Wrist & Elbow Pain Often Starts Elsewhere: Here’s Where to Look

Your Wrist Pain Is Coming from Your Misalignment

So Many Symptoms, So Little Time

Clients often spend hours searching for the right stretch, brace, or treatment to ease wrist or elbow pain. But if you’ve ever experienced that dull ache or sharp twinge, you know how it can take over your day.

Most people don’t realize that wrist and elbow pain rarely starts in the wrist or elbow itself. These joints are often the messengers, not the source.

Our bodies are masters of compensation. This is an amazing protective mechanism—it’s what allows us to keep going about our day, moving however possible, even when we’re compromised. But this short-term fix comes at a long-term cost. Your body’s true foundation for healthy, pain-free movement is proper alignment. When that alignment—which starts with the position of your hips, pelvis, and upper back—is off, asymmetries and imbalances are created. This forces other, more vulnerable areas to pick up the slack.

That sharp twinge in your wrist? It’s often just the overworked area finally letting you know it needs a break. At Egoscue, we focus on restoring your body’s natural alignment. By creating a balanced foundation, we provide the support for sustainable, pain-free movement. We address the source, allowing those overuse injuries to heal finally. When the root cause is fixed, the pain isn’t just quieted—it’s eliminated.

My Story: From Wrist Pain to Whole-Body Awareness

I know that dull ache and sharp twinge all too well. For me, it started when my boys were little. I loved holding them, but as they grew, I began to notice how much harder it was to lift and carry them without discomfort.

Like many, I tried to ignore the pain at first. But the pain didn’t just stay in my wrists or elbows—it started creeping up into my forearms, shoulders, and neck. It became impossible to ignore.

I was a perfect example of the body compensating. My wrists and elbows were picking up the slack for a deeper issue. I began to see my posture shifting—shoulders hunching, elbows locked—and realized the pain wasn’t the problem; it was the symptom. My body was compensating for something deeper, and the pain was a chain reaction.

The Hidden Cause: An Unbalanced Foundation

I finally saw it. I’d tuck my pelvis, shift my hips awkwardly, and brace through my arms just to hold my boys. This created a critical asymmetry in my core. My entire upper body was compensating for an unbalanced foundation.

Each adjustment created tension that traveled upward, stressing my wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck. It was a domino effect—the real source of the problem wasn’t my arms at all.

Restoring Balance, Reclaiming Movement

Once I began correcting my pelvic position and restoring my body’s alignment with Egoscue exercises, everything began to change.

By re-establishing a balanced foundation, the chain reaction of tension was broken. My wrists and elbows no longer had to pick up the slack. The pain didn’t just ‘go away’; it dissipated because the overworked areas finally got the chance to heal.

Movements became easier, my wrists and elbows felt lighter, my shoulders relaxed, and I could lift my boys without anticipating discomfort.

Egoscue taught me that pain is a powerful messenger, but the site of the pain is rarely the source of the problem. That ache in my wrist was just the end of a chain reaction that started at my pelvis. By learning to find the true root cause—the misalignment at my core—I found the key to lasting relief. The exercises are simple, practical, and accessible, and the results go far beyond just wrist and elbow relief. Pain became a guide rather than a barrier, and my everyday movement became effortless again.

These results are possible for you, too. By restoring balance to your body with simple exercises that can be done anywhere, anytime, you can naturally regain control of how your body works and feels—giving it exactly what it needs to thrive.