The wrist is defined by the dictionary as the “joint or the region of the joint between the
hand and the arm.” Many sources refer to
the wrist as the collection of many bones and joints that allow a person to use his hands freely and in many varied ways. It is difficult to imagine, therefore, how a person can live his daily life if his wrist is not working well because it may have an injury from any of the various causes. Some of these causes may be accidental fall, repetitive movements, and lifting heavy objects, working with vibrating tools, and working at a computer keyboard the whole day, playing the piano for long hours, driving or working with small instruments.
The most common
wrist injury is called carpal tunnel syndrome which is actually its symptom associate with forceful or repetitive hand or wrist movement, and other activities involving the use of
the hands. The symptoms include numbness, weakness, or pain in the thumb and fingers. This pain, if disregarded, may continue for days although it may not cause permanent damage to your hand. If it fails to respond to medication and treatment for a reasonably long time, surgery is the best recourse to remove the pain. If you are exercising, most of the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome are avoidable by maintaining a healthy weight, controlling such health conditions as arthritis and diabetes, resisting cigarette smoking, evaluating your daily routine to the point that the risk of the syndrome is decreased, and by taking breaks from your activities so that you can rest, stretch or change positions, or perform another activity of your choice. Otherwise, if you have already the syndrome, experts advise that you use a magnetic wrist band to allow for accurate one-hand adjustment of the tension, and such other supports as wrist wrap, wrist splint or brace, and a wrist “donut” for extra comfort by cushioning the wrist joint to level it with the lower palm. The wrist wrap is ideal for you if you are lifting heavy weights, working with a bar, and you will need the wrist wrap lifting gloves if you are a serious weight lifter, to stabilize your wrist joint and provide extra cushion for your fingers and palms.
There are many ways to
care for your wrist. If you have a broken wrist, a talk to the doctor is necessary to know about the techniques for bone strengthening. If you find your wrist fractured go for an emergency assistance and examination in the hospital where your wrist may be x-rayed to determine the fracture. After you are treated for broken bones through surgery, you will be required to wear a splint, do strengthening exercises after the splint or cast is removed, of stretch your forearm to test the pronation or rotation ability of your hand after being immobile in your splint for some time. To strengthen your wrist and forearm, you can perform normal exercises such as the reverse wrist curl for the forearm flexors; wrist curl for stronger wrist flexors; and extension wrist curl to work the extensor muscles that dictate the rotation of the elbow and wrist. Players of basketball, hockey, golf, or tennis can also develop overall wrist strength by targeting the four muscle groups.
If you have sprained your wrist, you can treat it at home if it is mild, with RICE, an acronym for (a) resting the joint for at least 48 hours, (b) icing the injury to reduce swelling, (c) compressing the swelling with an elastic bandage, and (d) elevating the injury to the level above your heart.
