# One wrist can't withstand palm strikes



## Caged Fury (Dec 21, 2022)

Hi there dudes and dudettes. Forgive me if this has been posted before.
I've just today started to get back into my training and was testing myself on a pad against a wall, jast seeing how much conditioning I still have as far as hard knuckles/bones go and gauging how hard I can hit such a solid target without hurting myself.
Starting light and seeing how far I could go, it was all good and I was pleasantly surprised. Until I remembered how cool palm strikes are. Alternating right and left, it took next or nothing to tweak my right wrist, which I injured many years ago upon hearing a good friend had just passed away, by punching through a pine cupboard like a dumbass with my forearm and fist not correctly aligned causing my wrist to fold in half and point at the ceiling. It hurt immediately but not severely and as I was not at all physically active back then it seemed to heal pretty fast. Left hand palm strikes are still solid, I can shake the walls with them to pleasantly surprising degree.
So all this considered I think we can rule out poor technique. All my strikes are still ok enough that my elbows and muscles hit their current limit before my wrists do. The memory is still there.
What I'm looking for is knowledge and advice as to what might be wrong with my right wrist and how I might fix that if possible.
I never sought professional medical help when I mashed it into that cupboard. And though I have been reminded now and then that it's not 100% it has never seemed to be a real problem until now. This is the first time I've done any martial arts type stuff once the injury.
And just to be clear, I am not stupid with this kind of thing anymore. I was to be, as a teenager new to martial arts, long before I had that injury. This time round I did not push myself too hard or hit the bare wall or anything like that. I took it very sensibly just to get an idea of how tough my fists still are, how much technique is still present/automatic, how hard I may still be able to hit, and how much speed I may still possess from various stances and with basic footwork. Basically messing around and reacquainting my toes with the water.

There's definitely something wrong with that wrist and I'm looking for advice on things to try. If I can safely pin point and correct the problem on my own that would be great. If I must just fork out and see a good physio I'll do so.
Just hoping someone here has the knowledge and experience to help with sound advice, whatever it may be.

And yea I know it was f**kn stupid to not go to a professional after my scrap with the cupboard. But I punched a cupboard. Clearly I was not particularly wise and mature in my college years.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 21, 2022)

There's no way for us to know what's wrong with your wrist. You could have something stuck in it that just never got infected so you don't know until you put pressure a certain way, there could be something dislocated, or you could have broken something that never healed properly. Or it could be something entirely unrelated-you wouldn't be the first person to get arthritis in their 30s and not realize that's what it is. Or your wrist could be perfectly healthy structure-wise, you just have weak muscles, or your form from your right hand isn't as good...or you just had one bad strike.

As a result, any direct advice we give to solve the issue wouldn't necessarily resolve the issue, as it might not be addressing the actual problem. 

So really..you have to go to a doctor, and/or a physical therapist (most likely one will refer you to the other as well). They can examine to see if there's anything wrong with your wrist, and determine the best treatment plan.


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