Protecting Yourself From Wrist Injury

Hand and wrist injuries are particularly common in basketball because of the nature of the game. Every aspect of the sport from shooting, dribbling, catching, passing, and rebounding puts the area in question at risk. If the damage to the wrist is significant it could lead a player to missing the entire season with their injury, and the problem can persist if the cause and symptoms are not managed correctly.

The most common accident in basketball is falling and landing. The extreme and sudden trauma to the area can cause bone to come out of location – especially if one lands in an awkward position. Falls can be made worse by an already weak wrist, which tends to come from repetitive motions which are found in dribbling. It can add to a surmounting issue of overuse of the wrist and cause severe damage. The weakening stress on the wrist can also come from outside of basketball, for example - people who have recently come off crutches or require strong wrist motion for work.

If you are suffering from a past injury, such as a bone fracture that did not heal properly – then the past strain or sprain may weaken the wrist, making future damage more severe and easier to come by. There are some also people who are born with weak ligaments which further increases the chance of damage and recovery period.

The two most common types of injury that come from these elements, as we briefly alluded to, are sprains and strains. Your hand and arm and held together by ligaments and tendons, which act like an elasticated tissue that holds bone together.  A sprain occurs when a ligament is stretched or torn and a strain when a tendon muscle is overused or weak.

There are some very easy symptoms you should look out for if you think you have damaged your hand in basketball. Ask yourself these questions:

·       Was there notable pain when you injured it?

·       Has there been pain, weakness or numbness in your wrist or hand since?

·       Do you have a feeling of something clicking popping inside your wrist?

·       Has the shape of your had changed?

·       Do you have trouble moving your wrist or hand?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above it is highly likely you have damaged your wrist, please contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321 if you would like to talk to a physician.