Wrist Support for Beam

[vagymmomma]

DD has been complaining about pain in her wrists when practicing backhandsprings on the beam. She has never complained about wrist (or any pain) before, so I was thinking about getting her some type of wrist support. I did a search on Chalk Bucket and there were some other discussions on Tiger Paws. Recommendations seemed mixed, but my bigger question is whether there is something better specifically for beam. Most posters spoke of DD/DS using them for vault or floor. Anyone have any suggestions for beam use? Will Tiger Paws work for beam as well. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

try the regular wrist supports first.

 

[gymnasticsfreak]

Tiger Paws work fine on beam too, I use them on floor, vault and beam. You just have to get used to them on beam.

 

[gymdog]

I would not recommend them for beam. However, it depends on a lot of factors. It is not like no one ever uses them, but there can be some drawbacks in my opinion. It would help if you reminded me what level your daughter is or what skills she is working on on the beam specifically that cause her pain. Is it only on beam, or on other events?

 

[JBS]

Tiger Paws are by far the best in terms of actual support. Since they cross over the palm, they do not slide up the arm. When a wrist support slides up, it becomes immediately useless. Some gymnasts are OK with something between the palm and the beam...some are not.

The thing is...most coaches only like them as a last resort. Once a gymnast gets into them...they will be using them forever.

Here are some more posts about wrist supports:

wrist supports - Search Results - The Chalk Bucket

 

[vagymmomma]

JBS - Thanks for the link. I think I'm now more confused because there definitely seems to be some debate on the topic.

My DD is a level 6 who's doing a lot of uptraining for L7. The specific skill she's complained about is BHS on beam. She mentions wrist pain every time she does that skill (on beam only). She doesn't practice them as much, but I believe she has similar pain when practicing a roundoff on the beam. She not a complainer, so I can tell it really bothers her. Based on the comments in the other threads, it doesn't seem to be unreasonable to expect to use them at some point. Four follow-up questions based on those threads:

1. What are good conditioning exercises to strengthen the wrist?
2. When is a good level to start? Is it too soon at her level?
3. What are other wrist guard options besides tiger paws (any recommendations on specific brands/products)?
4. Is it okay for her to just use them on beam when doing backhandsprings?

Thanks -- I'll run it by her coach as well, but she's going to camp next week and I was debating whether to get some before then.

 

[JBS]

@vagymmomma - How old is your daughter?

 

[vagymmomma]

She's 10 -- will be 11 before the end of summer.

 

[gymgal]

reading with interest b/c my dd in in similar position. 10yr. training level 6-7 equiv. and pain with bhs on beam. She has attempted to use the tiger paws on beam with little success. She says she doesn't like the feel on the beam - not secure enough. Other girls wear them on beam with no problem. We have tried a couple other wrist supports but no luck. I'm thinking of going to a PT or OT to see if there is something we can order through durable medical. It needs to be light, thin but supportive.

BTW, the PP who said once girls are in the tiger paws they stay in them is SO right. Once girls get used to the support, they have a hard time working without them. In my dd's case, she broke her wrist and in order to come back for meet season she needed extra support. was taped and tiger pawed. just the one wrist. she did a ton of conditioning but the wrist got only part of its strength and flex back. So we decided the tiger paw was the best for her if she wanted to progress. Eventually she just started wearing on both hands.

 

[gymgirly]

I have found that at my club and for most gymnasts, it is mainly a personal preferance. I personal think that it throws my balance off. Other teammates love using tiger paws. If your daughter already has tiger paws have her try them. If she doesn't she could also ask a teamate. ten.O also has normal wristsupports kinda like the things you wear under grips. it will probably make the most sense to try all of her options. hope that helps!!

 

[cher062]

If she is complaining of wrist pain I would first go to the DR to make sure of what is causing it. My DD had an over use issue in her L wrist at about the same age and had to wear a wrist support for about 3 months all the time 24/7 She also had to give her wrist a rest for a few weeks - no tumbling on it. when she went back we started with an over the counter one that the DR recommended, then eventually went to the tiger paws as we needed more support for her wrists after a big growth spurt. After about a year (and some growing had slowed down) the problem resolved and she doesn't wear anything on her wrist for beam, but she does wear them for vault and floor. My DD's wrists are really small compared to her hands so DR and PT want her to wear them for floor and vault all the time because of her small wrist size and to prevent any future issues. So she does. The Futuro are the ones we used at first and they are really good and no where near as expensive as the tiger paws. My son used them when he did floor and that was all he needed for extra support. There is nothing wrong with extra support and to keep kids from injury if it means wearing a support.

 

[gymdog]

Tiger Paws are by far the best in terms of actual support. Since they cross over the palm, they do not slide up the arm. When a wrist support slides up, it becomes immediately useless. Some gymnasts are OK with something between the palm and the beam...some are not.

The thing is...most coaches only like them as a last resort. Once a gymnast gets into them...they will be using them forever.

Here are some more posts about wrist supports:

wrist supports - Search Results - The Chalk Bucket

I have severe wrist problems. I have done beam with tiger paws and without, and I can get by with taping my wrists. (yes, tape can be expensive though, but it doesn't take a whole lot for wrists). Tape does loosen, but when you're talking about beam vs vault or floor, it can usually last a rotation in my experience. Definitely an average optional beam routine with maybe one or two BHS which are coming from standing or another standing BHS. I would not be able to tape my wrists for floor or vault if I was seriously training for anything (I can now tumble a fair amount with nothing, but it still hurts eventually and I have to stop). I pretty much wrecked one wrist doing a yurchenko without any support once, under the misguided "your wrists just need to get stronger!" theory. Nope. Turns out that I'm plenty strong (should see my forearms) and don't have a lot of cartilage. Slamming into a vault at a yurchenko angle when you don't have adequate cartilage between your wrist bones...not advisable. I could literally feel my bones hit each other. So that took about one day and vault rotation of "getting stronger". Eventually an MRI confirmed wrist supports were a fine idea. Probably a fine idea for ANYONE doing yurchenkos.

It's important to also look at technique and hand placement. Unfortunately I see a lot of "methods" that seem to be putting the kids on a low beam with mats and having them throw a BHS and "try" to get their hands on. Seems like a great recipe for wrist injury to me. If the kids cannot get their hands in a line doing a BHS up to a panel mat from the floor without shoulder angle, they should not be on the beam. But even with very good instruction you can have wrist problems (mine are largely genetic, and my technical training was very good).

The bottom line is, they aren't a panacea, but if you need them, you need them (probably everyone should be using them for certain things). I'd recommend other things for beam though. I have never had my hands slip doing a standing BHS on beam with Tiger Paw type wrist supports, but I have slipped on the second BHS in a series with Tiger Paws repeatedly, and not without (I am not saying it doesn't happen without, because it does, just that in my experience it happened a LOT MORE with). I've also seen other examples. So I don't recommend them as the first step on beam. But if that is all that works, you'd have to work around it.

 

[gasrgoose]

My daughter had wrist pain regularly as her work load increased, she's only been at it a year and a few months. It really bothered me that something she loved made her wrists hurt. And if your wrists are hurting there is an injury that needs treatment. So...

I ordered ice packs for her wrists that she used every night after gym for 20-30 minutes, sometimes two sessions of ice with around 30-45 minute break between them. We ordered these Multipurpose Hot & Cold Wrap - Works on your Wrist and she liked them and they fit. She's a small 8 year old that wears the smallest size grips available. We also would ice her wrsits at least one other night a week because she is always upside down.

We also ordered these. Supportive Wrist Brace provides support, pain relief, promotes healing. for her to wear why she sleeps. We have used these products for my other daughter's horses with success. You can read on there website how they work.

After @ 1 month she had improved a ton. Now (after 3 or 4 months) we have her sleep in the wrists support occasionally and she is totally pain free. If she spends alot of extra time on her hands in TOPS or just a tough day at gym we ice also.