Wrist pain in gymnasts: Efficacy of a wrist brace to decrease wrist pain while performing gymnastics

Abstract

Study design: This was a clinical trial of prospective cohort.

Introduction: Wrist pain in gymnasts is a global phenomenon. Compression forces acting on wrists while performing gymnastics is a predisposing factor in the development of wrist pain and consequential injury of the distal radial physis in skeletally immature gymnasts. One approach to mitigate these forces is wrist bracing; however, studies on the efficacy of wrist braces to reduce wrist pain experienced by gymnasts are limited.

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an innovative design of a wrist brace to decrease gymnasts' wrist pain while performing gymnastics.

Methods: A wrist brace was designed and trialled over 3 weeks by 48 male gymnasts (aged 8-22 years, levels 4-7) with wrist pain. Wrist pain was recorded on a visual analog scale of 1 to 10 before and after trial. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-22 (IBM Inc). Paired t-tests were performed to compare variables before and after trial, with effect size analyses used to quantify the relative magnitude of any differences.

Results: Paired t-tests indicated the gymnasts reported significantly reduced pain (P = .002; 53.5%) while wearing the braces for training on the pommel, floor, and parallel bars. The overall large effect size value was practically significant (d = 0.902).

Discussion: For any wrist brace to be effective, it needs to be implemented when the gymnast experiences wrist pain before an injury occurs. This would minimize the development of pain-provoked adaptive movement patterns that perpetuate dysfunction.

Conclusions: The brace with the volar gel pad is recommended to be worn as an adjunct to current strategies in management of gymnasts' wrist pain or as an injury prevention device in skeletally immature gymnasts.

Keywords: Adolescent; Ground reaction forces; Gymnast; Radial physis; Wrist; Wrist brace.