Health & Fitness Blog

For whatever reason you are wearing a wrist brace, there are some hints you can follow to get the maximum comfort from them.

The first hint is to make certain that you buy a wrist brace that is the correct size for you. There are ones that you can buy at a drugstore and these will come in sizes child, small, medium, large and extra large. The measurement is taken from the circumference of the wrist, they are created to go around and have a palm support, and a forearm length based on a normal sized person, with that sized wrist. For 95% of people on earth, those wrist brace sizes are the correct size. In instances where they are not the right size, it is usually that they are too small when wrapped around the forearm.

Second, make sure that you’re tightening them in a manner appropriate for your injury. Wrist braces give their benefit by keeping you from accidentally flexing your wrist in a way that would further your injury. The type of injury you have will determine which axis of rotation your wrist needs immobilization in.

If you are using a wrist brace for tendonitis, then tighten it so that it prevents lateral movement of the wrist. To determine this just put your hand straight out from your wrist, this is the plane defined by your thumb and pinkie and should be the parameters that your wrist’s motion is limited within.

If you are trying to treat carpal tunnel syndrome, you should prevent your wrist from bending downward at all or even upward by more than a few inches. You should also take care to have appropriate padding in your wrist brace when treating carpal tunnel syndrome.

Wrist braces set up to immobilize the wrist for a sprain need to completely immobilize it in both planes of movement, and usually need to cover more of the upper forearm as well, since that’s where the ligaments that control wrist motion run, and may resemble Ace bandages more than a conventional wrist brace.

Staying comfortable when wearing a wrist brace will require you to look for stuff on the inside surface such as seams or loose threads that may irritate the skin. Some individuals advise to wrap the hand and wrist and lower forearm in some gauze before wearing the wrist brace. This will provide a buffer, will absorb sweat, and will keep the seams for the brace from rubbing against your skin. Keep your wrist brace clean by washing it twice a week and you can even run it through the washer or dryer without damage.

Don’t over tighten your wrist brace. It should be snug, but should not constrict the blood flow to the wrist or hand. There’s a temptation in a lot of people to run the straps as tight as they can go. Put it on, tighten it up and do some routine work, then loosen appropriately. (As a hint, use a sharpie marker to write how tight the straps should go once you’ve figured this out.)

Tom Nicholson has spent years caring for carpal tunnel sufferers. You can click here to find out more about having asore wrist.