argue that tendinosis should not be treated with corticosteroids. They believe these drugs inhibit the normal reconstruction of the tendon and weaken its structure, causing long-term healing problems.

Nerves
Three main nerves begin together at the shoulder: the radial nerve, the median nerve, and the ulnar nerve.

The radial nerve runs along the thumb side edge of the forearm. It gives sensation to
the back of the hand from the thumb to the third finger. It also goes to the back of the thumb and
just beyond the main knuckle of the back surface of the ring and middle fingers.

The median nerve travels through a tunnel within the wrist called carpal tunnel. The median nerve
gives sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index finger, long finger, and half of the ring finger.
It also sends a nerve branch to control the thenar muscles of the thumb which helps move the
thumb and let you touch the pad of the thumb to the tips each of each finger on the same hand.

The ulnar nerve travels through a separate tunnel, called Guyon’s canal which is formed by two
carpal bones, and the ligament that connects them. After passing through the canal, the ulnar
nerve branches out to supply feeling to the little finger and half the ring finger. Branches of this
nerve also supply the small muscles in the palm and the muscle that pulls the thumb toward the
palm.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: as mentioned above, the carpal tunnel is formed by wrist and hand
bones, and a ligament (transverse carpal ligament) that runs lengthwise across on top of the
tunnel. Running through the carpal tunnel are several tendons that control the movement of the
fingers and the media nerve. Because it contains multiple tendons and the median nerve, the
carpal tunnel is already a crowded structure. When inflammation in the tendons occur, it
compresses the median nerve, causing symptoms like pain, tingling, and numbness to travel down
the nerve path. People typically experience these feelings in the thumb, index and middle fingers.

Personal Experience
As a musician, many of my classmates have experienced repetitive serious carpel tunnel
syndrome. It occurs not only by repetitive learning and practicing instruments but also by their
daily activities such as computer works that can result into the tightness and holding patterns of
the wrist, especially the outer wrist. Interestingly, most of them also have tight forearm muscle
(the muscle that runs on top of forearm, connecting wrist to the outer elbow). During Peter
Thomson’s workshop in October this year, he mentioned to me when we were practicing
Ustrasana “the forearm is harder to address compare with your sacrum issues”.
These are asanas which I practice almost daily to relief the tightness of wrist and forearm muscles.

Adho Mukha Svanasana with tilted blocks against the wall.

Wrists in line with the top line of the blocks, bend the elbows slightly, inner elbows facing up in a line.

If you are unable to take weight on the hands work off the pelvic sling or ropes.

Adho Mukha Svanasana with bolster support underneath the forearm.

This way to prevent further weight dropping into the wrists which can cause further strain of the wrists.

Chair Sarvangasana: arms go through the chair and fingers grab the back of chair legs, draw the
inner elbows facing each other, forearms against the front of chair legs. In this asana, the arms
reach full length from outside of the shoulders all the way to the little fingers.

Pincha Mayurasana with three blocks and elbows support (pre):

Three blocks support the thoracic spine, a non-slip mat or blanket support the elbows pin the little finger side of the wrist down to the mat.

Ting Ting Lee

Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher – Aotearoa NZ

BoMus Jazz Drumset