If you are at a desk for a long time, the typing or potentially a lot of mouse use
might make the wrist and the forearm a little bit tight
which can lead to problems and potentially pain and niggles around the wrist and the hand area.
So, knowing some wrist exercises with a Pocket Physio to reduce this tension is a great idea in my book.
This is the Pocket Physio, if you're not familiar with it, we have created another video
just chatting about what it's about it's very useful
for taking or removing the tension in muscles tension in muscles and improving flexibility.
My name's Claire. I'm a Physiotherapist from Physiofit Health.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can keep updated with our videos.
Now, we've got three exercises for you to try with your Pocket Physio.
I do have a one-kilo weight here as well because that can help
but we'll go through the exercise without the weight
and then I'll show you what the weight can help improve.
So, first one you want to get your forearm resting on the table but you want your hand off the edge of the table.
Your palm is facing down to the floor.
With your Pocket Physio, you want to take that pointy end and you're going to place it in the forearm muscle belly.
Now, you can try different places just to see where it feels a little bit tight
and then you're going to hold the pressure there.
So once you've found a tight spot, you're then going to very slowly bring your hand
and your wrist up, if you can see and then slowly bring that hand all the way back down.
Now, this is the movement that's going to really stretch all of those forearm muscles
and down into the wrist so you're just raising that hand up and you're lowering it back down again.
So, that's your basic movement.
I would suggest aiming for about 5 or 6 repetitions. You can obviously do more
if you're feeling that it's working and doing some good,
you can try the pressure in different places.
Now with the weight, it just helps increase the stretch a little bit more
so I've got one-kilo weight. I'm placing the pressure on the forearm and then slowly bringing that hand down.
Now, the weight with gravity just can help push into that stretch a little bit more than without the weight.
So, try a tin of baked beans something like that if you don't have any hand weights at home.
If you don't have weight then that's fine just try without, it's just a little bit of an extra if you want.
Your second exercise, it will be targeting these muscles underneath the forearm.
Just so that you know, I do tend to find the muscles at the top get a little bit tighter
but it's worthwhile just for completeness working on the muscles on the other side as well.
If you find that it doesn't really, if there's not really very much tension there then that's fine
maybe just work around where there is tension.
So we do a Pocket Physio, you're gonna place it flat now on your table
so you've got that pointy elbow end sticking up and then you can place that underneath part of your forearm onto it.
Again, you just have a little bit of a look just to see where it feels tight.
Like I say if anywhere, this one's just for completeness really that you're getting all of these muscles.
So you're going to hold it where you're feeling a little bit tight
and then you are slowly going to bring your hand up so your palm's facing away from you.
Take your other hand and you can push into that stretch just a little bit more
and then you are slowly going to ease off.
So, raise the hand up and use your other hand to increase that stretch.
Place the pressure point with the Pocket Physio just in different places
and you're aiming for your 5 or 6 repetitions and then you're going to repeat on the other side.
Your third exercise with your Pocket Physio is getting a little bit of rotation.
Now, so you're going to take the pointy end of the Pocket Physio.
You're going to place it on that top part of the forearm, finding a tight spot.
Forearm's on the table and your hand, again, is just over the edge of the table.
Now, this time you've got the palm facing down to the floor
and then you're slowly going to flip the palm so you're trying to get it pointing all the way up towards the ceiling
and then you're going to flip the palm back down again.
So, it's just a rotation of the hand and again, aiming for your 5 or 6 repetitions
and you can place the Pocket Physio just in different places around
the muscle of that forearm whilst you're flipping the palm up and down.
Now, the weight can come in useful for this one as well.
I'd get you holding the weight at the end so you've got kind of the majority of the weight is sticking up.
Get yourself into your start position.
So, Pocket Physio put the pressure on the forearm on the table and your palm is facing down to the floor
and then slowly you are going to flip your palm up towards the ceiling.
Now, with that weight, it just uses gravity to really push into that rotation just a little bit more.
So again, same as that first exercise weight can just increase that stretch sensation
but if you don't have a weight that's fine. Just doing it without will also help.
So, doing that same thing on the other side.
So those are your three exercises to try out.
Try one or all three you can do it before you sit down you can do as a bit of a break.
We also have videos that we've done with the Pocket Physio on the neck, the shoulder, and the lower back
which you'll probably be aware can get a little bit stiff
and tight if you're sat for a while so check those videos out as well.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and I'll see you soon!