Usually because you are gripping too hard, too high and with your shoulders up by your ears. The hand position that eases it is lower and looser, and you keep both hands on the wheel throughout — the Highway Code asks for both hands on the wheel where possible.
Where should your hands sit on the steering wheel?
At quarter-to-three rather than ten-to-two. Both positions are accepted in DVSA guidance, but quarter-to-three — hands at 9 and 3, thumbs resting along the rim rather than hooked inside — keeps the wrists in a more neutral line, and it keeps your arms lower and clear of the centre of the wheel where the airbag sits. Moving down those two notches takes the bend out of the wrist. Most people find it odd for the first few minutes because the muscles aren’t used to sitting lower; stick with it and it feels natural by the end of the journey. It also opens the chest slightly, which eases the forward hunch that adds to wrist tension.
Can tense shoulders cause wrist ache?
Yes — wrist ache on a long drive often starts at the shoulder. Here’s the chain: when traffic builds up, your shoulders creep toward your ears — the classic M25 tension hunch. That pulls your whole arm chain up, loading the wrist at an angle it wasn’t designed for. The wrists then compensate by gripping harder. Consciously drop both shoulders back and down every time you pass a junction sign. It resets the angle from shoulder to fingertip in a second, and the wrist tension drops with it — on an M25 run that is a reset every few minutes.
How tightly should you grip the wheel?
Lightly — enough to steer, not to squeeze. On a straight, steady stretch, relax your grip for a moment each time you pass an exit, keeping both hands resting on the rim. It gives the tendons that run through your wrist a break from the continuous tension they otherwise hold for the whole journey. Smooth, clean steering wheel surfaces reduce the grip strength your hand reflexively applies, because your palm doesn’t have to fight the friction of dirt or dried-out plastic. Surrey commuters heading south can sort their cabin with a mobile car valet in Esher before the morning crawl.
Book a service near your M25 junction through Booking.