Help with an weird injury

[Minman]

The last few times I've gone out when I get back home and in the days that follow I have sharp pain in my outer wrist. It started a few weeks back when I miss judged a log and my fork fully compress when hitting it. I went to the doctor and he said nothing was broken, but I had some tissue swelling.

Well, the same thing happened a few days back on my other wrist, when I can down off a jump. I thought I landed well, but a few hours later the other wrist hurt.

Has anyone had this happen? Is it a matter of working on more strength training, it is the start of the season and my off-season wasn't spent at the gym if you know what I mean.

Thanks

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

interesting, what do you do for a living, manual labour, desk job?

 

[Mikerb]

Check the alignment of your wrists when riding. You need to have your fist in line with your forearm rather than angled..........that applies both in the vertical and horizontal axis. Adjustments can be made to brake lever positions and also bar width/rotation if required.

 

[Jackware]

If you scroll down this Magura website you'll see images that illustrate Mikerb's explanation;

#customizeyourbrake - MAGURA Setup Guide or how to individualize your brakes

Which brake model? Which brake pads? Which rotors for more performance? Which lever blade and which angle for better ergonomics? Check out our interactive buyers' guide!

www.magura.com

 

[RickBullotta]

Yup. A few years ago, came off a ledge drop and bottomed out the fork while my wrist was in a strange position. It was sore and stiff for a while (about 2 months), and then a sports med doc who I knew from riding offered to let me try a shot of Synvisc in my wrist (it's primarily used for knees, hips, shoulders, and ankles). Either it worked, or I was close to healing normally anyway, but I felt great since. That was probably 7-8 years ago.

 

[EMTBSEAN]

I should seek medical advice mate, that sounds like it could be the start of carpal tunnel syndrome, my wife has carpal tunnel syndrome and it sounds very similar to what she suffers with

 

[Minman]

Sorry guys, I left you all hanging on this. It turns out a friend of mine knows a wrist specialist. I went and he took a look. He said I compressed my TFCC(Triangular FibroCartilage Complex) when I took the hit. He said it's quite common in sports where you can impact and compress the wrist. I didn't tear it, which was good, so he gave me some exercises to strengthen the area and said it should be fine in 6-8 weeks. He said I could still ride but suggested taping my wrists for extra support on the area.

I'll also look at how my brakes are set up and adjust them if needed.

Cheers,

 

[MountainBoy]

Sorry guys, I left you all hanging on this. It turns out a friend of mine knows a wrist specialist. I went and he took a look. He said I compressed my TFCC(Triangular FibroCartilage Complex) when I took the hit. He said it's quite common in sports where you can impact and compress the wrist. I didn't tear it, which was good, so he gave me some exercises to strengthen the area and said it should be fine in 6-8 weeks. He said I could still ride but suggested taping my wrists for extra support on the area.

I'll also look at how my brakes are set up and adjust them if needed.

Cheers,

Most bars change grip angles when they are rotated in the stem. My bars are nearly straight so the change is not much at all, hard to discern any change, which is why I was so surprised when a small rotational adjustment of the bars in the stem made my wrist pain go away.

 

[EMTBSEAN]

I’m glad you have a positive outcome from your wrist pain

 

[Daev]

Check the alignment of your wrists when riding. You need to have your fist in line with your forearm rather than angled..........that applies both in the vertical and horizontal axis. Adjustments can be made to brake lever positions and also bar width/rotation if required.

I'm lucky if i can control the alignment of anything when i'm out there

 

[steve_sordy]

I was going to recommend going to see a physio, then I got to the OP's post about seeing a wrist specialist.

Years ago, I was reluctant to go see a physio as I assumed that the NHS physios would take too long via my GP and the private ones were too expensive. NHS physios are free, but the wait time is more than six weeks, by which time the injury may have been incorporated (your body has adapted to it) and is much harder to fix. The private physios are available within days and the healing can begin. My first private physio was because my shoulder injury was just not settling down. She gave me a bollocking for having allowed three months to pass. "It will be much harder to treat you, and more painful for you, see me straight away next time!" Yes Miss! And she was right. Subsequent injuries were treated quickly and cured soon after.

It's pre-pandemic since I last saw a Physio. Charges then were about £40 for the first 50min diagnostic session and £30-35 for subsequent 30-40 min sessions. I expect that they will have gone up by now and that big city locations charge more.

 

[Jeff McD]

The fact that this has involved both wrists suggests that your handlebar is rotated, possibly a bit too far back. This would slightly hyperextend the wrist but also because of the backwards sweep of handlebars out to the grip it would force the hand and wrist into lateral deviation more than normal to the point where an unexpected compression would T-bone that TFCC rather than the impact being spread equally all across the wrist joint. As mikerb suggested you need to get the hands aligned straight with the forearms and rotating the handlebar forward slightly would help this.
Also I would strongly recommend physical therapy if it does not improve in 6 to 8 weeks with your home exercises. This could be a long time in healing because it involves ligaments. Therapist will recommend strengthening exercises starting with very light weights and gradually building up. The problem most patients make is they see improvement so they quit these exercises thinking that it is healed permanently. Some ligamentous injuries however will never heal completely and require strengthening exercises three days a week for the rest of your life to maintain adequate strength and keep the worst pain at bay.
But once again let me emphasize that if you don't correct the alignment at the wrist, all the exercise and treatment in the world will not help since you will keep reinjuring it. It also goes without saying that, if it is not improving with time, you should never agree to any surgical treatment without at least a one year trial of physical therapy. Hope this helps.

 

[mtbboy1993]

Did you get better? any other issues?
The impact on the landing must have been horrible to do this.
hard to diagnose an issue without seeing your setup, and you on your bike. But I have wrist issues, but it's very loose wrists, they are so loose I need wrist supports/braces, the wrist misalignment causes my to not be able to brake properly, so I miss corners. But since I started using them, the pain and the braking issues are gone.

I used Troy Lee Designs 5205 Wrist support

but both of my pairs have worn out Velcro, so I need to get new ones or get a different product. I am interested in trying Mobius X8 Wrist Brace

Swelling usually comes from an impact.
But using the right back sweep, handlebar width, rise, good stem placement, correct bike size will make a huge difference on fatigue, and give less pain.

 

[Mike Klair]

The last few times I've gone out when I get back home and in the days that follow I have sharp pain in my outer wrist. It started a few weeks back when I miss judged a log and my fork fully compress when hitting it. I went to the doctor and he said nothing was broken, but I had some tissue swelling.

Well, the same thing happened a few days back on my other wrist, when I can down off a jump. I thought I landed well, but a few hours later the other wrist hurt.

Has anyone had this happen? Is it a matter of working on more strength training, it is the start of the season and my off-season wasn't spent at the gym if you know what I mean.

Thanks

Hi, sorry for bumping.

I hope you are recovered. Can you please share how did you recover yourself?