Wrist pain in the front rack
Pain at the back of the wrist when the bar sits in the front rack: front squats, cleans, thrusters. Usually a combination of range, position and a wrist that has never been loaded in that shape.
This is general training information, not medical advice, and nothing here is a diagnosis. The same pain can have very different causes, and only a qualified professional who can assess you in person can tell which one is yours. If pain is severe, getting worse, or not settling, get it looked at.
- · A pinch at the back of the wrist as it bends back under the bar.
- · Worst in thrusters and front squats, easier in a clean grip with fingertips only.
- · Aches after the session rather than being sharp during.
- · Sore in a push-up position or a plank on the hands.
- · A front rack held with a full fist grip, forcing the wrist further back than it can go.
- · Limited wrist and shoulder range, so the elbows drop and the wrist takes the load.
- · A jump in front rack volume: a cycle of front squats and thrusters together.
- · Wrists that have never been loaded in extension outside of lifting.
- · Front squats and cleans.
- · Thrusters in high-rep sets.
- · Push press and jerks in the dip.
- · Handstand push-ups and long push-up sets.
- · Almost all training. This is one of the most workable niggles on the list.
- · Back squats, deadlifts and running.
- · Pressing overhead, usually fine.
- · Loaded wrist range work, which most people need more of rather than less.
Like-for-like substitutions that keep the training stimulus while the niggle settles. A swap, not a rest day.
- · Wrist range in extension, built with load rather than with stretching alone.
- · Elbow position in the rack, since a dropped elbow puts the whole bar on the wrist.
- · Shoulder and lat range if that is what is stopping the elbows from coming up.
- · Front rack volume built gradually, with grip adjusted to the range actually available.
None of the advice above applies if any of these are true. These are the signs that this is not an ordinary training niggle. Stop managing it yourself and get assessed.
- · Numbness or pins and needles in the fingers.
- · Pain after a fall onto an outstretched hand. That needs imaging, wrist fractures are missed constantly.
- · Swelling, or an obvious lump on the back of the wrist.
- · Pain that is present at rest and unrelated to loading.
Sweatlas is not a medical provider. Everything in the niggle index is general information about training, written for healthy adults, and it is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Do not use it to self-diagnose or to delay getting care. If you have pain that is severe, worsening, or not settling, or you have any of the warning signs listed on the page, see a doctor or a qualified physiotherapist.