Pain guide · Wrist and hand pain

Wrist pain when doing dips: the back of the wrist, bars and handles, depth, bench dips and swaps

Wrist pain when you do dips usually comes from your body weight pressing through a wrist that folds back over the bar, or bends far back behind you in bench dips. Where it hurts is the best clue: an ache across the back of the wrist is usually load it isn't used to, a sharp pain in the middle of the back of the wrist at the bottom of the dip points to a pinched joint lining or a hidden ganglion, the little-finger side to the cartilage cushion there (the triangular fibrocartilage complex, or TFCC), the thumb side to a tendon, and tingling in your fingers to a nerve. Wrists stacked over the heels of your hands, dipping to about a right angle at the elbow, and the dip machine, pushdowns and neutral-grip presses while it settles usually help, with bench and ring dips last. No study has measured the wrist in a dip, so this guide says where each piece of advice comes from.

This guide starts with the signs that need help, from a 999 call for chest pain, sudden breathlessness or fainting on the bars, or a wrist that is out of shape, numb or cold after a fall, to a same-day check through the National Health Service's 111 line (NHS 111) or a general practitioner (GP) for pain at the base of the thumb after a fall, a hot, swollen wrist or lost feeling in your hand. It then maps the causes by where it hurts, explains what push-up, handstand and dip studies show, and don't, about wrist angle, handles, depth and bench dips, shows how to change your dips today, and gives a three-stage plan with a 3D demo of every move, from pushdowns and floor presses back to the bars.

3-stage exercise plan When to get help 35 sourcesUpdated 28 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.
Same day (NHS 111): severe wrist pain; you feel faint, dizzy or sick from the pain, or you feel unwell, hot, cold or shivery; you heard a snap, grinding or popping noise when you hurt it; you can't move your wrist or hold things; your wrist has changed shape or colour; a lump on your wrist is very painful, hot or red (redness may be harder to see on brown and black skin); or you have lost the feeling in part or all of your hand. These might be signs of a broken wrist or an infection.
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. Get the same help if you also have a very high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery: this could be an infection.
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 (NHS 111): after an injury, the forearm locks so you can't turn the palm up or down, or the end of the forearm bone on the little-finger side clunks or sticks up at the back of the wrist. The joint between the forearm bones may have come out of place.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): sudden, severe pain in one joint, with swelling, a change in skin colour or difficulty moving it, especially if you feel unwell, hot, cold or shivery or have a high temperature (although not everyone has one). It could be an infection in the joint, gout or calcium crystals (pseudogout), and only a sample of fluid from the joint can tell them apart.
Call 999 or go to A&E: sudden, severe pain in a muscle of the forearm or hand, which may be worse when you stretch it, with swelling, numbness, weakness or pins and needles, or tightness or difficulty moving the fingers. This can be acute compartment syndrome, which needs surgery as soon as possible. It usually follows an injury, a crush, or a cast or bandage that is too tight. Do not drive yourself to A&E.
Same day: you have lost the feeling in part or all of your hand.
Contact your GP practice urgently (or NHS 111 if it's closed): clumsiness in your hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness in one or both arms that is getting worse.
Call 999: shoulder or arm pain with chest pain that feels tight or squeezing, or chest pain that spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, especially with shortness of breath, sweating or feeling sick. It could be a heart attack.
Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem. If you've been diagnosed with angina, get help from NHS 111 too if it feels worse than before, is happening more often, lasts longer or happens when you're resting.
Someone who faints while exercising, or who has fainted and can't be woken within a minute, has chest pain or a pounding, fluttering or irregular heartbeat, or hasn't fully recovered.
Call 999 or go to A&E if breathing suddenly becomes difficult, if pain in your chest or upper back comes on suddenly with breathlessness or a very fast heartbeat, or if someone passes out. Do not drive yourself. It can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
Urgent treatment centre or A&E: a pop or snap and sudden pain during an effort, which could be a torn tendon. At the front of the elbow, with bruising and a bulge in the upper arm, don't wait for it to settle: a torn biceps tendon is best repaired within the first 2 to 3 weeks. If it happened weeks ago, still get it checked: repair is often still possible, though it may need a tendon graft.
Same day (call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you feel very unwell): after a big or unusual session, such as hundreds of pull-ups, push-ups, dips or curls, a challenge or a new class, muscle pain, swelling or weakness far worse than the session explains, and dark pee (red, brown, tea or cola coloured), sometimes starting hours or days later. Dark pee isn't always there, so muscles far sorer, more swollen or weaker than the session explains still need the same-day check. It can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys.
Same day: both hands numb or clumsy (dropping things, trouble with buttons or handwriting), especially with unsteady walking or falls. Pressure on the spinal cord in the neck can do this, and it is often first mistaken for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Call 999, even if it passes: sudden weakness or numbness in one arm, with a drooping face or slurred speech. These are signs of a stroke.

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

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.
Any tingling or loss of feeling in the hand or wrist.
Carpal tunnel symptoms that are getting worse, not going away, or not helped by treatment at home; sooner if the thumb is weak or the muscle at the base of the thumb looks thinner.
Constant numbness in the ring and little fingers, a weak or clumsy hand, or visible wasting of the muscle between the thumb and index finger. Ask about referral: one NHS referral guide treats permanent numbness or wasting as urgent.
See a GP if your wrist is painful, warm, swollen and stiff, or you have wrist pain and also feel unwell with a high temperature.
The wrist feels unstable or weak, or clicks with pain: see a GP or physiotherapist. It may need a hand specialist to check it.
A deep ache in the middle of the back of the wrist that keeps coming back when you load it, often with a weaker grip, even if an X-ray was normal: see a GP or physiotherapist and ask whether a scan is needed. A hidden ganglion or, rarely, Kienböck's disease (loss of blood supply to a wrist bone) can be missed on early X-rays.
After a fall onto your hand, pain in the middle of the back of the wrist with a painful click or clunk, a weaker grip, or pain and swelling that haven't settled after a few days, even if the X-ray was normal: see a GP or physiotherapist and ask whether a hand specialist should check the wrist ligaments. A torn ligament between the wrist bones is best repaired within about 4 to 6 weeks.
A fall on the hand more than about 4 weeks ago that still hurts at the base of the thumb, and was never X-rayed or put in a splint: get it checked. UK hand surgeons ask for a scan and may advise an operation after a delay of more than 4 weeks.
A teenager whose wrist still hurts the day after lifting, cleans, handstands or push-ups, or whose wrist is swollen: stop putting weight through the hands and see a GP or sports doctor. In growing athletes it can be a stress injury of the growth plate.
Pain at the top of the breastbone that is tender to press and builds with dips, especially wide-grip dips, and isn't settling after a week or two without them: see a GP. Very rarely, dips have caused a stress fracture there (our suggestion).
A lump that gets bigger, is hard or doesn't move.
Swollen, stiff joints in several fingers or both hands, with morning stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes. NICE asks GPs to refer suspected rheumatoid arthritis urgently when the small joints of the hands or feet, or more than one joint, are affected, or there has been a delay of 3 months or longer between the symptoms starting and seeking medical advice, even if blood tests are normal.
You have diabetes and a hand problem: the NHS says hand problems can be more serious if you have diabetes.

Where does it hurt?

Location narrows the likely causes; it does not diagnose.

Across the back of both wrists, a dull ache during sets that settles within the hour

Usually load the wrist isn't used to (our reading). Wrists stacked over the heels of the hands and a shallower dip usually help.

The middle of the back of the wrist, sharp at the bottom of the dip or in bench dips

Often the joint lining being pinched or a hidden ganglion, the commonest finding on scans in people with this pain when loading a bent-back wrist. Go shallower and keep the wrist stacked.

Read: Wrist pain bending back →The back of the wrist with a painful click or clunk under load, or after a slip or a fall

Possibly the ligament between two of the wrist bones (the scapholunate ligament): get it checked.

Read: Wrist sprain or fracture →The little-finger side, worse on wide or angled handles, rings turned out or leaning to one side

Often the cartilage cushion there (the TFCC) or the tendon beside it. Try handles and the flat bar and keep whichever passes the pain rule, with the pain kept to about 3 out of 10.

Read: TFCC tear →The thumb side at the base of the thumb, worse gripping the bars hard

Often de Quervain's tenosynovitis. A firm, not crushing, grip usually helps.

Read: De Quervain's tenosynovitis →Pain at the base of the thumb, tender in the hollow there, after a fall or a wrist that gave way on the bars

A possible broken scaphoid, which can hide on the first X-ray: get it checked the same day, even if the wrist moves well.

Read: Scaphoid fracture →

The heel of the hand or the palm, sore where the bar presses, with no tingling

Usually pressure from the bar (our reading). Keep the bar on the heel of the hand and build up gradually.

Tingling in the thumb, index and middle fingers, often at night

Carpal tunnel syndrome, worse with the wrist bent. Tingling that lasts needs a GP.

Read: Carpal tunnel syndrome →Tingling in the ring and little fingers, at the bottom of a deep dip

Usually the ulnar nerve at the elbow, which slips more the further the elbow bends.

Read: Ulnar nerve entrapment →A smooth lump on the back of the wrist

Often a ganglion, which is harmless and often goes on its own. A very painful, hot or red lump needs a same-day check.

Read: Ganglion cyst →A deep ache in the middle of the back of the wrist that keeps coming back, with a weaker grip

Rarely Kienböck's disease, which early X-rays can miss: see a GP.

Read: Kienböck's disease →A teenager's wrist, sore the day after dips, support holds, handstands or vaults

Possibly a stress injury of the growth plate: no weight through the hands while it hurts, and get it checked.

Read: Gymnast's wrist →The back, inside or outside of the elbow rather than the wrist

Usually the triceps tendon or the forearm tendons: our elbow dips guide covers them.

Read: Elbow pain in dips →The front of the shoulder, the chest or the top of the breastbone

The shoulder or the chest wall: our shoulder dips guide covers them.

Read: Shoulder pain in dips →

Chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint during a set

Not a wrist problem: see the warning signs.

The same wrist pain in push-ups, planks or the bench press

Our wrist guides for those moves cover each one.

Read: Wrist pain in push-ups and yoga →

Understand it

What dips ask of the wrist, and what no study has measuredEmerging evidence

On parallel bars you hold your whole weight on straight arms, palms facing each other, and lower by bending your elbows; the heel of each hand carries the load into the forearm. On a bench behind you, your legs take part of the load but your wrists bend far back with your fingers forward. On rings the handles move, so your wrists steady them too. In 13 experienced men, bench dips took the shoulder to 101% of each man's backward range against 88% for bar dips and 69% for ring dips, and in 15 men dipping to failure, tiring didn't change their peak joint angles.

Neither study measured the wrist. No study has measured the wrist in any dip or counted wrist pain from dips, so this map borrows from push-up and handstand studies of a loaded wrist and from what each condition is known to do (our reading).

Sources 1, 2

What a loaded, bent-back wrist doesEmerging evidence

In 14 volunteers doing push-ups, force travelled more towards the back and the little-finger side of the wrist when it was bent back than when it was straight. In 8 donated wrists, a bent-back push-up raised the peak pressure on the scaphoid's joint surface, and in 6, with the ligament between the scaphoid and lunate cut, the force across that joint was 45 newtons bent back against 25 straight. In 6 wrists that already had that ligament damaged, though, the straight position gapped the joint more, so straight isn't always better for an injured ligament.

That the same happens when a dip loads a bent-back wrist is our reading of these push-up studies, not something measured.

Sources 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Where it hurts, and how common each cause is

No study counts the causes of wrist pain in dips, so the figures here come from people loading a bent-back wrist in other ways, and from gymnasts.

The middle of the back of the wrist: in people with this pain when loading a bent-back wrist, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) found a cause in 84%, mostly a hidden ganglion; in a review of 231 people with a pinched joint lining (dorsal capsular impingement), 77% of wrists hurt when bent back and scans were often unhelpful.
The little-finger side: a bent-back loaded wrist sends force towards this side. In 10 gymnasts doing loaded handstands in a scanner, the ulna moved towards the wrist on parallettes (1.00 mm) as well as on the flat floor (0.58 mm), and the pooled difference between the two wasn't significant, so handles aren't shown to spare this side.
The thumb side: without a fall, often de Quervain's from gripping hard, which is linked with forceful hand work; after a fall, a possible broken scaphoid.
Tingling: carpal tunnel syndrome is worse with frequent wrist bending, the NHS says.
A smooth lump: often a ganglion, which the NHS says usually gets better without treatment.
A teenager: about half of young gymnasts have wrist pain at any time; in 59 young gymnasts, 56% had pain and half had growth plate stress on X-ray. Gymnasts with back-of-wrist pain also showed unusual lunate movement at 90 degrees of extension.

Sources 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Who gets itEmerging evidence

People adding dips, weighted dips or dip challenges quickly; people dipping deep or bouncing at the bottom; people who also load the wrist bent back in push-ups, planks, front squats or handstands that week (our reading); and gymnasts, calisthenics and CrossFit athletes (wrist, hand and fingers made up 12% of injuries across 28 studies of high-intensity functional training, and 20.4% of 270 CrossFit athletes had a hand or wrist injury).

In a self-selected online survey of 1,387 gym users, 136 of 392 doing bodyweight dips (34.7%) linked them to pain, 64 of 301 doing bench dips (21.3%) and 36 of 386 on a dip machine (9.3%). The survey didn't record where it hurt, so the share that is wrist pain is unknown.

Sources 18, 19, 20

When a scan or test mattersStrong evidence

Not at first for an ache without warning signs: the NHS starts with home care, and a GP if it hasn't improved after 2 weeks. After a fall, an X-ray comes first, with follow-up if the hollow at the base of the thumb is tender, because about 1 in 5 scaphoid fractures were missed on the first X-ray in one review and no single sign rules one out. A central back-of-wrist ache that keeps coming back may need an MRI scan for a hidden ganglion or a partial ligament tear, though a pinched joint lining often looks normal on scans.

Sources 11, 21, 22, 23, 24, 8, 9

How it usually goesEmerging evidence

No study follows wrist pain from dips. The NHS expects home care for about 2 weeks before a GP check. For a pinched joint lining that didn't settle and was cleared by keyhole surgery, arm function scores improved from about 33 to 49 out of 100 to between 5 and 17 within a year in case series, and it came back in 1%. No one can promise a date.

Sources 11, 9

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Stack the wrist: our reading of push-up studiesEmerging evidence

The site's dips guide teaches gripping the bars about shoulder-width apart with your thumbs round them, wrists straight over the heels of your hands. A bent-back loaded wrist sent force to the back and little-finger side and raised scaphoid joint pressure in push-up studies, so a straighter wrist is a sensible change. No study has tested it in dips.

Sources 3, 4, 5

Depth: stop at about a right angleEmerging evidence

A hospital sports medicine handout says never lower yourself below the point where the elbows reach a 90-degree angle on parallel bars, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) teaches bench dips to about 90 degrees without locking out. Whether a shallower dip lowers the load on the wrist hasn't been measured (our reading: less time with your weight far behind your hands).

Sources 25, 26, 2

Which dip: the machine first, bench dips lastEmerging evidence

In a self-selected gym survey, the dip machine was the dip least often linked to pain (9.3%, against 34.7% for bodyweight dips and 21.3% for bench dips), though the survey didn't record where it hurt. Bench dips bend the wrist far back under load, and the dip study authors advise leaving them out of regular training because of the shoulder, so they come back last.

Sources 20, 1

Handles help the back of the wrist, not always the little-finger sideMixed evidence

Handles or parallettes that let your palms face in keep the wrist straighter, which suits back-of-wrist pain (our reading). In 10 gymnasts doing loaded handstands, though, the ulna moved towards the wrist on parallettes as well as on the floor, with no significant pooled difference, so for little-finger-side pain try both and keep the one that passes the pain rule. This is one small scan study in handstands, not dips.

Sources 10, 3

Weight back through the hand in steps: an NHS programme, borrowedEmerging evidence

No trial has tested a programme for wrist pain in dips. The Oxford NHS trust wrist booklet, written for after a broken wrist, brings weight back by leaning through a table with a quarter, half, three quarters and all of your weight for 5 to 10 seconds, then a wall, then the floor, and builds weighted wrist bends to 3 sets of 10 every other day. Exercise evidence for hand and wrist tendon pain is thin (12 small studies), so this is borrowed.

Sources 27, 29

Braces and specialist careMixed evidence

A wrist brace eased gymnasts' pain on the pommel horse, floor and bars by about half over 3 weeks, without a comparison group, and no trial has tested braces or wraps for dips. A pinched joint lining that doesn't settle with load changes may need an injection or keyhole clearance, which helped in case series, and most ganglions get better without treatment, the NHS says.

Sources 28, 9, 14

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled within half an hour, no worse the next morning; about 3 out of 10 on the little-finger sideEmerging evidence

This guide uses the wrist hub's rule, as our other wrist movement guides do. Some discomfort during these exercises is fine and doesn't mean you are doing damage. Keep it to about 5 out of 10 or less. It should settle within half an hour or so, and your hand should be no worse the next morning. If it is, do fewer, smaller or lighter next time, not nothing. An NHS wrist rehabilitation booklet uses the same limit: an unpleasant stretch of about 5 out of 10 that settles within 30 minutes.

Tingling and numbness are different: stop and get advice if an exercise brings them on and they don't fade quickly, or if your grip or thumb gets weaker.

On the little-finger side, keep it lower: about 3 out of 10, as our TFCC tear, front squat and plank wrist guides do, from a review's targets that its authors call untested.

The Oxford NHS trust booklet, the source of the 5 out of 10 limit, describes discomfort that should settle within 30 minutes. In 7 trials of long-lasting muscle and joint pain, none in the wrist, exercise allowed to hurt a little did no worse than pain-free exercise.

For dips (our suggestion, built on the same rule): judge each set by its last reps, and use the step of the ladder (pushdowns and floor presses, weight through the hands on a table, a wall and the floor, the dip machine, assisted bar dips, bar dips to a right angle, then weighted, ring or bench dips), the depth and the handles where your wrist stays at 5 out of 10 or less (3 on the little-finger side), settles within half an hour and is no worse the next morning. A burn in the triceps is fine; a sharp pinch at the back of the wrist at the bottom is a reason to go shallower or back a step. A click or clunk with pain, a wrist that gives way, swelling, tingling that stays, pain after a fall, or chest pain, breathlessness or faintness isn't a pain-rule question: see the warning signs.

Sources 27, 30

The exercise plan: 3 stages

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

Stage 1

Keep pushing with a straight wrist

About the first 2 weeks, pushing 2 or 3 times a week and wrist movement daily: keep the triceps and chest training with the wrist straight, keep the wrist moving, and start still holds for a sore side. No bar, bench or ring dips, flat-hand push-ups or handstands for now. With a diagnosed condition (a TFCC tear, a scapholunate injury, a broken scaphoid or wrist, a ganglion, gymnast's wrist), that guide's plan comes first; after a fracture or surgery, your team's plan does.

Wrist & forearm flow demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipment

Each movement 5 to 10 times, holding the end of each bend for 10 to 15 seconds, in a comfortable range, daily · The Oxford NHS trust booklet's active wrist dose (borrowed)

Easier: Wrist circles · Harder: Wrist flexor stretch

V-bar triceps pushdown demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoV-bar triceps pushdownBeginner · A cable machine

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The move page's dose (an editorial starting point). Keep the wrists straight, as the pushdown move page says

Harder: Bodyweight triceps extension

Dumbbell floor press demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDumbbell floor pressIntermediate · A dumbbell

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The move page's dose (an editorial starting point). Palms facing each other

Easier: Chest press machine · Harder: Bench press with chains

Chest press machine demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoChest press machineBeginner · Strength machine

2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12, wrists straight · As in our bench press wrist guide (editorial). On the neutral (palms facing) handles

Harder: Barbell bench press

Reverse wrist curl demonstrated on the 3D figure

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

If the back or little-finger side is sore: 5 still holds of 30 to 45 s, once a day · As in our bench press and lifting wrist guides (editorial). Palm down, wrist level, forearm supported

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Move on when: Pushing up from a chair and gripping a bag are comfortable, the stage 1 presses pass the pain rule, and your wrist is no worse the next morning, for a week (editorial, as in our wrist lifting guide).

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

Stage 2

Weight back through the hand, then the dip machine

About weeks 2 to 6, strength work every other day: forearm strength, weight back through the hand step by step, and the dip's movement on a machine to a right angle at most.

Wall push-up demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wall

First as holds: hands flat on a table, then a wall, leaning with about a quarter, then a half, three quarters and all of your weight for 5 to 10 s; then 2 to 3 sets of 10 · The Oxford booklet's weight-bearing steps (borrowed), then our push-up wrist guide's dose (editorial)

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, only as far as the pain rule allows · As in our push-up wrist guide (editorial); the floor step of the Oxford progression

Easier: Wrist flexor stretch

Wrist curls demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoWrist curlsBeginner · A dumbbell

A weight you can lift 10 times before the wrist feels tired, holding each lift for a count of 5 and lowering slowly, building to 3 sets of 10, every other day · The Oxford NHS trust booklet's strengthening dose (borrowed)

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

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

The same: 10 lifts with a 5-second hold, building to 3 sets of 10, every other day · The Oxford booklet's dose (borrowed)

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Dip machine demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoDip machineBeginner · Strength machine

3 sets of 10 to 15, light, the elbows bending to a right angle at most · As in our elbow and shoulder dips guides (editorial). Palms facing in

Harder: Parallel bar dip

Straight-arm plank (high plank) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoStraight-arm plank (high plank)Intermediate · No equipment

3 holds of 15 to 30 seconds · The move page's dose (a suggested starting point). On fists first if a flat hand hurts, as the move page suggests for sore wrists

Easier: Knee hover (Pilates tabletop hover) · Harder: Leg pull front (Pilates leg pull down)

Move on when: Your full weight through flat hands on a table and the floor is comfortable, 3 sets of 10 wrist bends both ways and 3 sets of 12 to 15 on the dip machine pass the pain rule, and your wrist is fine the next morning, for a week (editorial, from the Oxford progression).

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

Stage 3

Back to the bars

From about week 6, often later: bodyweight bar dips to a right angle, then your usual dips, one change at a time by the written steps below. No study has tested a return to dips after wrist pain, so the order is editorial.

Parallel bar dip demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoParallel bar dipAdvanced · Pull-up bar

3 sets of 3 to 5 slow lowerings (3 to 5 s down) to a right angle, then 3 sets of 5 to 8 full reps, with a band or your feet helping until 5 clean reps come easily · Our dips guide's ladder (editorial), as our elbow dips guide uses it. Wrists stacked over the heels of the hands

Easier: Bench dip · Harder: Ring dip

Triceps dip (upright) demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoTriceps dip (upright)Advanced · Other / check instructions

2 to 3 sets of 5 to 10, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve · The move page's dose (an editorial starting point). Stop at about level upper arms, as the move page says

Easier: Bench dip · Harder: Ring dip

3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment

3 sets of 6 to 10, on fists or handles first, then flat hands · Our push-up wrist guide's dose (editorial)

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

Ring support hold demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoRing support holdIntermediate · Gymnastic rings

3 to 5 holds of 10 to 20 s, rings close to the body · Editorial, and only if ring dips are your goal; the move page says build the turnout over weeks

Easier: Bench dip · Harder: Parallel bar dip

Bent-knee bench dip demonstrated on the 3D figure

3D demoBent-knee bench dipBeginner · A bench or box

Last and optional: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, fingers pointing forward, lowering to about a right angle or less · Editorial, with NASM's depth. Skip it if the back of the wrist or the front of the shoulder complains

Harder: Parallel bar dip

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

2 sets of 10 to 15 twice a week, with wrist curls the same, kept up for a few months · Editorial, as our wrist guides keep forearm work going

Easier: Wrist-extensor eccentrics · Harder: Plate pinch

Move on when: Your usual dips to a right angle pass the pain rule for 2 weeks. Then add weight with a dip belt only after 10 to 15 clean bodyweight dips, as the site's dips guide says, and bring ring and straight-leg bench dips back one at a time. If a session flares it, go back a stage for a few days, not to nothing (editorial).

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

What to change for now

Your dips for now (written steps)

Our 3D figure can't show your wrist angle, where the bar sits in your hand or your depth. These steps come from the site's dips guides, a hospital handout, NASM, lab and cadaver studies of push-ups and handstands and an NHS trust booklet; no trial has tested a change to the dip for wrist pain, and each step names its source or says it is our suggestion.

1. Wrists: stacked over the heels of your hands, thumbs round the bars, as the site's dips guide teaches; the bar in the heel of the hand rather than the fingers (our suggestion).
2. Depth: elbows to about a right angle and upper arms about level with the floor, as a hospital handout and NASM say; shallower if the back of the wrist pinches at the bottom (editorial).
3. Which dip: the dip machine first, the dip least often linked to pain in a gym survey; then assisted bar dips, then bar dips; ring, weighted and bench dips last (editorial).
4. Handles: palms-in handles or parallettes for back-of-wrist pain, as the site's dips guide suggests; for little-finger-side pain, try handles and the flat bar and keep whichever passes the pain rule, because a handstand scan study found handles didn't spare that side.
5. Bench dips: fingers pointing forward, a short range, or the dip machine's handles, as the site's bench dip guide says.
6. Grip: firm, not crushing, especially with thumb-side pain; the NHS says don't grip anything too tightly while your wrist is sore.
7. Load: no weighted dips, sets to failure or dip challenges for now, as the hospital handout advises against training to failure; 2 or 3 dip sessions a week (editorial).
8. The rest of your week: fewer flat-hand push-ups, handstands and front squats while it's sore, as our wrist movement guides say.

Sources 25, 26, 20, 10, 11

Everyday life and sport (written steps)

Our suggestions unless a source is named.

1. Daily use: keep your hands and wrists moving with gentle exercises, don't lift heavy objects or grip anything too tightly while it's sore, and don't use heat for the first 2 to 3 days after an injury, as the NHS says.
2. Don't rest it completely: for repetitive strain, the NHS says resting for more than a few days can make the area weaker and less flexible.
3. Pushing up from a chair, the floor or the bath: on your fists or forearms, or the edge of the seat with your fingers wrapped round it, while it's sore.
4. Push-ups, planks, burpees and handstands: fists, handles or a bench first, as our push-up and plank wrist guides say; handstands last.
5. Gymnastics, calisthenics and CrossFit: support holds and dips on parallettes or handles before the floor if the back of the wrist is sore; a teenager whose wrist is sore the next day stops weight-bearing and sees a GP.
6. Sleep: a wrist splint at night if it helps, as the NHS suggests.

Sources 11, 35

Positions to swap, and why

Habit or position	Why it matters	Instead
Dipping as deep as you can	A hospital handout stops at 90 degrees, and deep dips keep your weight far behind your hands for longer (our reading).	Elbows to a right angle, on the dip machine first.Try: Dip machine
Letting the wrist fold back over the bar	A bent-back loaded wrist moved force to the back and little-finger side in push-up studies.	Wrists stacked over the heels of the hands, thumbs round the bars.
Bench and chair dips while it's sore	The wrist bends far back under load, and bench dips were linked to pain by about 1 in 5 gym users who did them.	A neutral-grip floor press or the dip machine.Try: Dumbbell floor press
Ring dips with the rings turned out	The rings move, so the wrist has to steady them (our reading), and turning them out loads the inner elbow, the ring support move page says.	Bar dips to a right angle first.Try: Parallel bar dip
Weighted dips and dip challenges	More load before the wrist has settled, and rarely a breakdown of muscle after a huge session.	Bodyweight or machine dips.Try: Dip machine
Flat-hand push-ups and handstands the same week	The same bent-back loading, as our push-up and plank wrist guides say.	Fists, handles or a bench.Try: Incline push-up
Assuming handles always help a little-finger-side wrist	In loaded handstands, the ulna moved towards the wrist on parallettes as well as on the floor.	Try both, and keep the one that passes the pain rule.
Squeezing the bars as hard as you can	A hard grip moves the ulna towards the wrist, and the NHS says don't grip tightly while it's sore.	A firm grip, wrists stacked.
Training through a click, a clunk or a wrist that gives way	It may be a wrist ligament.	Stop and get it checked; pushdowns meanwhile.Try: Triceps pushdown
Training through pain at the base of the thumb after a fall	A broken scaphoid can hide on the first X-ray.	Stop and get it checked the same day.
Resting the wrist completely for weeks	The NHS says keep your hands and wrists moving.	The stage 1 moves.Try: Wrist & forearm flow

Routines to follow

Dip progression workout

Work up to bar dips: bent-knee and straight-leg bench dips, a support hold, slow lowering and assisted dips, then full dips and ring dips.

20 minBeginner9 movesA band, A bench or box

Push-up progression workout

Work up to full push-ups: wall, incline and knee push-ups, then the floor push-up and harder variations.

15 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or box

Chest and triceps workout: presses, flys, dips and extensions

A 55-minute gym session for a split: the bench press, an incline dumbbell press, cable flys and dips for your chest, then two triceps extensions.

55 minIntermediate11 movesA band, A barbell

Tricep workout: a close-grip press, then overhead, lying and pushdown extensions

A 35-minute triceps session: a close-grip bench press or dips, then overhead extensions, skull crushers and pushdowns, about 10 hard sets.

35 minIntermediate7 movesA barbell, A bench or box

Wrist and forearm routine

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

10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbell

Arm workout without weights: chin-ups, rows, close-grip push-ups and dips

A 30-minute bodyweight arm workout: chin-ups and rows for the biceps, close-grip push-ups and dips for the triceps, and a bar hang for your grip.

30 minIntermediate8 movesPull-up bar, A bench or box

Upper body workout at home

An upper body workout at home with no gym: push-ups, band rows, pike push-ups, face pulls, close-grip push-ups and Y-T-W raises, with dumbbell options.

30 minIntermediate13 movesA band, An anchor point

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Why do my wrists hurt when I do dips?

Dips put your body weight through the heel of the hand, and if the wrist folds back over the bar, force moves to the back and the little-finger side of the wrist, as push-up studies show. Stack your wrists over the heels of your hands, stop at about a right angle, and use the dip machine while it settles.

Why do tricep dips on a bench hurt my wrists?

With your hands behind you, your wrists bend far back under load; no study has measured it. Turn your fingers forward, keep the range short, or use a dip machine or a neutral-grip floor press instead.

Why does the back of my wrist hurt at the bottom of a dip?

Often the joint lining being pinched or a hidden ganglion: scans found a cause in most people with this pain when loading a bent-back wrist. Go shallower, keep the wrist stacked and try handles that let your palms face in; see a GP if it keeps coming back.

Why does the pinky side of my wrist hurt on dips?

Often the cartilage cushion there (the TFCC) or the tendon beside it; a bent-back loaded wrist sends force towards that side. Keep it to about 3 out of 10, try handles and the flat bar, and get it checked if it clicks or feels unstable.

What is the right wrist position for dips?

Wrists straight over the heels of your hands, thumbs round the bars, as the site's dips guide teaches. No study has measured the best angle, so let the pain rule decide between a bar and handles.

Do parallettes or dip handles help?

Often, for pain on the back of the wrist, because they keep it straighter. For little-finger-side pain they may not: in loaded handstands, the forearm bone on that side moved towards the wrist on parallettes as well as on the floor. Try both and keep the one that passes the pain rule.

Should I wear wrist wraps for dips?

No trial has tested them for wrist pain in dips. If they make the wrist feel steadier on heavy sets, they're fine as a short-term aid alongside the forearm work in the plan.

Can I keep doing dips with a sore wrist?

Usually, changed: the dip machine or assisted dips to a right angle, wrists stacked, no added weight, within the pain rule. Stop and get it checked after a fall, with a click or clunk, swelling or tingling that stays.

What can I do instead of dips?

The dip machine, triceps pushdowns with straight wrists, neutral-grip dumbbell floor presses and the chest press machine keep the triceps and chest training. Bring dips back with the steps in the plan.

How deep should I go?

To about a right angle at the elbow, with your upper arms about level with the floor, as a hospital handout and NASM say. Go shallower if the back of your wrist pinches at the bottom.

How long will it take?

No one can promise a date. The NHS expects home care for about 2 weeks before a GP check; a pinched joint lining can take longer, and a teenager's growth plate needs weeks to months off hand loading.

When should I see a doctor?

Call 999 for chest pain that feels tight or spreads, sudden breathlessness or fainting during exercise, or a wrist that is out of shape, numb or cold after a fall. Get a same-day check for pain at the base of the thumb after a fall, a hot, swollen wrist or lost feeling in your hand, and see a GP if it isn't better after 2 weeks; in the US, call 911 where this page says 999.

Related exercise 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.

When to get help first

Get urgent medical help if

See a doctor or physiotherapist if

Where does it hurt?

Understand it

What dips ask of the wrist, and what no study has measuredEmerging evidence

What a loaded, bent-back wrist doesEmerging evidence

Where it hurts, and how common each cause is

Who gets itEmerging evidence

When a scan or test mattersStrong evidence

How it usually goesEmerging evidence

What helps, and how strong the evidence is

Stack the wrist: our reading of push-up studiesEmerging evidence

Depth: stop at about a right angleEmerging evidence

Which dip: the machine first, bench dips lastEmerging evidence

Handles help the back of the wrist, not always the little-finger sideMixed evidence

Weight back through the hand in steps: an NHS programme, borrowedEmerging evidence

Braces and specialist careMixed evidence

How much pain is OK while you exercise?

Up to about 5 out of 10, settled within half an hour, no worse the next morning; about 3 out of 10 on the little-finger sideEmerging evidence

The exercise plan: 3 stages

Keep pushing with a straight wrist

Weight back through the hand, then the dip machine

Back to the bars

What to change for now

Your dips for now (written steps)

Everyday life and sport (written steps)

Positions to swap, and why

Routines to follow

Dip progression workout

Push-up progression workout

Chest and triceps workout: presses, flys, dips and extensions

Tricep workout: a close-grip press, then overhead, lying and pushdown extensions

Wrist and forearm routine

Arm workout without weights: chin-ups, rows, close-grip push-ups and dips

Upper body workout at home

More moves for this area

Questions people ask

Related exercise guides

Other pain guides

Sources