wrist stengthening.

[jordan_frerichs]

not sure if this is the right forum area.a while back i broke my right wrist. now i occasionally get these wrist clamps, and my wrist is not as flexible or strong. it hurts after a while of playing, and i am afraid this will only get worse down the road. what are some ways to strenghten the muscles and bones of my wrist? (P.S. i have bony wrists if that means anything)

[crazyguy832]

Yes, there is, fortunately.

Go out and buy some light weights (1-3 pounds). Do wrist curls.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...WristCurl.html

You can also hold your hand palm-down and do the curls, further strengthening the wrist (specifically, slightly different muscles within and connected to it).

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...WristCurl.html

Start with a VERY light weight and work your way up.

Also, check out this page and do these exercises:

http://ergocise.com/wrists.html

[jordan_frerichs]

i was doing the curls before hand, and all i could find was tens. still hurt. going shopping for wood glue later. will get some cheap weights at wal-mart

[doormatt]

how long ago is this? maybe your ligaments arent all healed yet, in which case you shouldnt work it out too much. just take it a little at a time, you probably just have to wait. I broke my wrist a few years ago so when i first started playing i had the same problem but now its fine. I do still get a small cramp rarely but its nothing.

[crazyguy832]

Yeah, tens are way too much. I don't even do tens and I play drums.



(I can do 10s, for the record, but it's more strain than I want to put on my wrists)

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Forget curls like that, they dont target everything too well.

Get a broom handle, drill a hole through the middle knot a thin rope (or thick string, whatever takes your fancy ), so it is going through the handle and attach some weight to the unknotted end (just tie it on kinda thing) and do these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RivK_45jlVE


(yeah, you could do it with an oly barbell, but that then takes most of the weight, holding it all yourself, but doing the same with the bit of broom handle will work better imo)

[dlloyd]

Are you sure it's not a technique issue? Are your wrists straight when you play?

[Jools4001]

I broke my right wrist on January 10th after a fall during karate training. I was in plaster for the following six weeks and went to a specialist hand clinic after that for an assessment. They gave me a whole bunch of exercises which have helped me get back to about 90% movement and mobility. I went there for the final time last week for a final assessment.

As far as your bone is concerned you can't strengthen that easily - it's either broken or it isn't (and if it's still broken it needs to be immobilised).

They told me that after only 10 weeks the ligaments and tendons would still be stretched and painful. They take much longer than the bone to heal - up to 6 months.

Anyway, the exercises:

1. Get a wet sponge and squeeze as much water out as you can with a full hand grip, hold the squeeze for a slow count of 5 then release slowly. Do 5 reps.

2. Wet sponge again. Put it on your upturned palm, get your thumb on top of the sponge and now squeeze with just your thumb, bringing the tip of your thumb to the base of your little finger. Do 5 reps.

3. Put your elbow on the arm of a chair so that your wrist overhangs and shift your body in the chair so that your elbow is as close as possible to your side. Palm facing the floor, take a tin of baked beans and move your wrist down as far as you can. Take it down until you are just starting to feel a tweak of pain (not so you are grimacing), hold for a count of ten then bring it up slowly. 5 reps.

4. Do the same exercise, palm down, tin of beans etc..this time raise your wrist upwards (backwards) until you feel it tweaking, hold, 5 reps

5. Same position, same tin of beans, this time rotate your forearm so that your palm is facing left (90 degrees to the floor). Move your wrist so that you lower the can, hold etc then repeat moving the can up toward the ceiling, usual hold, 5 reps etc.

6. Put your forearm straight out in front of you on a desk or table, hand palm down on the table, keep your elbow pinned into your side then without moving your forearm off the table rotate your forearm until your palm is facing upwards (or as near as you can get). Repeat 5 times

7. Forearm on the table as above, palm down, put your left hand under your fingertips and pull your wrist back as far as it can go, hold, repeat 5 times

8. Forearm as above, palm down, keeping you hand flat on the table use your left hand to pull your right hand fingertips as far to the left as you can - keep your elbow pinned in and don't move your forearm. 5 reps

9. Repeat above but push fingertips to the right. 5 reps

10. Put both hands together with your arms stretched in front of you, as if your were diving into water. Now without dropping your elbows (keep them parallel to the floor), pull your hands back as close as you can into your chest (into a praying position). Hold for 5 then, again without dropping your elbows twist both hands until your fingertips are pointing at the ceiling, hold, then twist down so they point to the floor.

That's it. Some of them hurt like hell, but the idea is not to overdo it, just go as far as you can so that you just feel a twinge rather than any agony.

Repeat all of the above 3 times a day

[Sheep Man]

Given that I'm finishing up my master's in occupational therapy now, and am working part time at a hand clinic, I'd have to say...

Go with what the hand clinic gave you, as they really are specialists in the field, especially if the therapist is a certified hand therapist (CHT).

That said, how was the fracture set? Do you have any pins or other hardware in there now?
What part of your wrist/arm did you actually break? Do you have an X-ray you could scan or otherwise show us?
Do you have a scar from surgery? If so, is it adhering to the underlying tissue?

All of these things can account for limited range of motion as well as pain.

Oh, and I almost forgot...
Is the pain deeper in the joint, or closer to the surface, say on or just under the skin?

[SlapmyBassup]

Mate just get urself a powerball!
These things are amazing for improving strength do a google search

[BuffaloBass]

Asking for medical advice is problematic, they asked good questions. The physical therapy type exersize jools mentioend seem right. The "typical" wrist strengthening excersize is a 20lb weight ( x lbs) on a rope tied to a broomstick, and you pick up the 20 by rolling as mohawk says.

[jordan_frerichs]

Originally Posted by Sheep Man

Given that I'm finishing up my master's in occupational therapy now, and am working part time at a hand clinic, I'd have to say...

Go with what the hand clinic gave you, as they really are specialists in the field, especially if the therapist is a certified hand therapist (CHT).

That said, how was the fracture set? Do you have any pins or other hardware in there now?
What part of your wrist/arm did you actually break? Do you have an X-ray you could scan or otherwise show us?
Do you have a scar from surgery? If so, is it adhering to the underlying tissue?

All of these things can account for limited range of motion as well as pain.

Oh, and I almost forgot...
Is the pain deeper in the joint, or closer to the surface, say on or just under the skin?

i did not have surgery. they just put it in a splint for a few weeks. the pain is concentrated to where arm and hand meet, and up the pinky, on the top of the hand. the place didn't give any tips for me. i am going back soon, to see if it affected my growth plate, and see if i can't get any tips.

[Jobiebass]

Originally Posted by SlapmyBassup

Mate just get urself a powerball!
These things are amazing for improving strength do a google search

+1

Although, I sprained/broke a bone in my wrist a few weeks ago and its killing me, should have gone hospital but it was too much beer drinking time waist. used a powerball 2 days after doing it... OUCH!

Might get myself one though, they are pretty fun to play with and they do help.

[Sheep Man]

Originally Posted by jordan_frerichs

i did not have surgery. they just put it in a splint for a few weeks. the pain is concentrated to where arm and hand meet, and up the pinky, on the top of the hand. the place didn't give any tips for me. i am going back soon, to see if it affected my growth plate, and see if i can't get any tips.

Is there any pain in your forearm, elbow, or any other part when you use your hand/wrist in any functional activities? It sounds like it might just be some lingering pain from the initial injury, but without being able to see it or work with it to see what specific movements or areas hurt, it's hard to say for sure.

If you want to strengthen your wrist, though, keep in mind that the wrist itself is all bone and ligament, with tendons and nerves running through it. The muscles that pull on the wrist are in your forearm, and those same muscles help to flex and extend the fingers as well. In general, you want to respect the pain and give your wrist a break after working on it, and if it seems to get swollen use some ice or soak it in alternating baths of warm and cold water for 1 - 2 minutes at a time.

[etoncrow]

I realize this recommendation is only applicable if you share my interest in firearms but I experienced a traumatic compression facture of my left wrist. They operated and installed a pin. After six weeks in a cast it was discovered that the pin did not "take" so they operated again and using a piece of my hip bone for a shim they installed a 4" plate and four screws. After another six weeks in a cast my wrist was "healed". I rehabbed my wrist by working a firearms cartridge reloader three hours a night for weeks. In the end due to the twisting, turning and load on my wrist in the reloading exercise my wrist, with the exception of some lack of mobility, is actually stronger than before. My wrist was so trashed that some lack of mobility was unavoidable. And I had several thousand rounds to shoot.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by SlapmyBassup

Mate just get urself a powerball!
These things are amazing for improving strength do a google search

They arent as good as you'd think for increasing the strength of your forearms . . . good fun tho!

[theshadow2001]

I'm pretty sure that porn is the best wrist strengthener

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by theshadow2001

I'm pretty sure that porn is the best wrist strengthener

Only problem is you end up a bit lopsided unless you sleep with a stranger every other night