Wrist sprains can happen during workouts, sports activities or daily tasks – depending on their severity there are various things you can do to speed up recovery and speed back to full health more quickly.
Resting, icing and elevating are excellent first steps towards treating wrist problems. Once pain and swelling have subsided, begin exercising while keeping an eye on symptoms to ensure feedback on progress.
Exercises
Spraining your wrist from either an accident or sports injury can be excruciatingly painful. While rest and ice are necessary treatments, including wrist sprain exercises in your recovery plan can speed up healing time while strengthening the wrist to protect it against future injury.
At first, perform wrist mobility exercises. These may include flexion, supination and extension movements. Start by holding your wrist against a wall or table with elbow and shoulder still in their respective places, slowly rotating wrist and hand to point palm upward toward ceiling and then repeat for opposite direction (supination). Perform 15 times each day over 2-3 sets for 15-20 times total repetitions per day.
Pronation, the movement of turning your wrist and hand so that the palm faces down, is another excellent mobility exercise that provides essential wrist stability and is needed in everyday activities. Stand or sit with arms extended in front of you with wrist bent so fingers point toward floor for several seconds at a time until holding for several seconds then repeat 10-12 times for two sets.
Finally, silly putty (also referred to as therapy putty or theraputty) can help strengthen small muscles in your wrist and hand by rolling, squeezing, and spreading it around for just a few minutes daily or as instructed by your physician. By rolling, squeezing and spreading putty around in this way, you’re strengthening those small muscle that support both wrists and hands.
Dependent upon the severity of your sprain, wrist-strengthening exercises could begin sooner than anticipated. Before engaging in these movements on your own, however, consult an orthopedic physician in order to make sure that they won’t worsen or prolong healing processes.
If you are experiencing wrist pain or suspect an sprain, do not hesitate to contact Motion Orthopaedics immediately. Our team of doctors can offer diagnosis and treatment solutions that will alleviate the pain while promoting full recovery. Make an appointment now! Motion Orthopaedics takes great pride in providing comprehensive orthopaedic care services in Dallas area.
Warm-up
A wrist sprain occurs when the ligaments in the wrist become overstretched, leading to their usual tension being lost and leading to pain, tenderness and swelling. While often associated with athletic activities such as running and basketball, wrist sprains can happen during any activity that places strain on them such as falls onto outstretched hands or sudden twisting movements – any activity which puts pressure on them should be treated quickly to reduce further injury and speed up recovery time.
When suffering a wrist sprain, patients should immediately apply ice to reduce inflammation and discomfort. This can be accomplished by placing a bag of ice on the wrist or wrapping an ice pack in a towel around it until elbow level – 20 minutes of ice therapy should be applied two to three times daily with care being taken not to overstretch as this could cut off blood circulation causing further injury.
Once icing has begun, patients can engage in some gentle range-of-motion exercises to relieve stiffness and increase mobility. Any activity which causes additional swelling should be stopped immediately as it will only prolong recovery time further.
Moderate (grade 2) sprains require light strengthening exercises that focus on strengthening forearm muscles instead of wrist joints, rather than applying direct pressure to ligaments. Isometric exercises which engage these muscle fibers while keeping your wrist straight can also be an effective way to strengthen this area without straining ligaments further.
For severe sprains, patients may require the support of a wrist brace as the joint heals. This is particularly relevant to athletes who rely on their wrists regularly; those unable to use one while playing sports may still wear one in order to protect their injured wrist.
As well as strength training for their wrist, patients should also continue performing other exercises at the gym that target upper body, core and leg muscles. Particularly beneficial exercises include walking lunges, Bulgarian split squats and calf raises to strengthen legs while aiding wrist healing.
Stretching
The wrists are an integral part of human beings, supporting and allowing us to move our hands in many different ways. Though durable, they can become injured through sudden and unexpected stress on their ligaments. Wrist sprains can occur during sports activities, workouts, banging against something hard or simply reaching up for something on a top shelf at home – and can sometimes even happen unexpectedly in everyday life!
Rest and icing the injured area may help reduce swelling, while physical therapy is frequently advised by Texas orthopedic specialists to speed recovery and restore strength and flexibility to the wrist. In order to avoid further injury or worsened symptoms it’s important to carefully structure workouts according to advice of an experienced physical therapist.
Stretches are usually recommended as the initial form of treatment; however, these should only be introduced once both pain and swelling have subsided to an acceptable level. A physical therapist can guide your recovery program and offer safe wrist exercises tailored specifically to your condition.
When performing stretching exercises, it is essential to start slowly and gradually increase intensity, duration, frequency and duration over time. You should listen to your body – any wrist pain or discomfort indicates you may be pushing beyond its limits and require scaling back accordingly.
Wrist wraps and compression bandages can provide much-needed support after an injury to reduce movement that could cause further harm. However, it must not restrict blood flow too tightly as this could reduce circulation or lead to numbness or tingling sensations in the wrist.
Once the initial phase of ice and wrapping are over, elevating your wrist while you rest can help speed healing and decrease inflammation. Furthermore, use an ice pack at least three or four times each day for 20-30 minutes until your pain and swelling subsides.
Strengthening
Sprained wrists involve stretching of the ligaments that connect the wrist bones together. Ligaments serve to limit excessive joint movement, and sprained wrists may vary in severity from mild overstretching (grade I) to partial rupture of ligaments (grade II) to complete tear of ligament with severe joint instability (grade III).
Mild wrist sprains may be managed using RICE therapy and should begin feeling better within 24-48 hours. For moderate and severe sprains, however, a brace or splint may be required while following your doctor’s guidance through your recovery program. Prolonged use of splints may lead to stiffness and weakness of wrist muscles, so be sure to follow his or her advice regarding its duration.
As you begin your healing, it is imperative that you gradually introduce exercises designed to strengthen the injured wrist and hand. Doing so can help prevent further injury while increasing strength, increasing mobility and flexibility as well as restoring flexibility and mobility. When exercising, try to avoid activities which put too much strain on the injured wrist – for instance if performing push-ups with an injured wrist it would be wiser to use walls as support rather than flat surfaces for optimal performance.
Resisted Forearm Pronation is an effective exercise to enhance wrist stability during recovery. To perform it, sit with legs apart and the affected forearm resting on one thigh; place one end of an elastic exercise band around your forearm with palm facing upward; slowly pull wrist back towards starting position for several seconds each time; repeat 10-15 times for maximum effect.
Wrist extension is another effective strengthening exercise you can perform after suffering a wrist sprain: to do it properly, hold a soup can or hammer handle with palm down and slowly bend your wrist downward towards forearm and back towards starting position ten times for maximum benefit.
