Need some advice. . .

[Jason00]

Hey guys!

 

I need some advice--I screwed up my wrist bowling last week. I was only able to play for about a half an hour at a time over the weekend before it started to get uncomfortable. I didn't want to push it because I have to play tonight.

 

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a quick fix to get me through the evening--heat/cold, wrapping, stretching, over-the-counter drugs--something of that order. I'm sure rest and recuperation time would be the best, but that really isn't an option.

 

Thanks for listening,

JB

[skidrum]

Jason, you didn't give me much information to go on, such as, how you hurt the wrist, which hand, where it hurts, and more importantly which motions specifically cause pain. Without that I can provide no more than basic first aide though diagnosing anything over the internet with confidence is impossible, such additional information would give me a better idea of what we're talking about.

 

Having said that, given that you were bowling, I'm going to guess you suffered some type of strain. Ligamentous strains are more serious than tendonous and tend not to heal but also take considerable more force to create, so I'm going to assume further that this is tendonous (unless you fell on your hand, in which case ligamentous is again possible or even a fracture) especially because you imply it hurts to play which stresses tendons more so than ligaments.

 

Ice is better than heat in the first 24 hours. It decreases swelling and limits inflammation. I would use ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen sodium (Alieve). The latter is easier to take. The prescription strength of ibuprofen is 800 mg.(4 tablets) three times daily and naproxen is 500 mg.(which you can't do since Alieve comes in 220 mg tablets) or two or three tablets twice daily. Take this with meals as at prescription strength, both are more likely to cause stomach upset and over time can ulcerate your stomach (the reason the manufacturer cut the dose was to increase the safety of the drugs and limit their liability even though the drugs at such low doses are also of limited usefullness). If you develop heartburn or abdominal pain stop using the medication. If it doesn't subside in a day, you may need to see you're physician but significant side effects with brief use is extremely unlikely.

 

Splinting will likely limit your ability to play if it is effective enough to limit the motion causing the pain. But a compression wrap such as an Ace Bandage (elastic bandage) will help limit swelling and may provide some comfort. Get a two inch bandage as anything wider will be difficult to wrap around the wrist. Wrists are harder to wrap. Start on the back of your hand and wrap between your thumb and index finger over to the little finger side of your hand and then back across the back of your hand. You may want to make two wraps to secure the start of the wrap. Then wrap above the thumb and around the little finger working up the forarm. Wrap in a diagonal pattern cris-crossing back and forth. If your fingers go to sleep you've wrapped too tightly. You may need to re-wrap frequently. Compression wraps decrease swelling but are not intended to last.

 

Lastly, if this is a serious strain, you could hurt yourself more by playing tonight. The extreme senario would be complete tendon rupture but that is extreme. More probable is the risk that the repetative motion of drumming will increase inflammation to the injured area prolonging your recovery. This could mean healing over several months as opposed to several weeks and much longer rest from playing to get it to heal. I can't evaluate that risk for you over the internet. Seeing a good sports medicine or performing arts physician would likely be difficult at this late date. The general rule of thumb is that if it hurts to play and limits your ability to play, you shouldn't play... common sense. If it hurts but doesn't limit your ability, you're probably safe. You might have to simplify what you play to accomodate that rule but it will be worth it to you in the long run in terms of healing. Ice the injury every break to limit the inflammatory response and keep the wrist elevated by holding your arm close to your chest with the elbow bent. That will decrease swelling. Do a gentle warm up before playing to "relax" the muscles and tendons. Start with slow sticking patterns and play lightly at first then gradually increase speed and movement within your pain tolarance and optimally, within a painfree range. Take advantage of the PA tonight for volume so you don't have to play as hard and minimize stress to the injury. If the injury is minor, playing could loosen it up but don't push it.

 

Good luck.

[Jason00]

Skip-

 

Thanks for the reply! Sorry I didn't give you a lot of information, I really wasn't expecting that detailed a response.

 

The injury occured last Thursday. Didn't bother me much after bowling, but I did notice it when trying to play over the weekend. I don't have a problem moving my hand up and down at the wrist, but any twisting causes discomfort on the outside of my wrist (directly down from my little finger).

 

Thanks much,

JB

 

[ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: Jason00 ]