Health & Fitness Blog

One of the most general issues in postindustrial times is wrist pain. This problem has been dated back to the Industrial Revolution and was then referred to as “weaver’s wrists”, which covered a few conditions. A popular device that helps in the treatment of wrist pain is the wrist brace.

Most wrist pain in modern use is triggered from one of three things: Tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome or a sprain. (some people who do more active things can get broken wrists.) What wrist braces are supposed to do differs a little bit on each of these, and an accurate diagnosis will help you set up your wrist brace and speed your recovery.

Tendonitis happens when the tendon sheath becomes inflamed from overuse. This is very common for athletes that play sports that require you put a spin on the wrist such as racket ball or tennis. The wrist brace will prevent the tendon sheath from moving. This is generally combined with anti-inflammatory drugs or icing. The wrist brace used for this problem will let the wrist flex up or down however not side to side.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when there is compression and inflammation of the nerve sheath for the median nerve that goes over the joint of the wrist. People usually feel both wrist pain and ‘funny bone’ pinched nerves in the hand, which will go from the base of the fingers all the way up the forearm to the elbow.

Carpal tunnel syndrome develops from repetitive stress injuries such as typing too much or using a mouse too often. In severe instances, it can prevent the use of the hand. Wrist braces work in this case to try to prevent the wrist from moving in a vertical fashion, because the general cause of this issue comes from poor posture when typing because people do not move their wrists at the appropriate angle where the nerve can be compressed.

Good wrist braces for carpal tunnel syndrome are nearly identical to a wrist brace for tendonitis, they’re just adjusted differently – they’re usually not as tight on lateral motion, and offer more support to the underside or inside of the wrist. Most will also have a rigid insert on the underside of the wrist to keep you from flexing your wrist like a hinge.

Wrist sprains and wrist breaks are the result of injuries to the ligaments around the wrist joints; unlike tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, these are likely to get better without extreme amounts of physical therapy. A wrist brace for a sprain is designed to immobilize the wrist and keep you from flexing it in any direction. It also really hampers how you can use the affected hand a great deal.

No matter what the issue that needs you to wear a wrist brace, make sure you spend the time needed to read the instructions on your wrist brace. When putting it on, do not pull too tightly on the straps or you will prevent blood flow. Don your wrist brace whenever you feel a bout of your condition coming on.

Tom Nicholson spends his time caring for sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. Please follow this link to learn more about having asore wrist.

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