Wrist Pain from Sports Injury? Try Icing First

San Francisco Chiropractor and Wrist Pain Doctor Comments:

Wrist pain is a common sports injury. After all...we use our hands for most sports...especially sports like tennis, golf, wind surfing, weightlifting, motorcycle riding, bowling, and more.

Usually mild pain will just go away in a day or two on it's own. But sometimes it wont...and this is when you can run into problems...especially if you use your hands a lot ...say working on a computer. A minor wrist sprain can turn into a big problem if you ignore the pain and put stresses into the injured area.

Actually, there are some things you can do right after you hurt your wrist that will speed up the recovery and reduce the likelihood that the wrist strain gets worse. Of course there are also various grades of severity of wrist sprains...depending on how bad your injury is. Some can be very serious and require medical attention.

The best thing you can do if you feel minor pain in your wrist after sports, is to ice. And the best way to ice the wrist is to submerge the hand into a bucket of ice. Put a little bit of water in there, but not too much. Just enough to break up the ice and cover the hand to above the wrist. Make sure to keep your hand in the ice for at least 10 minutes. Then, do it again a few hours later. Just dump some of the water out that melted. You can usually get just the right amount of ice by emptying out your ice maker.

If the pain is still there the next day, do it again. And, you may consider wrapping the wrist in tape...they sell taping kits at the drug store (or a wrist splint)...so that you keep the wrists in a neutral position while working.

If the pain still does not go away or gets worse...consider seeing a chiropractor that specializes in arm and hand pain. You may have a wrist bone that is out of alignment, and it can be adjusted back into position. Or, you may have a more severe wrist injury than ice alone can help. A medical doctor, acupuncturist, or physical therapist will also know what to do.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for care at Executive Express Chiropractic at the Embarcadero Center...call 415-392-2225, ext 1 (24 hr live operator). Ask for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Eben Davis.