All About Wrists
This week’s Health and Performance Centre spotlight is all about wrists!
Having wrist issues? Book your appointment now [1] with one of the talented members from our team of Guelph physiotherapists [2]. Our practitioners can help you get back to moving pain-free while also increasing your overall strength and providing education on how to avoid future injury.
To begin wrist week, we are starting with an overview on the anatomy of the wrist.
- The wrist joint is formed by a row of carpal bones, the radius and the ulna.
- The wrist is an ellipsoidal (condyloid) type of synovial joint which allows flexion, extension, abduction and adduction.
- Major muscles include flexor carpi ulnaris, flexor carpi radialis and flexor digitorum superficialis, extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis, extensor carpi ulnaris and extensor digitorum.
- Some major ligaments include ulnar and radial collateral ligaments and the dorsal and palmar radiocarpal ligaments.
- Wrist pain can come from sprains, fractures, repetitive stress and conditions like arthritis carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts etc.
- You may prevent wrist pain by building strength in the wrist, attaining adequate ROM of the wrist and learning proper ergonomics during tasks like computer typing.
Fun Fact: The palmaris longus is absent in approximately 15% of population! Here is how to check if you have one:
- If you have one, you should see a tendon that appears at the center of the wrist when you touch your thumb and pinky together. This test is called the Schaeffer's test.
- The first video is an example of someone who does have a palmaris longus muscle.
- The second video shows an example of someone who does not have this muscle.
- Research has determined that people who have this muscle have no greater wrist strength than people who don’t!
Stretching, Strengthening Your Wrists & Developing Proper Wrist Posture for Mouse and Keyboard Use
Head to our Instagram page (@hpcguelph) [3] to check out some outstanding video instruction on how to improve the overall health and mobility of your wrists!
Our Guelph physiotherapists have also laid out some instructions to help ensure you have healthy, ergonomically-sound habits when it comes to developing proper wrist posture while working from a computer!
Related Articles:
All About Elbows [4]
All About Ankles [6]
All About Knees [7]
