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Breaking my right hand really jacked up my wrist flexibility. Specifically, it was healing from the handbrake that ruined my flexibility. It’s not destroyed in a permanent way, but I definitely have to rehab it back to strength and flexibility.
A little background info: In December 2022, I was riding my electric unicycle from home to get one of my cars, and the unicycle threw me off of it. I broke my hand because while I was falling, I grabbed a unicycle to keep it from flipping down the street.
The “wheel” weighs 63 pounds, so it flipped itself right out of my grip. The bone for my middle finger in the palm is the only one that broke. Weird that I didn’t journal about it. I just checked.
For example, trying to do a push-up or hold a plank hurts like hell because I cannot place my palm flat on the floor with my forearm perpendicular to the floor. Based on the way my wrist hurts, I know that it’s the stiffness causing immobility and pain. It’s logical that my wrist would stiffen up because I wore the splint for eight weeks. Or was it six? Doesn’t matter. My wrist is where it is right now.
I can do push-ups and hold a plank with a closed fist. That part is cool. Also, I can perform those movements with my hands open using just my fingers — the way Bruce Lee might do them.
This definition of pain reminds me of being a newbie to CrossFit. I remember when I first started that I wasn’t able to hold a barbell in a front rack position. Later, I would discover that it was the wrist, forearm, and latissimus dorsi (often called Lat ) muscles that needed dedicated mobility work to flex like I needed them to.
Becoming a Supple Leopard
Naturally, I want to win back my wrist by being a cowboy about it powering through the pain, but I have the tools to be smart about it. I have the book Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starrett with Glen Cordoza.
In the years I’ve referenced this book for joint mobility and muscle flexibility, I haven’t found an area of the body Starrett hasn’t covered. Naturally, the wrist and forearm have their mentions in the text.
I wonder which edition of the book is available now. Mine is a first edition published in 2013.
At the time I was hot and heavy in the CrossFit world, and I followed Starrett’s social media pages where he gave out many of his tips on flexibility and mobility for free — or for the cost of your attention, if you will. When the genius Physical Therapist of athletes released a book, buying it was a no-brainer.
So, I will be referring to this very special guidebook to rehabilitate my wounded right wrist. To be clear, I am aware the wrist is a joint and that it cannot be made to be more flexible. What I’ll is the flexibility of the muscles and tendons in my hand and forearm.