Wrist injury and the Perfect Pushup Review

Warning: Long-winded history of a broken wrist about to begin.

You can skip the rambling and hit the Perfect Pushup review below by scrolling down right now 🙂

Consider yourself warned …

The Longwinded Backstory

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I was never the athletic type in high-school. Yes: strange but true: I was a Geek back then too.

It never came as a suprise when I was last pick for team sports but ever the optimist I continued to participate … and loved it.

I remember volunteering to be goalie for our hand-ball unit. Nobody wanted the job and I thought: what could go wrong?

Becoming a target for testosteron-filled boys to throw fastballs at was a way to go wrong.

But I didn’t mind: it was actually kinda fun!

One particular game a particularly fast hardball was thrown HARD into the top corner of the net. I managed to get a piece of it with my right hand. But It was so hard it bent my wrist back and sadly I didn’t get enough of it to prevent the goal.

We lost the game, but, as I would find out over a full year later, that fastball also broke my wrist.

After the game my wrist was a bit sore, but I didn’t think much of it until it continued to aggravate me enough to ask my doctor about it.

He sent me to physio a couple times but the hot/cold baths, stretching, ultrasound and exercises only made it worse. It wasn’t until as a last resort I was given an x-ray, “Just in case,” that I discovered I had broken my wrist in that innocent game of hand-ball.

Worst part: suffering this injury when I didn’t even save the goal!!!!

No glory in getting injured AND losing the game … But I digress.

Moral of this story: don’t be a goalie.

During that year of broken use, my surgeon informed me I had whittled my wrist bone down enough to cause bigger issues. Long story short: He would need to chip out a bit of my hip bone, place it between what was left of my wrist bone and shove a pin in it to keep it there until it fused with the existing shortened pieces.  After the operation, I was in a cast for six months and in physio rehab for another 3.

All-in-all, I know a broken wrist is a very minor injury compared to the many who face *real* health issues. I just wanted to share part of my reality in having limited wrist mobility and early arthritis.

I also had chronic back pain for two decades which is pretty much gone now … But that’s another post.

So what’s a guy to do if he can’t do pushups cuz his wrist won’t bend without feeling like they’re gonna snap off?

Buy some Perfect Pushup of course.

The Perfect Pushup Review

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I picked them up years ago at a local Staples. It was in the “As seen on TV” clearance section and I thought: can’t hurt.

Impulse purchase win!

So what’s the big deal? My wrists are fine with heavy loads when I keep my wrist straight (like when making a fist to punch). But when the wrist is bent, range of motion is limited and it’s Weak-sauce with a capital W.

The Perfect Pushup allow your wrist to stay straight throughout the entire movement – Instead of increasing the angle of bend at the bottom, my wrist can remain straight and strong while allowing free rotation.

Besides allowing me to do one of my favourite exercises pain-free, using the Perfect Pushup correctly increases your range of motion. The key to good push-up form is to keep your body straight and controlled throughout the movement and to touch your nose to the floor at the bottom. For push-ups, as spoken so eloquently by the infamous Tony Horton, “More range of motion = better.”

The rubber soles give it great grip allowing you to do elevated or pike-press variations with confidence. Their ball-bearings allow smooth rotation allowing your wrist to twist easily in both directions. It takes a bit of getting used to but the extra effort required to maintain control throughout the movement will benefit push-up novices and pros alike. It’s definitely not just for the injured and I recommend it for fully-functional-wristed friends too.

There’s also a travel version which conveniently folds flat. I have both and for day-to-day use I prefer the original as it’s taller (i.e. more range of motion), made of better plastic and is a bit smoother. But if you’re a frequent flyer, the travel version is a great compact, travel-worthy companion.

What about simple push-up bars like these? I have a set of those too (pushup bar hoarder). The Perfect Pushup have them beat, especially for stability. More stable means more and safer pushup variations. Get creative and you can combine the Perfect Pushups with floor sliders, swiss balls or a TRX for a killer set.

All-in-all, the Perfect Pushup is one of my most-used gym accessories. It helps me strength train without pain, increases effectiveness and is well-made. If you’re not injured like me, it might not be a necessity, but is still highly recommended as a great tool to have in your home gym.


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