Wrist extension with band strengthens the muscles on the back of the forearm that lift your hand (wrist extensors), using a resistance band for load. You sit with your forearm resting on a table, palm down and the hand past the edge, holding one end of the band while the other end sits under your foot. Raising the back of the hand stretches the band, and lowering it slowly works the same muscles on the way down. Physios use it in rehab after wrist and forearm injuries and in programs for tennis elbow, once the tissues can take some load.

How to do the wrist extension with band

Sit on a chair beside a table with your feet flat. Rest the forearm of the working side on the table, palm facing down, with the wrist and hand just past the edge.
Hold one end of a light resistance band in that hand. Put the other end under the foot on the same side and keep that foot flat on it, as in the video.
Start with the wrist relaxed and bent slightly down, with a little tension in the band.
Bend the wrist back to raise your knuckles toward the ceiling, as far as feels comfortable. Keep the forearm resting on the table.
Lower the hand slowly against the pull of the band, then repeat.

What you should feel

Work along the top of the forearm, a little below the outer elbow. The band gets harder to stretch as the hand rises, so the top of the lift feels heaviest.

Common mistakes

Raising the forearm off the table to help the lift.
Letting the band pull the hand down quickly instead of lowering it with control.
Using a band so strong that you have to jerk the hand up.
Letting the foot slide so the band loosens or slips out.

How often

A light band, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 unhurried lifts, daily or every second day, is a typical start. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp pain at the back of the wrist or near the outer elbow.
Your fingers or hand feel numb or tingly. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Wrist or elbow pain that is still worse the day after.

From the clinic

The voice guide mentions holding the band with both hands, but the video shows one wrist at a time with the band under the foot, so the steps follow the video. Giving the band more slack makes each lift easier, and shortening it or using a firmer band makes it harder. Before each set, look the band over for splits or thin, worn patches, and keep your foot pressed firmly on its end. A band that pops loose from under the foot can spring up at your face and eyes.

After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do. If moving against a band is still too much, isometric wrist extension works the same muscles while the wrist stays still. To stretch them afterward, try the wrist extensor stretch.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Wrist extension with band