Wrist circles
Only the wrists move, the hands drawing slow circles each way with the arms held out: the wrist moved actively through its range with no load, the first stage of an NHS wrist programme.
Wrist mobility family
Wrist circles
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Stand tall with the arms out to the sides at shoulder height, palms down.
- Keeping the forearms still, draw slow circles with the hands: down, forward, up and back round.
- Do about 10 one way, then 10 the other.
Form cues
- Move slowly through the whole range.
- Keep the shoulders relaxed and down.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS · Wrist fractures exercise booklet (stage 1: active bending and turning; stage 2: passive stretches; stage 3: weight through the palms on the floor and a wall) ↗
- Free Exercise DB · community text ↗
Unlicense · Free Exercise DB contributors; derived from wrkout/exercises.json. Text import; no photographs or media. · Revision f00c92c7dcf1216a928a52c3706c7ce8e2f71ed5
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Muscles
Main: Forearms.
Anatomy: Brachioradialis, Wrist and finger flexors, Wrist and finger extensors, Pronator teres.
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Beginner. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Hand exercises for rheumatoid arthritis (the SARAH programme) · 15 min
- Ski warm-up · 7 min
- Lymphoedema exercises: a daily routine for arm and leg swelling · 15 min
- Wheelchair workout: seated cardio and shoulder-protecting strength · 30 min
- Range of movement exercises for MND: a daily routine on your own or with a helper · 20 min
- Scleroderma hand and mouth exercises: a daily stretching routine · 12 min
- Chair yoga for dementia: a 30-minute class to do together · 30 min
- Yoga for wrists: a 20-minute class that warms, strengthens and slowly loads the wrists · 20 min
Show all 11 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Wrist-kind Pilates: a 25-minute class on your forearms, with a wrist strength block and steps back onto your hands · 25 min
- Yoga for epilepsy: a 30-minute seated and lying practice with slow breathing, in the order a trial used · 30 min
- Yoga for the hands: a 20-minute class for stiff fingers, grip and hand-friendly poses · 20 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
- Elbow pain: what it is likely to be, exercises that help, and when to get it checked
- Ulnar nerve entrapment (cubital tunnel syndrome): tingling fingers and what helps
- Elbow arthritis and a stiff elbow: exercises to get your bend and straighten back
- Wrist and hand pain: what it might be, what helps, and when to get it checked
- Wrist pain in push-ups and yoga: what to change now and how to build back
- Exercises after a broken wrist: the recovery stages, cast or surgery, and getting your grip back
- Exercises after a broken elbow: the recovery stages and how to get your elbow straight again
- Exercises after a broken hand or boxer's fracture: buddy strapping, the recovery stages and the warning signs
Show all 25 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Scaphoid fracture: the cast, when surgery helps, and exercises to get your wrist moving again
- Mallet finger: the splint, the 6 to 8 weeks, and getting your fingertip bending again
- Dislocated elbow: what to do straight away, and the recovery stages after it is put back
- Skier's thumb: a torn ligament at the base of the thumb, splint or surgery, and the exercises
- Ganglion cyst on the wrist, hand or foot: will it go away, should you drain it, and training with one
- Intersection syndrome: a creaking, painful forearm above the wrist in rowers, paddlers and skiers
- Broken thumb: cast or surgery, Bennett's fractures, and getting grip and pinch back
- Numb hands when cycling: which nerve, what to change on the bike today, and when to get it checked
- Thumb pain: the base of the thumb, the wrist side, a thumb that catches, an injury, and what helps
- Finger joint pain: arthritis, a jammed or sprained finger, trigger finger, swelling and what helps
- Wrist and hand pain at night: carpal tunnel, arthritis, the tendons, night splints and how to sleep
- Wrist pain when lifting weights: presses, front squats, curls, grip, wraps and the TFCC
- Wrist pain in women: carpal tunnel, de Quervain's, thumb arthritis, fractures, pregnancy and babies
- Wrist pain in older adults: arthritis, carpal tunnel, pseudogout, falls and walking aids
- Wrist pain in men: falls and sport, a scaphoid fracture, the gym, ganglions, gout and work tools
- Hand pain in older adults: arthritis, trigger finger, Dupuytren's, carpal tunnel and gout
- Thumb pain from using a phone: texting thumb, scrolling, the tendons and base joint, and what helps
Guides that use it
- Pilates with wrist pain guide
- Yoga for dementia guide
- Yoga for wrists guide
- Yoga for circulation guide
- Yoga for lymphatic drainage guide
- Yoga for epilepsy guide
- Yoga for lymphoedema guide
- Yoga for the hands guide
Show all 19 guidesShow fewer guides
Similar moves
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Questions people ask
What muscles does the Wrist circles work?
Mainly the forearms.
What equipment do I need for the Wrist circles?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Wrist circles good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Wrist flexor stretch.
How do I make the Wrist circles harder?
Progress to the Wrist flexor stretch or the Quadruped wrist rocks. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.