Learn To Get Healthy

Wrist pain happens to nearly everyone at some point in their life. It may be because of typing, playing too much tennis or golf, or practicing martial arts. It may start as nothing more than a twinge that goes away, or it may degenerate into an acute pain or numbness that wakes you in the night.

Consulting your doctor can help. Finding the proper response and treatment for wrist pain can vary depending on what sort of injury you have; these can go from RICE protocols to surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. However, there’s a lot you can do before you get to the point of a doctor’s consult, by using a simple pillow for your wrist.

What It Is

Anything that’s soft and cushions the bones of the wrist, and encourages you to keep your hands more or less straight from the wrist bones can work as a wrist pillow. Most of them are soft and molded to a comfortable shape with a smooth texture that keeps them comfortable. Many can be bought online, and you can even buy them at places like Best Buy or WalMart. They’re pretty reasonably priced, though commercial ones are usually available in neutral (boring) colors. Online shops may offer the chance to screen print a company logo onto them.

You can also put your do-it-yourself talent to the test. A simple test, really, if you come to think of it. You will find numerous online video tutorials that will take you on a step-by-step process of making your very own personalized wrist pillow. And don’t worry about cost as even your discarded yarn and socks will do just as long as you know how to put thread to needle and needle to cloth. You can make it as colorful as you wish just to get away from the staid black and dark blue mouse pads with wrist supports in the market.

What It Can Do for You

While wrist pillows are cheap, they give some pretty nice benefits. They’re one of the best ways out there to prevent repetitive stress injuries, brought on by keyboarding or mouse-clicking for hours on end. If you’ve got kids, encouraging them to use these pillows can save them health problems later in life. Properly made, wrist wrests also encourage proper posture for the wrists and forearms when typing.

For wrist pillows tied to a mouse, they also make using the mouse more ergonomic and efficient; they keep the mouse pad from slipping all over the place. For ones under the keyboard’s lip, they do a great job of adjusting your typing posture.

Above and beyond the benefits to your typing and mousing, wrist pillows will also help in warding off medical conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. They can also help reduce the pain from arthritis, tendonitis and sprains. If you make your living typing at a keyboard, pain is a direct cost to you, in lost productivity and other factors, and is definitely something to be avoided.

Just to give an idea of how much you can save by using a cheap wrist pillow, the time and money for physical therapy typically runs a few thousand dollars and several weeks to months as you adjust your typing posture to correct for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tom Nicholson has spent years caring for carpal tunnel sufferers. You can click here to learn more about having asore wrist.

All too often, we take our wrists for granted along with the abilities that these intricate parts of our anatomy provide for us in our daily lives, from carrying our bags to working at the computer. As many sports coaches will tell you, it’s all in the wrist!

If your wrist has become sore, the obvious importance of this body part should indicate that it needs immediate treatment. If ignored, the condition may get worst. Future quality of life may be affected when dealing with pain from a tender wrist. The simplest of tasks may become impossible since the wrist pain will be ever-present. Since it’s not safe to take too many over-the-counter drugs, seeking medical help to manage or repair the source of pain is imperative.

Keep in mind that the wrist pain may degenerate into a worse condition over time. The wrist can be an indicator of worse medical conditions. This may include carpal tunnel, gout, arthritis, cysts or fractures or sprains. You should definitely get treatment as quickly as possible for the best chance of recovery.

RICE TREATMENT PROTOCOL

The at home elements for treating a sore wrist are meant to work in conjunction with medical care. The purpose of RICE treatment is to relieve pain and promote healing, while avoiding a recurring incidence of the injury. These treatments may apply to injuries or arthritis pain.

When performing at-home treatments for a sore wrist, your primary goal is to relieve the pain felt, promote the healing of the injury, and avoid the recurrence of said injury. This self-care treatment applies to almost all cases from repetitive stress injury to wrist trauma to arthritis-related wrist pain. * R stands for rest coupled with activity modification. You have to provide adequate rest for your injured wrist for at least 24-48 hours, which is called the critical period. Usually, your wrist will be encased in protective sheaths like a splint and/or sling. Plus, you have to modify your activities such that stress on the sore wrist is minimized during this period.

Ice and heat application may also help. Wondering which to use? Ice packs are used for acute (sudden) injuries, and heat pads for more chronic (ongoing) condition. Never leave ice pack on for more than 20 minutes each application.

* C stands for compression and cortisone injections. During early treatment, compression is used to keep the muscles and tendons as stable as possible. Of course, you have to make sure that your wrist does not become cold and blue from a too-tight compression bandage. Cortisone injections are administered by your doctor, which should treat the inflammation, if any, in a sore wrist.

* E stands for elevate. You have elevate your injured wrist higher than your heart, when and where possible. This can usually be done by placing pillows underneath your arms while sleeping.

The RICE treatment is only applicable as a first aid and in after care scenarios. If your feel that an injury is not responding to RICE protocols, then seek medical help as soon as possible.

A wrist injury may not seem like a big deal, but ignoring it can quickly turn it into one. Keep in mind that with all the activities your wrist is responsible for, your livelihood, and even your life, may be affected with a wrist injury.

Tom Nicholson has spent years helping sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. Please click here to find out more about having asore wrist.