We continue on our exploration of common body connections to carpal tunnel and wrist pain by looking at the Anterior Kinetic Chain today. This video looks at the fascial ties between the wrist extensors (back of hand), up the arm across the abdomen to the opposite inner thigh. In this exploration, we start with options for self-massage, easy stretches and then coordinated movements to establish more mind body awareness.
One of my favorite ways for releasing the front of the shoulder (deltoid) and chest is cupping. Putting a gentle oil on the skin like jojoba or coconut oil and then dragging the cup across the area is an incredible fascial release. Then I walk you through a way to release tension in your forearms through a forearm massage, followed up with how to foam roll your inner thighs.
Then we begin the stretching portion with a groin stretch. I don’t demo stretching the abdomen, but an easy way to do this would be to lay over a yoga ball or use an inversion table. You’re looking for any situation where you can be in a supported backbend. My favorite way of stretching the pecs is on the floor—we’ll go through stretching the pec major and minor. I’ll then demo some variations on how to stretch the forearms.
The activation portion of this lesson starts with a a simple cross body, core exercise to feel the obliques between your hip and opposite shoulder. To make this more challenging, you could do this on a foam roller. To strengthen the wrist, I highly recommend the small, $10 investment in these, but you can use a rubber band for the exercise demonstrated in this video.
Strong hands=strong core!
