MAG wrist guards/supports

[profmom]

One of DS's optional teammates' moms suggested to me that I get DS a set of wrist guards soon to prevent injuries, as the boys' hours will be going up and they are now doing a lot more work on the floor horse (and will probably be transitioning their loops and circles to the pommel-less horse over the next month or so). I know his coach, however, will grumble and say this isn't necessary until a boy starts having wrist pain. What saith the Chalk Bucket sages? They spent nearly an hour on PH last night, just about all of it working on loops and circles (albeit with a little down time here and there to watch each other and the optional guys who are headed to nationals).

 

[munchkin3]

DS like SKIDZ wrist supports. they have nothing on the palm and you can add or remove stiffness on the back of the wrist. I have seen many of the elite guys wear them.

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

My son uses Skids. You can get them on Amazon. My son was king of the mushroom circle (100s of circles daily) so he killed his wrists early and therefore got his skids early. Just realize they are sold individually - so you need to order two.

 

[skschlag]

I have that same issue. Our coach is not a fan of wrist supports unless they are needed...not preventative. But D has weak wrists, and has had problems in the past. They tape them daily.

 

[ACoach78]

I do not recommend wrist supports unless they are necessary and here is why -

You are compromising the integrity of the human body. It was made to have certain ranges of motion at certain joints. If you bind up a joint, the forces transmitted through that joint have to be absorbed somewhere, right? Well, they will go to the next joint up the kinetic chain. In this case, we're talking the elbow and eventually the shoulder. So, unless it is warranted, binding a joint is not a good idea. The wrist is made to have motion just like the ankle is made to have motion. Often, restricted ankle motion can be a contributing factor to knee, hip, and even low back pain.

Sure, the wrists probably do hurt some. Doing some wrist flexibility and/or mobility exercises may do wonders in this situation. Olympic weightlifters often have similar issues with catching cleans and performing some regularly wrist extension mobility/flexibility exercises often can combat any pain issues. The problem is that the athlete is limited in their end range-of-motion and when they reach that point it is often a little painful. It's no different than if somebody cranks you down into a split.

My buddy used to outfit a lot of his optional team in wrist supports as a preventative measure. I shared this insight with him and he sort of changed his thinking. However, the kids that he had outfitted previously remained in wrist supports and a couple started to have occasional elbow pain. Coincidence, maybe? But, I'd stand to say that maybe my there is some validity to my line of thinking.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar did not believe in hi-top basketball shoes for this very reason. Guess who never had any knee or hip problems in his hoops career....

 

[profmom]

Really interesting, ACoach. I think this is where DS's coach comes down. I am guessing that the answer is no, but has anyone ever done a good study on this with a decent number of subjects?