Alternate to Straight Handlebars?

[Becky]

My favorite flat handlebars are Salsa Pro Moto bars with 11 degrees of backsweep. The backsweep makes the bars feel more natural to me. I like them enough that I want to try their 17 degree bars as well.

[goride]

Thank you everyone. Lots of good options for me to explore. I just did the "closed eye" test suggested by tzvia and then compared my hand position to the hand position I would need to grip the bar on the bike. Not even close! On the bike, I need to angle my hands outward from the wrist. No wonder it didn't feel good. I also took a look at the albatross bars and the Salsa Pro Moto, and they are along the lines of what I was thinking. We've had some snow in the last few days , so I have time to get to the bike shop before I ride again.

[Susan]

Most MTB riser bars provide a better angle than flat bars (and hand position can be fine tuned by rotating them).
You could also try Ergon grips. They correct the hand position and really did the trick for me when I had problems with my wrists.
Another thing to consider if you have wrist problems is the position of the brake levers. You shouldn't have to bend your wrist too much to reach them. If you are sitting on the bike, and rest your fingers on the brakes, your forearm, hand and fingers should be comfortably straight, without much angle in the wrist. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on their wrists by positioning their hands palms facing forward (knuckles pointing up) and bending their wrists. Try to set up the bars and brakes so that the palms face down (knuckles pointing forward).