It\u2019s a bad time of year for wrists. Parents \u2013 and sometimes grandparents \u2013 full of enthusiasm and holiday cheer hop on their child\u2019s new scooter or bike, keen to show said child how great the new toy is, and forget that gravity isn\u2019t as kind to the body when we\u2019re older. Falls happen, and wrists often take the brunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s got its own name: \u2018fall on an outstretched hand\u2019,\u201d says Brigette Evans<\/a>, an occupational therapist at Bathurst Hand Therapy. As we fall, our instinct is to put our arms out in front of us to protect our body, face and head, and the wrist takes a lot of that force.<\/p>\n Understand the complexity of wrists<\/p>\n \u201cThe wrist is such a complex little area,\u201d Evans says, as they have evolved to allow an extraordinary range of movement while also supporting a high level of fine motor control \u2013 the wrists mean we have the capacity to do both handstands and neurosurgery.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s got eight little carpal bones \u2013 they\u2019re the axis of the wrist \u2013 and then you\u2019ve got your radius and your ulna, which are your two forearm bones, and then that joins in with your hand bones, your metacarpals,\u201d Evans says. And all those smaller and larger bones are held together by ligaments, and interwoven throughout the whole complex are the tendons that connect the muscles of the hand and arm with the bones of the hand, wrist and arm. There is a lot that can go wrong.<\/p>\n Repetitive movements are the enemy<\/p>\n One common wrist condition that therapists see a lot of is called De Quervain tenosynovitis<\/a>, which is sometimes called \u201cmother\u2019s thumb\u201d, says physiotherapist Nicola Wheeler<\/a> from Bondi Junction Hand Therapy. \u201cIt\u2019s common in new parents, new grandparents, because of this position in lifting up under the arm, as well as feeding postures,\u201d Wheeler says.<\/p>\n That new repetitive movement or position-holding is inevitable with a new baby \u2013 although it\u2019s also seen with lots of scrolling or computer use \u2013 and it can irritate and inflame the two tendons that connect the arm muscles to the bones of the thumb. \u201cOnce they\u2019re inflamed and thick, as they\u2019re gliding through a tunnel, they get caught, lots of friction, and then that can be a cycle of that friction causing more inflammation,\u201d Wheeler says.<\/p>\n The solution is to modify your movement to reduce the load on those tendons, using different lifting techniques \u2013 which Evans says are now taught by midwives and nurses to new parents and propping the baby up on pillows while feeding so the wrist doesn\u2019t hold the entire weight at an unusual angle.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t lift from the wrist<\/p>\n Because the wrist is a relatively delicate instrument, keeping it healthy is less about making it stronger and more about using it carefully, Wheeler says. \u201cIn a lot of situations, we\u2019re trying to minimise wrist movement and actually train people to keep it very straight and stable, particularly when it\u2019s with load,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n That means not lifting from the wrist, but rather keep the wrist stable and instead using the larger load-bearing joints and muscles like the arm and shoulder. Wheeler likens it to the advice about lifting safely to avoid back injury: \u201cInstead of that quick grab, really you should be setting ourselves using our muscles, and then using all these arm muscles to do the lifting.\u201d<\/p>\n Limber up<\/p>\n