Wrist support, yes or no???

[Flipomaniak]

Iuse tiger paws but some friends from gym refuse even though they say their wrists are killing them, they say that they don't want to be dependent on them and that supports will only make their wrists weaker. They say if you keep doing stuff without them your wrists will get stronger. Do they have a point?? I can't tumble or do vault without my tiger paws...

 

[gymgal]

dd uses them for tumbling and has a special pair for beam when working bhs. She broke her wrist a few years ago and it has never been the same, despite strength, conditioning and pt. If she wants to continue in gym, she has to wear them... I used to be worried about them making her weaker but then I reasoned this: she is only going to be in gymnastics a max of 10-12 yrs then she has a whole life ahead of her. what would I prefer - the potential of weaker wrists for gymnastics or the potential for life time problems from over extending her wrists without the supports (or worse, more breaks/tears)...

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

We're not allowed to use them except for Yurchenko vaults, which put a lot of stress on your wrists. We also do exercises with weights to increase our wrist strength. Several years ago, before that injunction, a lot of girls had to use them for tumbling and vault. Nowadays, nobody does, so I think as a team our wrists have gotten stronger and we don't need the supports. Obviously, none of us have long-term repercussions from past injuries.

 

[fliptwisttwirl]

My coach hates it when someone wears tiger paws..he says it looks bad and in the long term-does more harm than good.

 

[Kiwi]

I like tiger paws as they prevent the wrist from extending too far. Someone posted here a while ago about some research that has been done showing that use of tiger paws does not weaken the wrists (but unfortunately I can't find it now). I also found another thread where some coaches were discussing that gymnasts should be doing wrist conditioning as part of their conditioning program as this will also help to prevent wrist injuries. I think a combination of both would be good.