Injured or painful wrists caused by conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis can benefit from the protection and stability of wrist support. This guide will discuss wrist supports and how you can use them for wrist pain.
Does a Wrist Support Help Wrist Pain?
Wrist supports provide support and protection for weak, swollen, or painful joints. They keep your wrist in a neutral position which can help to bring relief to discomfort and pain. Wrist supports also help relieve symptoms of conditions like arthritis, wrist tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fractures, strains, and strains.
Should You Wear a Wrist Support All Day?
You should wear your wrist support sparingly during the day, especially when you’re overworking your wrists. However, wear it continuously when sleeping until your symptoms are gone.
How Long Should You Wear a Wrist Support?
How long you need to wear your wrist support depends on the severity of your condition. Generally, avoid wearing the wrist support for more than two hours without taking it off to move your wrist. It’s crucial that you don’t wear the support too much, as this could make your wrist stiff and weak. Also, don’t wear it for a very short period, as this could cause the injury to come back or not fully heal.
If you have a chronic wrist injury, it’s advisable to wear a wrist support as much as you can. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should have it on 24/7, but it’s best to wear it during most of your daily activities.
What are the Common Wrist Support Myths?
1. Wrist Supports Can Weaken Your Wrists
This is probably the most harmful myth about wrist supports, mostly because people believe it. There’s no evidence that shows wrist supports can weaken your wrists. In fact, the evidence available is quite the contrary. You can strengthen your wrists and improve your performance by using wrist supports.
2 Some Athletes are too Young for Wrist Supports
It is never too late or early to start taking care of your wrists. Regardless of what kind of athlete you are, injuries can happen anytime. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your wrists are protected at all times, especially during an activity that involves the use of your hands.
3. Wrist Supports Can Make You Injury-Prone
Yes, some people actually believe that wrist supports can lead to injury. They think that they will become dependent on using these supports, then once they stop using them, they will get injured.
Just as you don’t become dependent on good technique, you can’t also become dependent on wrist supports. All of that goes into being good at what you do. Wrist supports lessen wrist strain and provide safer, longer training sessions with lower injury risk.
Don’t let these myths about wrist supports cloud your judgement. Many cheerleaders, tumblers, and gymnasts significantly benefit from using wrist supports to maintain a healthy and happy career.
Which is the Best Type of Wrist Support?
Getting the right wrist support for your exact condition is very important. Otherwise, you will just waste money and not solve the actual problem. Here are the most common conditions that usually require wrist support as the first-line treatment.
1. Wrist Support for General Hand Pain
Have you sprained your wrist? Or have you simply overworked your hand over the weekend? If yes, hyper-bending your wrist is what does this, resulting in strained ligaments and tendons.
In this case, an all-purpose wrist support will work just fine. It will help your hand rest – which is exactly what you need. Look for a wrist support that has a metal spine or stay on the palm side.
2. Wrist Support for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
A good carpal tunnel wrist support has a very unique design. Actually, it has all the other features of a brace for general wrist pain, with one main exception.
An efficient carpal tunnel wrist support has no metal spine or stay on the palm side. If the one you have has, then it’s not a certified carpal tunnel wrist support [even if the label says it is]. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful when choosing your wrist support.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by extreme pressure in the wrist joint. If you subconsciously tilt your wrist at night, and your wrist support has a metal spine, it will press on the wrist joint, making your symptoms worse.
3. Wrist Support for Tendonitis
Tendonitis is a condition where the forearm tendons become inflamed or swollen. When choosing a wrist support for tendonitis, pick a brace that holds your hand in a neutral position. Also, ensure that it has a metal spine on the palm side [unlike for carpal tunnel syndrome]. Lastly, ensure that the brace covers all the way [or halfway] to your elbow.
Bottom Line Wrist Support for Wrist Pain
When you wear a wrist support for wrist pain, you should consider the cause of that pain in the first place. If you have a minor wrist problem, then most ordinary wrist supports will help. However, if you have a serious condition like carpal tunnel syndrome, consult your doctor first before using wrist support. Some wrist injuries have specific issues that many wrist support products don’t address.
