UKC

I've had hand / wrist problems on and off for years, finally been diagnosed that the root cause is a ligament issue which results in abnormal range of movement in the joint which then causes the pain and inflammation.

I don't want to give up climbing and biking so I'm looking for any recommendations on wrist braces and essentially what I need is something that will stabilise the joint but be comfortable to ride in. I have a set of NHS ones (rigid splint on inside of hand & wrist held in place with Velcro) but I don't think they're right for what I need while doing sports.

Any suggestions for good brands or ones to avoid?
Also, I have really small wrists so they'll need to be available in women's or kids sizes.

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Have you considered bar ends for your handlebars? (Assuming you have flat MTB type handlebars)
It means your hand can be at 90 degrees to how you would normally hold the bars. In addition you can angle them as well. Perhaps being able to alter your grip position, every now and then, might help?

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Snowboard/ skate wrist guards?

In reply to dread-i:

I don't have bar ends at the moment though I might get some on to try out as altering grip position does help a bit. The real priority though is limiting the range of movement in the wrist joints to avoid making the ligaments worse and give all the other soft tissues a chance to heal.

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Look at some ergon grips got them on all bikes, could never go back to plain round ones
I have some 661 wrist thingies which are good.

In reply to SecretSquirrel:
" Active Ankle " do really good ankle supports.

They also do a wrist brace, may be worth a try, but looking at the website it is only for purchase by medics so you may have to convince your doctor.

http://www.activeankle.com/products/medical/hand-wrist-and-elbow-products

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

assuming you have suspension forks, I would find a private sports physio or chiropractor and have an assessment for your condition.

The nhs is great but but for your type of issue I would seek alternative therapy.

HTH Davey

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Don't bother with rigid skate/snowboard wrist guards, they'll try and hold your wrist at the wrong angle for most things and will be really uncomfortable.

You might get some benefit from neoprene supports, such as tennis supports.

Try bar ends to allow different hand positions - my sister broke her wrist a few years ago and finds these really helpful for stopping it aching.

Assuming you ride an mountain bike, the suggestion for Ergon grips is a good one, too - a friend of mine swears by them. Some sets have a built-in bar end: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/grips/mtb-grips?f=4294967136

Try moving the position of the brake levers and gear shifters, so your wrist is at the most "natural" position.

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Another vote for ergon grips - may not solve the problem, but might help. Have them on both my MTBs and really noticed a difference this week when I've hired a bike without. Also having bar ends is good when climbing - but not so good if you have a tendency to go over the bars (I think my ribs have just about recovered now!).

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Also have a look as ESI foam grips: http://www.esigrips.com/

Been using these for ages now (all weather conditions) and have just fitted the shaped ones - very nice.

Also consider some carbon bars, provide a less harsh ride. And bar width (and whole bike set up for that matter) - wider bars might help improve riding position = less stress on your wrists.

Changing brake lever angle can also help (many people ride them too flat and need to point the lever downwards)

In reply to SecretSquirrel:
Hand wrap used for heavy bag/boxing training works well. Cheap and easy to adjust tension.
Bruce

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Have you tried Ergon-grips or like and a different handlebar?
I had also wrist problems (pain). Went to a bike fitter in the end: new handlebar with Ergon bar-ends plus change of riding position. Got gloves with gel. That made the problem less severe. Then I changed the angle of the grips my self. Et voila, that in total was the trick. No pain.
Be careful with wrist problems they can last very, very long. Take care, so your climbing doesn’t get in danger.

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

Thanks for all advice, I'm current waiting for date of first NHS physio appointment, will see how I get on with them and make sure they're helping me in terms of sports fitness rather than just basic rehab then look into dedicated sports physio if it doesn't feel like I'm making progress.

In terms of bike setup, I have a specialized hardrock sport disc with pretty much the original spec. I'm planning to put hydraulic brakes on to replace the cable ones and I think that will make quite a difference both on the position of levers and grip strength required. The bars are already fairly wide compared to mates' bikes but I'll check out the grips and bar ends.

In terms of bracing I'm probably going to try out the 661 wrist wraps - fairly cheap option to start off with but I've seen some fairly positive reviews of them from riders with wrist injuries.

In reply to RR:

8 years so far, but at least I've seen a consultant this time who's done something other than just check my grip strength and tell me its normal. (She really listened to my description of the pain and things that cause it but I think the fact that my wrist partially dislocated while she was manipulating it was quite a big clue to the problem!)

In reply to SecretSquirrel:

What about wrist widgets? Depends on the exact nature of your injury but they work very well with ulna side wrist pain and have allowed me to climb near to my previous level

In reply to chris20141:


Not seen these before - looks a neat solution. Thanks for sharing.

Interesting, not seen the widgets before but they're certainly much less bulky than other splints and braces that I've seen. I'll have to check out their weight-bearing pain test when I get access to a set of scales. I definitely do get pain when weight-bearing (and it doesn't take much) but not in the same place that they indicate on the demonstration video so not sure whether it'll work for me - I don't have an acute injury like torn ligaments, just over-stretchy ones that allow instability in the joint.