1. All About Wrist Sprains
On This Page
1) What is a Wrist Sprain?
2) Signs and Symptoms of a Wrist Sprain
3) First Aid for a Sprained Wrist
4) Taking Care of a Wrist Sprain
5) Preventing Wrist Injury
1) What is a Wrist Sprain?
People tend to confuse a sprained wrist with strained wrist. A strain is an injury to the muscle
while a sprain is an injury to the ligament. As such, a wrist sprain is defined as an injury to the
wrist ligaments. Sprains can tear apart the ligaments joining together the ends of they two
wrist bones. There are many body parts prone to sprains: knees, ankles, elbows, and thumbs,
but the wrists top the list as being the most common sprain. Wrist sprains occur most often as a
result of falling.
The bones always meet at the joints, where the body rotates or bends. There are strong elastic
tissue bands called ligaments. These ligaments help hold the bones together. A wrist sprain
happens whenever these ligaments are overstretched, causing a mild sprain (grade 1).
When the ligaments are partially torn, it is a more severe sprain (grade 2). There also exists a
sprain where ligaments are completely torn (grade 3) requiring both medical and surgical
care.
Sprains are caused when the wrist is subjected to physical stress. In this kind of a situation, the
bone ligaments are made to undergo movements that they are not ready for. An injury may
occur from only one single physically stressful incidence or as a result of small repeated
motions. It usually happens whenever the ligaments are put under extreme stretching.
Wrist sprains are typically caused by unusual movements of the joint, wrist twisting for example.
This type of injury is especially common in some sporting activities such as skateboarding,
volley ball, netball, snowboarding, basketball among others involving the use of hand palms
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2. and fists. It can also happen whenever one falls or trips.
2) Signs and Symptoms of a Wrist Sprain
Whenever one gets a wrist sprain, the first thing to do is to stop using their wrist immediately.
In many cases it is very difficult to tell whether it is a sprain or a bone fracture. That is why it is
always advisable to seek out a doctor as fast as one can. Look at the injured area for the
following signs and symptoms of a sprain:
- pain
- swelling
- lumps other than swelling
- bruising/redness at site of injury
- numbness
- instability or inability of the injured person to move the joint
Secondly, one ought to scan and feel if there are these signs of serious sprain injuries. Such
signs might include:
- instant and massive swelling
- tenderness and great pain at some particular point
- a popping sound as the injury occurs
3) First Aid for a Sprained Wrist
After assessing all the above, one should treat the injury if a sprain is suspected, using the
steps below. This is commonly known as the HI-RICE method of treating a sprain.
H2O – Provide plenty of liquid to the injured person for the sake of hydration.
Ibuprofen – Then to reduce the swelling of the sprained part, administer ibuprofen, high doses
are always recommended by the physicians. Though ibuprofen is available over-the-counter,
it’s always best to consult a doctor before taking new medications.
Rest – Thirdly, one is advised to rest the injured part by keeping off it or immobilizing it.
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3. Ice – The fourth thing to do is to apply for 20 to 40 minutes ice on the injury within a period of
every 2 to 4 hours in the first two days after the injury occurred. Icing should be started
immediately after the injury. It is worth noting that the period of time without icing is directly
proportional to the period of recovery.
Compression – After that, snugly compress or wrap the area with an expandable bandage.
Caution should be exercised during this, not to cut off circulation as this could lead to more
swelling.
Elevation – The injured part should be elevated above the heart as this also helps in reducing
the swelling.
The injury needs to be left to re-warm for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then assess the swelling and
pain after roughly half an hour of “HI-RICE”. If no improvement is seen within the first day,
then the injury should be well-protected and you should seek immediate medical
attention. In a case where the improvement turns out to be rapid, heat is to be applied to
hasten mobility after three days.
4) Taking Care of a Wrist Sprain
After one receives first aid and treatment, it’s important to let the wrist take it easy. For
example, the injured person is advised not to pick up normal duties until they have completely
recovered, as over-stressing the injury now could turn the problem chronic. The doctor’s
instructions are very important and should be followed fully upon getting home from treatment.
One should also remember and apply the HI-RICE procedure mentioned earlier. Asprin or
ibuprofen can be used as needed to help in controlling swelling and pain. Those
recovering from injuries should gradually start using their wrist as the pain slowly subsides.
People should al try strengthening their wrist as soon as possible. This will help in restoring
range of motion hence preventing possible future injuries. Great care must be taken to the
injured wrist so as to hasten the healing process. Heat is to be avoided when the area is still
swollen and once the swelling subsides, most types of heat are recommended.
5) Preventing Wrist Injury
There are a number of ways to prevent a wrist sprain. These include the following:
- avoiding strenuous exercises and sporting activities when one is tired
- eating a well balanced diet for the development of healthy ligaments
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4. - avoiding the gaining of unhealthy weight
Daily exercises, especially wrist stretching exercises, are equally useful. Good warm-ups
need to be done before exercising.
It’s also important to follow all the right safety measures such as avoiding clutter in the home
or workplace that can lead to slipping and falling. Some shoes are ill- fitted and must be
avoided for the same reason. And one should run and do all exercises on a the correct
surface to avoid taking a nasty fall.
READ MORE http://www.allaboutsprains.com
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