Pain guide · Wrist and hand pain

Gymnast's wrist: growth plate pain in young gymnasts, how long to rest, and the way back to handstands

Gymnast's wrist is a stress injury of the growth plate at the end of the radius, the forearm bone on the thumb side of the wrist. It comes from repeated weight-bearing on a bent-back wrist in handstands, vaults and tumbling, mostly in gymnasts aged about 10 to 14, and not only at elite level. The sources agree on what to do: stop weight-bearing on the hands and get it checked. The doctor sets how long the rest lasts, and it is usually weeks to months, not days.

This guide is written for young gymnasts, parents and coaches. It covers the signs to act on, what X-rays and scans can and can't show, why catching it early protects the growth plate, how to keep training the rest of the body meanwhile, and a staged plan with 3D demos back to handstands that follows an expert return-to-gymnastics protocol.

4-stage exercise plan When to get help 24 sourcesUpdated 21 October 2026

When to get help first

Exercise is for pain that has been checked or is clearly mild and settling.

Get urgent medical help if

Call 999 or go to A&E after an injury (don't drive yourself) if the arm, wrist or hand is numb, tingling or has pins and needles; a bone is sticking out or a bad cut is bleeding heavily; or the wrist, thumb or a finger has changed shape, is at an odd angle, or has turned blue, grey, white or cold.
Call 999 if a gymnast's grip catches on the bar (grip lock) and the forearm is hurt or out of shape. Support the gymnast so they aren't hanging from the injured arm, and don't move a gymnast who has fallen and has neck pain. A broken forearm is likely.
Same day (NHS 111, an urgent treatment centre or an urgent GP appointment): a wrist or hand injury that is very painful, getting worse, very swollen or bruised, stiff, or that you can't use. It may be broken.
Same day: after a fall onto an outstretched hand, pain or tenderness at the base of the thumb on the back of the wrist (the hollow called the snuffbox), even if the wrist moves well or the first X-ray was normal. A broken scaphoid can hide on the first X-ray and is slow to heal if it's missed, so ask what follow-up is planned.
Same day: a joint or lump that is hot, red and swollen, or hand or wrist pain with a high temperature or feeling hot, cold or shivery. It could be an infection or gout.
Same day: you have lost the feeling in part or all of your hand.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Wrist pain that is still there the day after gymnastics, or a swollen wrist: stop weight-bearing on the hands and see a GP or sports doctor. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises a doctor for a wrist that is swollen or painful the next day.
Wrist pain that comes back each time weight on the hands restarts, or hasn't settled after 2 weeks of rest from it: see the clinician again. An X-ray, and occasionally a scan, may be needed.
In a gymnast who has had growth plate trouble: new pain on the little-finger side of the wrist, a bump at the end of the ulna that sticks out more, clicking, or less wrist movement than the other side. The growth plate may have closed early.
In a cast or splint: the cast feels too tight, or the fingers are numb, swollen, blue or white. Get help the same day.
Pain at night or at rest, a lump, swelling in several joints, a fever or weight loss. These aren't typical of an overuse injury and need a GP.
Any tingling or loss of feeling in the hand or wrist.
Not improved after 2 weeks of looking after it at home, getting worse, keeps coming back, or stopping you doing normal activities. In many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy.

Understand it

What it is

Near the end of each long bone is a growth plate, a layer of cartilage where the bone lengthens. It is weaker than the bone and ligaments around it. When the wrist is bent back and loaded, as in a handstand, vault or back handspring, the radius takes nearly all of the load: up to about twice body weight, at loading rates over 16 times body weight a second. Repeated squashing and twisting irritate the radius's growth plate, which can widen and become irregular, with hardened areas or small cysts on X-ray.

A review describes three stages: wrist pain with normal X-rays, then a stress injury of the growth plate, and then, if the growth plate closes early, a radius that stops growing while the ulna (the forearm bone on the little-finger side) carries on, so the ulna ends up relatively long. Doctors call that positive ulnar variance. Researchers who surveyed gymnasts' X-rays regard the widening as a stress fracture of the growth plate, not a normal adaptation to training.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Who gets it

Mostly gymnasts aged about 10 to 14, around the growth spurt. In one club, 83% of 10 to 14 year olds had wrist pain, against 44% of younger or older gymnasts. More training went with more pain: in another club, gymnasts with wrist pain trained 13.5 hours a week on average, against 7.7 for those without, and were at a higher level.

It isn't only an elite problem. In one US children's hospital's series of 100 children, reported as a conference abstract, the average level was 4.5 out of 10, training averaged 13.4 hours a week, and 95 were girls. In two studies of non-elite gymnasts, X-ray signs of growth plate stress were found in 25% and 51%. Floor, pommel horse and beam were the events most often linked with wrist pain.

Platform divers load their wrists in a similar way, with X-ray stress changes reported in 52.6% in one review, and another review lists cheerleading among the other sports that put weight through the hands. Young climbers get the same kind of growth plate stress injury in their fingers, which our finger pulley guide covers.

Sources 7, 8, 3, 2, 9, 10, 11, 5

How it's recognised

An ache on the back or thumb side of the wrist, just above the crease, that builds over weeks or months and is worse with impact and weight on the hands. The growth plate is tender to press, bending the wrist back hurts and may not go as far as on the other side, and there can be some swelling or stiffness. Both wrists hurt in about a third of cases.

A doctor diagnoses it from the story and an examination, usually with an X-ray. In the US children's hospital series, 71% were diagnosed by X-ray and 5% needed further imaging. About three-quarters of those gymnasts had kept training through the pain, for more than 3 months on average, before they were seen.

Sources 1, 2, 12

What X-rays and scans do and don't meanEmerging evidence

X-rays can be normal early: they were normal in 10 of 91 children in the US hospital series, and in a small 1985 series, gymnasts with normal X-rays still needed about 4 weeks of rest. The commonest X-ray findings were a widened growth plate (53 of 91) and hardening of the nearby bone (42 of 91). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show a widened growth plate and swelling of the nearby bone marrow when the X-ray looks normal.

Changes are also common in gymnasts who feel fine. In 44 non-elite gymnasts, X-ray signs of growth plate stress (25%) weren't linked with wrist pain. On MRI, the growth plate was almost as large in gymnasts without pain (median 951 cubic millimetres) as in gymnasts with pain (971), and both were larger than in non-gymnasts (646), though 9 of the 10 largest belonged to gymnasts with pain. A methods paper notes that bone marrow swelling has been reported in 40% to 49% of children's wrists without symptoms, especially during fast growth.

A finding isn't meaningless, though: in 59 young gymnasts, wrist pain was commoner with higher X-ray grades of stress. So a scan is read alongside the symptoms and the examination. A long ulna on one X-ray means little on its own: it is more common in gymnasts, but in several studies it wasn't linked with wrist pain, and reported rates range from 0% to 50% depending on how it is measured. A change on repeat X-rays matters more.

Sources 2, 13, 14, 1, 9, 7, 15, 16, 5, 3

How it usually goesMixed evidence

With rest, most recover. In the small 1985 series of 21 gymnasts, none had growth problems at a mean of 2 years. Trained through, it lingers: in a year-long study of young gymnasts, 24 of the 27 with wrist pain still had it a year later, and only 5 had seen a doctor.

In the US children's hospital series (a conference abstract), symptoms settled a mean of 208 days after the first visit, and about 351 days after the pain began, largely because many were seen late. It came back in 12%, and 10% developed a growth disturbance of the radius or ulna, 3% needing corrective surgery. Across 448 children with stress injuries around growth plates in many sports, all from case reports, 12.7% had a growth disturbance and 6.2% had surgery, and missing or late treatment, or not resting, were common in those cases.

If the growth plate closes early, the ulna ends up relatively long. That can cause pain on the little-finger side of the wrist from the ulna pressing into the wrist bones, and tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC), the cartilage cushion on that side, which our TFCC guide covers.

Sources 13, 10, 2, 11, 1, 6, 5

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Stop weight-bearing on the hands, and get it checked: every source agreesStrong evidence

Expert reviews, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the case series all make rest from weight-bearing and impact on the hands the main treatment, with a doctor checking the wrist. In the US children's hospital series, all impact through the arms was formally stopped in 89% of the 100 children.

Rest from the hands doesn't mean rest from gymnastics. Reviews describe active rest: legs, trunk, flexibility and fitness carry on while the wrist rests, adapted by the coach.

Sources 1, 12, 17, 18, 13, 2

How long to rest: weeks to months, and the numbers are thinMixed evidence

In one small 1985 series of 21 gymnasts, those whose X-rays were normal recovered in about 4 weeks, and those with X-ray changes needed at least 3 months. In one US children's hospital's series of 100 children, reported as a conference abstract, complete rest averaged 68 days.

A review of mostly case reports gives 4 to 6 weeks of active rest, and an expert review says a brace or cast for 4 to 12 weeks may help, with repeat examinations and X-rays. No trial has compared rest periods, braces or casts, so the doctor sets the time from the pain, the tenderness and the X-ray.

Sources 13, 2, 17, 1

Catching it early protects the growth plateEmerging evidence

In the US children's hospital series (a conference abstract), 10% developed a growth disturbance, 3% needed corrective surgery and 12% had it again, and the authors linked these to late diagnosis and not resting long enough. Across 448 children with growth plate stress injuries in youth sport, 12.7% had a growth disturbance and 6.2% had surgery, mostly when treatment was missing or late.

By contrast, the 21 gymnasts in the 1985 series who rested had no growth problems, and in a year-long study, 89% of gymnasts who kept training with wrist pain still had it a year later. These are case series and cohorts, not trials, but they point the same way.

Sources 2, 11, 10, 13

A step-by-step return: an expert protocol, not tested in a trialEmerging evidence

A 2024 expert review proposes a return-to-gymnastics protocol: wrist movement and strength at least half to three-quarters of the other side first, then hanging, then weight on the hands without impact, then flight and impact skills, starting at about a quarter of the usual number of skills, with vault, floor and pommel horse last. Its soreness rules are adapted from baseball's return-to-throwing programmes.

It was built from the literature and expert opinion and hasn't been tested. Another review gives the same principles: no pain, normal wrist function, a completed rehab programme and good technique. If your gymnast's clinician or coach has a programme, follow theirs.

Sources 1, 18

Wrist guards and braces: not shown to prevent itMixed evidence

In a laboratory study of 23 young gymnasts doing back handsprings, wrist guards reduced how far the wrist bent back (one type significantly) but raised another load on the wrist, which may add risk. In 48 male gymnasts with wrist pain, a gel-padded brace worn for 3 weeks was followed by 53.5% less pain, but there was no comparison group.

The American Academy of Pediatrics lists wrist braces among ways to lower the risk, but no study has tested whether guards prevent gymnast's wrist. They are reasonable for comfort on the way back if the clinician agrees, not a way to train through pain.

Sources 19, 20, 12

Prevention: sensible advice, no trialsEmerging evidence

No prevention trial exists. The advice is to build up intensity gradually, progress skills in order, warm up and condition well, keep wrist movement, build wrist and trunk strength, and spread the highest-impact skills through the week. The American Academy of Pediatrics says gymnasts should never take medicine before training to mask pain.

Sources 12, 18, 17, 3

Surgery is for the after-effects, not the injury itselfEmerging evidence

Surgery isn't a treatment for gymnast's wrist. It is for a growth plate that has closed early, leaving a long ulna that presses into the wrist (3% needed corrective surgery in the US children's hospital series). A 2026 review says treating a painful long ulna remains controversial.

Sources 2, 1, 5

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

No pain at the growth plate, then the soreness rulesEmerging evidence

No study has tested a pain rule for gymnast's wrist. This rule combines an expert return-to-gymnastics protocol with the stricter approach we take for growth plates. If your gymnast's clinician or coach has given you a programme, follow theirs.

While the wrist rests: no weight-bearing on the hands. Daily life, such as writing, carrying a bag or pushing a door, should be pain-free before any weight goes back on the hands (our suggestion).

Strength exercises: no pain over the growth plate, just above the wrist crease on the back and thumb side. A working ache in the forearm muscles that settles within the hour is fine, but nothing should be worse the next morning (our suggestion).

Weight on the hands and the return to gymnastics: the protocol's soreness rules, adapted from baseball's return-to-throwing programmes. Never use painkillers to train through it. This is stricter than our rule for adults' wrist pain (up to about 5 out of 10), because this is a growth plate: about three-quarters of the gymnasts in one hospital series had trained through pain for months before being seen, and 10% ended with a growth disturbance.

Sources 1, 12, 2, 11

The exercise plan: 4 stages

Start at the first stage. Each move opens a full guide with a 3D demo.

Stage 1

Hands off the floor: rest the wrist, train the rest (the doctor sets the time)

No handstands, cartwheels, round-offs, walkovers, back handsprings, vault, tumbling, or support on bars and beam, and no push-ups, planks, bear crawls or downward dog on the hands. A splint or brace only if the clinician prescribes one. Keep training legs, trunk and fitness, with the coach adapting the session. The doses are our gymnastics workouts', which are editorial.

Wrist & forearm flow demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipment

60 s, once or twice a day, with no weight through the hands · The gymnastics warm-up's 60 s; how often is editorial

Harder: Wrist flexor stretch

Hollow body hold demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHollow body holdIntermediate · No equipment

3 holds of 20 s · The gymnastics conditioning workout's dose

Easier: Dead bug · Harder: Dragon flag

Locust pose (Salabhasana) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment

3 holds of 20 s · Arms alongside the body and off the floor, so nothing presses through the hands. The conditioning workout's dose

Harder: One-legged bow (half locust)

Snapdown to athletic landing demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSnapdown to athletic landingBeginner · No equipment

2 sets of 5, holding each landing for 2 s · The conditioning workout's dose

Harder: Box drop landing

Box drop landing demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBox drop landingIntermediate · A step

3 sets of 5, from a box about 30 cm high · The conditioning workout's dose

Easier: Snapdown to athletic landing · Harder: Depth jump

Single-leg hop and stick demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 5 each leg, holding each landing for 2 s · The conditioning workout's dose

Easier: Standing broad jump with stuck landing · Harder: Alternate-leg bounding

Move on when: No pain at rest or in daily tasks, the growth plate is no longer tender to press, the wrist moves as far as the other one, and the clinician agrees.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 2

Strength without weight through the hands

Once daily life is pain-free. 2 to 3 sessions a week for the forearm, grip, shoulder blades and rotator cuff, light and slow, with no pain over the growth plate. Keep the stage 1 conditioning going.

Wrist curls demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWrist curlsBeginner · A dumbbell

2 sets of 12, light and slow · The conditioning workout's 12; the sets are editorial. Pain at the bony end of the forearm, or a sorer wrist the next day, means too much

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Reverse wrist curl demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoReverse wrist curlBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box

2 sets of 12, light and slow · The conditioning workout's 12; the sets are editorial

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Dumbbell forearm rotation demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell forearm rotationBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or box

2 sets of 10, a light dumbbell held near one end · The throwing arm strength workout's dose

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Ball squeeze demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBall squeezeBeginner · Other / check instructions

Squeeze as firmly as is comfortable, hold 5 s, 10 times · Editorial dose

Harder: Band finger extension

Prone Y-T-W raises demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment

2 sets of 5 of each shape · The throwing arm strength workout's dose

Easier: Wall angel · Harder: Bent-over reverse fly

Standing band external rotation demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point

12 to 15 each arm, elbow by your side · The conditioning workout's dose

Harder: Side-lying external rotation

Move on when: All of this has been pain-free for a week, the growth plate isn't tender, and the clinician clears weight through the hands. The expert protocol asks for wrist movement and strength of at least half to three-quarters of the other side before the return starts.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 3

Weight back through the hands, without impact (when the clinician agrees)

Hanging first, then part of your body weight through the hands: the wall, then an incline, then all fours. Every other day at first, following the soreness rules.

3D demoBar hangIntermediate · Pull-up bar + A step

3 hangs of 10 to 20 s · Editorial dose; the expert protocol starts with hanging. Build up from short hangs

Easier: Exercise ball pyramid drape · Harder: One-arm dead hang

Wall push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wall

2 to 3 sets of 10, leaning a little more weight through the hands each week · Our wrist pain in push-ups guide's editorial dose

Harder: Push-up

Quadruped wrist rocks demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoQuadruped wrist rocksBeginner · No equipment

10 slow rocks in each of 4 hand positions · The gymnastics warm-up's dose. Start with little weight through the hands

Easier: Wrist flexor stretch

Incline push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoIncline push-upBeginner · A bench or box

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, hands on a bench or worktop · Our wrist pain in push-ups guide's editorial dose

Harder: Push-up

Scapular push-up (push-up plus) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment

10, on an incline or the knees first · The gymnastics warm-up's 10

Easier: Dumbbell shoulder-blade punch · Harder: Pike push-up

Move on when: All of this is pain-free, with no soreness the next day, for 2 weeks, and the clinician clears a return to gymnastics.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Stage 4

Back to gymnastics, a step at a time

Follow the return-to-gymnastics steps in the notes below, starting at about a quarter of the usual number of hand skills, with the gymnastics warm-up before every session and the strength work twice a week. Vault, floor and pommel horse come last.

Knee push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoKnee push-upBeginner · No equipment

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 · Our wrist pain in push-ups guide's editorial dose. Fists or push-up handles first if the wrist complains

Harder: Push-up

3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 6 to 10 · Our wrist pain in push-ups guide's editorial dose

Easier: Wall push-up · Harder: Close-grip push-up (close triceps position)

Half handstand at the wall (Ardha Adho Mukha Vrksasana) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHalf handstand at the wall (Ardha Adho Mukha Vrksasana)Intermediate · A wall

2 holds of 20 s · The gymnastics warm-up's dose

Easier: Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) · Harder: Handstand at the wall (Adho Mukha Vrksasana, chest to wall)

Handstand at the wall (Adho Mukha Vrksasana, chest to wall) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoHandstand at the wall (Adho Mukha Vrksasana, chest to wall)Advanced · A wall

3 holds of 20 to 30 s · Once the half handstand is pain-free. The conditioning workout's dose

Easier: Half handstand at the wall (Ardha Adho Mukha Vrksasana) · Harder: Freestanding handstand

Pike push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoPike push-upIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 6 to 8 · The conditioning workout's dose

Easier: Incline push-up · Harder: Wall handstand push-up

Bear crawl demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBear crawlIntermediate · No equipment

4 crawls of 8 to 10 m · The move page's editorial dose

Easier: Knee hover (Pilates tabletop hover) · Harder: Spider crawl (low push-up knee drive)

Move on when: Full sessions cause no soreness the next day for 2 weeks. If the X-rays showed changes, the clinician may want follow-up X-rays to check that the wrist keeps growing normally.

Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

What to change for now

Return-to-gymnastics steps (an expert protocol)

These steps come from an expert protocol in a 2024 review. It hasn't been tested in a trial, and its soreness rules are adapted from baseball. If your gymnast's clinician or coach has a programme, follow theirs instead.

1. Start only when the clinician has cleared it, daily life and the stage 3 exercises are pain-free, and wrist movement and strength are at least half to three-quarters of the other side.
2. Warm up first, every session, for example with our gymnastics warm-up.
3. Week 1: about a quarter of the usual number of hand skills (the protocol calls this the 75% reduction rule). Add more each week only if the soreness rules allow.
4. Order: hanging and swinging on the bars or rings first; then skills on the hands without flight or impact, such as handstand holds, bridges, walkovers and cartwheels; then flight skills such as round-offs and handsprings. Vault, floor tumbling and pommel horse come in last, because they cause the most wrist pain.
5. Use the soreness rules (in the pain rule above) after every session, and tell the coach.
6. Keep the strength work going twice a week, but not the day before a heavy session on the hands (our suggestion).
7. If pain comes back twice at the same step, stop the hand skills and see the clinician again (our suggestion).

Sources 1, 18

For parents and coaches

Ask after each session, and the next morning, whether the wrist hurts, feels stiff or looks swollen. A wrist that is swollen or painful the next day means no weight on the hands and a visit to a doctor. Gymnasts should never take painkillers to get through training.

Wrist pain is common in gymnastics, which makes it easy to dismiss. In one hospital series, about three-quarters of gymnasts had trained through pain for over 3 months before anyone looked at it, and in a year-long club study only 5 of 27 gymnasts with wrist pain had seen a doctor.

Sources 12, 2, 10

Keep the gymnast in the gym

During the rest, legs, trunk, flexibility, leaps, jumps, landings and fitness can all carry on, with the coach adapting the session. The hand-free parts of our gymnastics conditioning workout suit this stage.

Sources 17, 1

Spread the load, and watch the growth spurt

On the way back, build intensity and volume gradually, progress skills in order, and spread the highest-impact skills, such as vault and tumbling, through the week. Wrist pain is commonest at 10 to 14, during fast growth, so take new wrist pain seriously then.

Sources 12, 17, 3, 8

Grips on the bars

Check that grips fit every 3 to 6 months, and keep a spare pair that fits. Stretched or overlong grips can lock on the bar and break the forearm (grip lock).

Source 1

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Training through wrist pain, or taking painkillers to get through training	The American Academy of Pediatrics says never take medicine before training to mask pain, and in one hospital series most gymnasts had trained through pain and 10% ended with a growth disturbance.	Stop the hand skills for the day, tell the coach, and see a doctor if it hurts the next day.
Handstands, vault and tumbling while the wrist rests	They load a bent-back wrist with up to about twice body weight.	Leg, trunk and hand-free skills, such as the hollow body hold.Try: Hollow body hold
Push-ups on flat hands while the wrist rests	They put weight through a bent-back wrist.	The dead bug for the trunk. Push-ups come back in stages 3 and 4.Try: Dead bug
High planks	Body weight goes through bent-back wrists.	The forearm plank, which keeps weight off the wrists, if it doesn't hurt.Try: Forearm plank
Downward dog	The wrists take weight in a bent-back position.	The dolphin pose, on the forearms, if it doesn't hurt.Try: Dolphin pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana)
The kneeling wrist stretch with the fingers turned back	It leans body weight into a deep wrist bend.	The wrist and forearm flow, with no weight through the hands.Try: Wrist & forearm flow
Going straight back to full training once it stops hurting	The expert protocol starts at about a quarter of the usual hand skills and brings vault, floor and pommel horse back last, and 12% had it again in one series.	The return-to-gymnastics steps.
Relying on wrist guards to keep training through pain	Guards changed wrist angles but raised another wrist load in a laboratory study, and they haven't been tested for preventing injury.	Rest first, then guards for comfort on the way back if the clinician agrees.
Heavy or fast wrist curls early on	Pain at the bony end of the forearm, or a sorer wrist the next day, means too much too soon.	Light, slow sets in stage 2.

Routines to follow

Gymnastics conditioning workout: jumps, landings, wrists, shoulders and trunk

A gymnastics conditioning session: jumps from the youth vault trial, landings, wrist and shoulder strength, wall handstands, and hollow and arch holds.

45 minIntermediate22 movesOther / check instructions, A step

Knee control warm-up

A 20-minute warm-up that trains your knees to track over your toes: side-hip strength, squats and lunges with alignment practice, balance and quiet landings.

20 minBeginner10 movesA wall, A band

Plyometric workout

An advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.

30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A step

Wrist and forearm routine

Wrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.

10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbell

Gymnastics warm-up: wrists, shoulders, spine, hips and landings

A gymnastics warm-up: skips, wrist circles and rocks, shoulder work, cat-cow, hollow and arch holds, leg swings, short splits holds and landings.

15 minBeginner18 movesA band, A wall

Handstand progression

Build toward a handstand: wrist prep, dolphin pose, pike push-ups, crow, the wall handstand and freestanding holds.

25 minAdvanced8 movesA wall

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

What is gymnast's wrist?

It's a stress injury of the growth plate at the end of the radius, the forearm bone on the thumb side of the wrist, from repeated weight-bearing on a bent-back wrist in handstands, vaults and tumbling. It mostly affects gymnasts aged about 10 to 14, during the growth spurt. Doctors also call it distal radial physeal stress syndrome.

Where does gymnast's wrist hurt?

On the back or thumb side of the wrist, just above the crease, with an ache that builds over weeks and is worse with weight on the hands and bending the wrist back. It may be tender to press, a little swollen or stiff, and sore the next day. Both wrists hurt in about a third of cases.

How long does my child need off handstands and tumbling?

The doctor sets the time, from the pain, the tenderness and the X-ray, and it is usually weeks to months. In one small 1985 series of 21 gymnasts, those with normal X-rays recovered in about 4 weeks and those with X-ray changes needed at least 3 months. In one US children's hospital's series, reported as a conference abstract, complete rest averaged 68 days.

Can my child still train during the rest?

Usually, yes, if the coach adapts the session: legs, trunk, flexibility, leaps, jumps, landings and fitness, with no weight on the hands. The first stage of our plan shows hand-free conditioning with 3D demos.

Does my child need an X-ray or a scan?

Usually an X-ray, which is how most cases are diagnosed. X-rays can be normal early, so a normal X-ray with the typical story still means rest, and an MRI scan is occasionally used. Growth plate changes are also common in gymnasts without pain, so a scan is read alongside the symptoms.

Can gymnast's wrist affect growth?

Sometimes, mainly when it is trained through or found late. In one hospital series of 100 children, 10% developed a growth disturbance and 3% needed corrective surgery. Gymnasts who rested in an older series had no growth problems 2 years later.

What is positive ulnar variance?

It means the ulna, the forearm bone on the little-finger side, ends further towards the hand than the radius. If gymnast's wrist makes the radius stop growing early, the ulna ends up relatively long, which can cause pain on the little-finger side of the wrist. One measurement means little on its own, because it varies a lot in gymnasts without pain; a change on repeat X-rays matters more.

Should my child wear wrist guards or supports?

They haven't been tested for preventing or treating gymnast's wrist. In a laboratory study, guards changed wrist angles in back handsprings but raised another load on the wrist. They are fine for comfort on the way back if the clinician agrees, but not a way to train through pain.

When can my child do handstands and vault again?

When daily life is pain-free, the growth plate isn't tender and the clinician agrees. Then comes a step-by-step return: hanging first, then holds without impact, then impact and flight skills, starting at about a quarter of the usual number, with vault, floor and pommel horse last. This is an expert protocol that hasn't been tested in a trial, so follow your own clinician's or coach's programme if you have one.

Can it come back?

Yes: 12% of the children in one hospital series had it again. Building up gradually, spreading the hardest impact skills through the week and taking wrist pain seriously during growth spurts are the usual advice, though no prevention trial exists.

Can my child take painkillers so they can keep training?

No. The American Academy of Pediatrics says gymnasts should never take medicine before training to mask pain. Pain is the signal to stop the hand skills and get it checked.

Is it only elite gymnasts who get it?

No. In 100 children treated at one hospital, the average level was 4.5 out of 10, with 13.4 hours of training a week, and studies of non-elite gymnasts found X-ray signs of growth plate stress too. Divers and other athletes who put weight through their wrists can get it.

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources

Exercise education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is written from the guidelines and studies listed above; review by a clinician is pending. If your pain follows an injury, is severe, is getting worse, or comes with any warning sign listed on this page, get it assessed. Health disclaimer.