It may be a small joint, but it can cause some serious discomfort and fatigue after a long paddle if you’re not aware of proper wrist angles.  In this article, I will briefly discuss the structure and function of the wrist, proper paddling technique, and how to strengthen your wrists to protect them from injury.
 
Structure and Function:
 
The wrist joint is extremely complex, but is basically the joint where the ulnar and radius bones of the forearm meet up with the carpal bones of the hand.  The wrist is designed to be very mobile to give our hands a full range of motion with fifteen bones that connect the hand to the forearm.  Take into account that there are also many ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels that make up the structure of the wrist.   All these components work together to allow us to flex and extend the hand, straighten our fingers, and make a fist.
 
Unfortunately, the wrist is not meant to support bodyweight.  Too much weight coupled with too many repetitions (such as high repetition push ups with your palms on the ground) is tough on your wrist joints and can cause tendonitis.  That’s why paying attention to your wrist angles while stand up paddling is so important. 
 

It may be a small joint, but it can cause some serious discomfort and fatigue after a long paddle if you’re not aware of proper wrist angles.  In this article, I will briefly discuss structure and function of the wrist, proper paddling technique, and how to strengthen your wrists to protect them from injury.
 
Structure and Function:
 
The wrist joint is extremely complex, but is basically the joint where the ulnar and radius bones of the forearm meet up with the carpal bones of the hand.  The wrist is designed to be very mobile to give our hands a full range of motion with fifteen bones that connect the hand to the forearm.  Take into account that there are also many ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels that make up the structure of the wrist.   All these components work together to allow us to flex and extend the hand, straighten our fingers, and make a fist.
 
Unfortunately, the wrist is not meant to support bodyweight.  Too much weight coupled with too many repetitions (such as high repetition push ups with your palms on the ground) is tough on your wrist joint and can cause tendinitis.  That’s why paying attention to your wrist angles while stand up paddling is so important. 
 
Technique: Be Conscious of Wrist Angles
 
Top Hand:
 
Keep your wrist angle neutral by making sure your wrist does not bend backwards into an extended position. Letting your wrist ‘break’ or collapse along the shaft during your paddle stroke will not only set you up for an overuse injury such as tendonitis, but will also result in less power out of each stroke.  By maintaining a straight wrist, you can drive down harder with the top hand at the beginning of each stroke, which will automatically translate into more power into that stroke.  Also, avoid holding the t-grip too tightly.  Relax and loosen up your fingers, even wiggling them around once in a while throughout your paddle session to lessen the fatigue.  A tight grip on the handle combined with repetitive wrist movement may result in pain and inflammation, so remember to loosen up your grip and keep your wrist straight.

 
Bottom Hand:
 
When reaching forward at the beginning of the stroke, grab the shaft of the paddle with your thumb and index finger, but loosely with the other fingers.  It will feel like you’re making the ‘okay’ symbol.  This will keep your wrist in a more neutral position. If you are driving the paddle down properly with your top hand and rotating your torso properly, your bottom hand will mainly be guiding the paddle through the water and will not be pulling as hard.  Applying this method not only allows you to extend the blade further for the catch phase of the stroke, but will also be much easier on your wrists.

 
  
Strengthening:
 
It is recommended that you complete three sets of 15-20 reps of the following exercises two days a week for maximum results. 
 
1.     Squeeze: Squeeze a raquetball, tennis ball, balled up washcloth, or a stress relief ball in your hand.
 
2.     Wrist Curl (Flexion): Hold a lightweight dumbbell, palm up, and curl it up towards your body.  Move through a full range of motion
 
3.     Reverse Wrist Curl (Extension): Hold a lightweight dumbbell, palm down, and raise dumbbell toward your body.
 
4.     Wrist Side Extensions (Abduction and adduction): Hold a lightweight dumbbell, palm down, and move your wrist away from your body then towards your body.
 
 
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