For many tech professionals and avid gamers in Santa Monica, wrist pain can be a common ailment. Understanding the science behind how targeted exercises help tendon health is key

Why Exercise Can Help With Wrist Pain: A Santa Monica Guide to Hand & Tendon Health

Living in Santa Monica means embracing an active, health-conscious lifestyle—whether that’s long hours at the computer of your Santa Monica office, cycling down the boardwalk, or long hours gaming at your favorite local esports café. But if you’re experiencing hand or wrist pain from all that typing, scrolling, or coding, you’re not alone. Repetitive use injuries, especially affecting the tendons, are incredibly common in desk workers and digital professionals.

 

Let’s dive into the science of why exercise actually helps wrist pain, and how you can start supporting your hands today.

First, What’s Going On in Your Wrist?

Tendons are tough, rope-like tissues that connect muscles to bones and help transmit force during movement. When you use your hands over and over for things like typing, clicking, or texting, these tendons can become overloaded. That repetitive strain can cause small amounts of irritation, especially around the wrist or elbow.

But here’s something many people in Santa Monica—and beyond—get wrong: tendon pain is not always due to inflammation. In fact, in many cases, it’s a result of structural changes in the tendon over time, called tendinopathy. And unlike a sprained ankle, rest alone won’t usually solve the problem.

This might go against what you have heard and you may have even tried exercises before to no success, but that is not to say the intention was wrong. Appropriately selected exercises in addition to having a strong knowledge base on the WHY and HOW as well as the consistent long term effort and focus WILL PROVIDE THE RESULTS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. Adaptations take time and knowing what to do in situations of increased pain are even more important.

It’s necessary to learn what actually happens at the TENDONS that allow you to do more, with less risk of irritation AND why sometimes it will get irritated. Additionally, we’ll talk about some simple strategies you can adopt to make sure you keep making progress.

Why Exercise Is Key for Tendon Recovery

If you’ve been told to “just rest” your wrist pain, it might seem counterintuitive to move or strengthen it. But here’s the truth: exercise is one of the most effective and evidence-based treatments for tendon pain.

When done correctly, specific and progressive exercises:

• Stimulate collagen production in the tendon (which supports healing)
  
  

• Improve tendon stiffness and capacity to tolerate load
  
  

• Reduce pain over time
  
  

• Re-train the nervous system to feel safer with movement
  
  

Think of it as helping the tendon “remodel” itself to become more resilient—like remodeling a beach house to handle wind and waves.

 

Tendon Anatomy and Remodeling

When we are repeatedly utilizing the muscles & tendons of our wrist & hand we apply tensile or “pulling” stress on the tendon with each repetition or contraction. Tendons are ropes of collagen fibers that are bundled in nature. Think of it like a rope with a bunch of different fibers that make up the larger rope.

Within each of these bundles are the little tendon cells, which are sensitive to the pulling of the fibers. In the images the tendon cells (tenocytes) are the little round dots.

The top images show what a healthy tendon looks like. Fibers are nicely aligned, not broken up while the bottom images show what the tendons look like when there is too much repeated stress on it. Water fills up the spaces, the fibers are weaker and tend to become more disorganized. Think of it again like a rope that has strong fibers intertwined nicely and well packed. When the rope is pulled too much, some can fray, space opens up and it can’t handle the stress as well. This is what happens to our tendons and this is what has been shown based on the research looking into tendon pathology.

So What Does Exercise Do For Us?

A common question that people will ask is “Isn’t exercise also considered “stress” or pulling?” The answer…The RIGHT amount of exercise allows the rope to become stronger and there are real changes in the tendon that occur as a result of this. Additionally, the muscle itself can handle more stress so it can lead to the EVEN pulling on the tendon. Rather than uneven if some fibers are fatigued.

 

As healthy load is provided to the tendons, minimizing situations in which too much stress is applied, here is what has been shown to happen.

The casing and surrounding of the tendon better manages the fluid within to help better handle stress. But also glide alongside each other more effectively. There are crosslinks that develop that also increase the amount of stress that can be tolerated. But even more unique is that the fibers themselves become stronger. This is typically mediated by the type of collagen within the fiber.

More of the “stronger” collagen types make up the fibers (Type I) rather than the weaker ones (III & IV). So again, thinking of the rope..

1. A fluid encasing is wrapped around the rope to keep the fibers in optimal shape and allow them to slide well against each other
2. Additional steel fibers are added between the fibers to reinforce the rope
3. The rope has steel fibers instead of manila or cotton (type I vs. type III/IV)

That makes for an insanely strong rope or tendon that can handle more stress.

But guess what… it takes time!

To learn more about tendons and why exercise load is important for recovery then watch the video below:

Timeline for Tendon Changes

Think of our tendons like the rush hour traffic we run into after work leaving the Santa Monica office…IT TAKES TIME. Frustrating, yes, but tendons take much longer to adapt than muscles. 

 

We know nervous system adaptations can occur as quickly as 2-3 weeks (signaling from brain to muscle). While the muscle tissue adaptation is around 6 weeks. Tendon tissue at minimum takes around 8 weeks to fully remodel in this way but again it does not MEAN that you have to wait that entire 8 weeks to see progress.

Most of the time we see progress in the 2 weeks because of the nervous system changes. We see even more around the 6 week mark as the tendon is beginning to change but the muscle has improved endurance and then things fully resolve when the tendons continue to adapt to higher endurance. This is of course the “IDEAL” scenario with no flare-ups. Life and recovery is obviously more complicated and that is why it can sometimes extend recovery even further.

 

On the flip side there are cases in which tendons, because they aren’t as irritated, can recover more quickly and the muscular endurance plays the larger problem. However, the bottom line is to stay consistent and be patient as you navigate the ups and downs of the two months of adaptations. Everyone starts at a different level of conditioning and so this will affect how long it will take for you to recover.

It’s Not Just the Tendon—It’s the Brain, Too

Modern pain science tells us that pain is more than just tissue damage. When pain lingers, the nervous system becomes more sensitive, meaning even light or non-threatening movements can feel painful. This is especially true in people with chronic wrist pain from computer use, texting, or mouse work.

Here in Santa Monica, where so many people rely on their hands for creative, professional, or tech-based work, this sensitivity can be frustrating and limiting.

But the good news is: gradual, guided movement can help desensitize the system. Exercise tells your brain:
“Hey, this movement is safe. You don’t need to sound the alarm.”

To learn more about Pain Science then take a look at our article here.

Final Thoughts and Where to Start

Wrist pain isn’t just about wear and tear—it’s about understanding how your body (and brain) adapts. With the right approach, exercise becomes your treatment, not your trigger.

So whether you’re writing code, sketching designs, texting, or gaming, your wrists deserve support that’s grounded in science—and tailored to your lifestyle. 

If you’re in the Santa Monica area and experiencing persistent wrist pain, consider these routines, exercises, playlists and free guides or consult with a local specialist. We understand that it can be hard to fight the traffic in the city and so we offer telemedicine for this reason. Telemedicine can be a great option as the success rate remains just as strong if not better when compared to in-person sessions. 

Feel free to also check out our troubleshooter program that works to understand your individual pain pattern and provide you with specific exercises with the exact reps, sets, and weight determined by specific testing. You may also want to join our community discord where we’ll happily answer any further questions!

References

1. Alfredson, H., Pietilä, T., Jonsson, P., & Lorentzon, R. (1998). Heavy-load eccentric calf muscle training for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinosis. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 26(3), 360-366. https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465980260030301
2. Arampatzis, A., Karamanidis, K., & Albracht, K. (2007). Adaptational responses of the human Achilles tendon by modulation of the applied cyclic strain magnitude. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 210(15), 2743-2753. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.003814
3. Bohm, S., Mersmann, F., & Arampatzis, A. (2015). Human tendon adaptation in response to mechanical loading: A systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise intervention studies on healthy adults. Sports Medicine, 45(12), 1575-1599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0351-9
4. Couppe, C., Svensson, R. B., Silbernagel, K. G., Langberg, H., & Magnusson, S. P. (2016). Eccentric or concentric exercises for the treatment of tendinopathies? Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 46(9), 687-696. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2016.6409
5. Heinemeier, K. M., Skovgaard, D., Bayer, M. L., Qvortrup, K., Kjaer, A., & Kjaer, M. (2013). Uphill running improves rat Achilles tendon tissue mechanical properties and alters gene expression without inducing pathological changes. Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(6), 769-777. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00483.2013
6. Kubo, K., Kanehisa, H., & Fukunaga, T. (2001). Effects of different duration isometric contractions on tendon properties in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 91(6), 2775-2781. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2001.91.6.2775
7. Kubo, K., Kanehisa, H., & Fukunaga, T. (2002). Effects of resistance and stretching training programs on the viscoelastic properties of human tendon structures in vivo. Journal of Physiology, 538(1), 219-226. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2001.012703
8. Magnusson, S. P., Narici, M. V., Maganaris, C. N., & Kjaer, M. (2008). Human tendon behaviour and adaptation, in vivo. The Journal of Physiology, 586(1), 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2007.139105
9. Malliaras, P., Cook, J. L., & Kent, P. (2007). Reduced ankle dorsiflexion range may increase the risk of patellar tendon injury among volleyball players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 10(6), 335-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2006.08.020
10. Mersmann, F., Bohm, S., & Arampatzis, A. (2017). Imbalances in the development of muscle and tendon as risk factor for tendinopathies in youth athletes: A review of current evidence and concepts of prevention. Frontiers in Physiology, 8, 987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00987
11. Seynnes, O. R., Bojsen-Moller, J., Albracht, K., Arndt, A., Cronin, N. J., Finni, T., & Magnusson, S. P. (2009). Ultrasound-based testing of tendon mechanical properties: A critical evaluation. Journal of Applied Physiology, 106(2), 554-558. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.91040.2008
12. Wiesinger, H. P., Kösters, A., Müller, E., & Seynnes, O. R. (2015). Effects of increased loading on in vivo tendon properties: A systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 47(9), 1885-1895. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000597
13. Wren, T. A., Beaupré, G. S., & Carter, D. R. (2000). A model for loading-dependent growth, development, and adaptation of tendons and ligaments. Journal of Biomechanics, 33(7), 803-809. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9290(00)00015-2
14. Zhang, Y., Nerlich, M., & Zwingenberger, S. (2019). Tendon aging: Molecular, cellular and biomechanical changes from a tissue engineering perspective. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 37(7), 1456-1464. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24286

Written By: Brett Becker, OTR/L, ACE-CPT & CMES