What to Do If Push-Ups Hurt Your Wrists

Push-ups are a great exercise, and almost everyone can find a starting point to train them. But if you’re running into problems because of discomfort in your wrists, here are some things you can try. I’ll suggest quick fixes for positioning, drills that can make your wrists more comfortable, and stretches that can help you to have an easier time with this wrist position in the future.

For a quick fix: use push-up handles, or do push-ups on your knuckles

In a standard floor push-up, our hands are at a 90-degree angle to our forearms. This is a position that most of us will eventually be comfortable in, but it’s OK if you want a different way to do push-ups. Enter the push-up handle, which allows your wrist to be in a more neutral position. 

Dumbbells or kettlebells can stand in for push-up handles in a pinch. (If you’re using kettlebells, pick heavy ones that won’t topple over.) Another option is to make a fist, and do the push-ups that way, so that your knuckles rather than your palms are on the floor. You may want some padding, like a folded towel or yoga mat, underneath.

Warm up with wrist CARs

Another quick fix, but this time using your own body, is the wrist CAR. A CAR is a controlled articular rotation, and it just means that you slowly move a joint through its full range of motion. There are shoulder CARs, hip CARs, and, of course, wrist CARs.

To do a wrist CAR, firmly grasp your wrist (let’s say your left) with your other (right) hand. Straighten out your hand with your fingers all pointing the same direction, and move your hand in circles at the wrist. After a few rotations, do the opposite direction.

This video should give you the idea. I like to do my wrist CARs with my forearm vertical, fingers pointed toward the ceiling, but this type with a horizontal forearm is fine, too. 

After doing the wrist CARs, you may find that your push-up problems have disappeared. If so, great! You’ve discovered a powerful tool to add to your warm-up on push-up days. 

Adjust your positioning with towels

If you still have some discomfort and you think it’s because your wrists just can’t quite stretch to 90 degrees, grab a pair of small gym towels (or anything similar) and prop your palms up on them. 

This works the same way as elevating your heels for squats. By changing the angle of your hands, you no longer need to bend your wrists as much, and so you can keep the heels of your palms on the ground (or towel) without stretching. 

Anchor your hands into the ground

Another positioning tip that can help is to make sure your hands are directly below your forearms, and that you’re spreading your hand out to distribute the weight of your upper body. You don’t want to lean into the heels of your hand, but rather, to use your fingers, thumbs, and your whole palm to grab the ground and support your body. If you don’t feel like this is happening, think about holding jar lids in your palms, and screw them both outward (pinkies away from your body). This can help to get some supportive tension in your hands, which often relieves wrist pain. 

Do some gentle wrist stretches

Before or after your workout, do some gentle stretches to get your wrists used to operating in that more-stretched position. (Here’s one follow-along video that includes several great stretches.) This type of stretch shouldn’t hurt. Just apply pressure until you feel a gentle stretching sensation. That’s enough to do the job. If you want to be really thorough, four minutes of stretching in a given warmup, or ten minutes total per week, should be enough to see results.