Wrist Injury

Tom · Mar 18, 2012

Hi All,

For the first time in about 3 months I went fishing last night, for about 4 hours. To cut a long story short, my wrist is now aching quite badly. The problem I face is that when I play guitar it hurts like heck, you may not think this is a massive problem but I have a gig with my band on Wednesday and I can't honestly see how it'll get better, I'm typing this with my left hand as it is. So what can I do to stop this aching and pain? I desperately need it sorted for this gig.

Thanks,

Tom

Famine · Mar 18, 2012

Ibuprofen and paracetamol.

mattythedog · Mar 18, 2012

Try putting ice on it. And if you have some Arnica cream try putting that on it. Otherwise, rest the wrist and don't do anything too strenuous with it.

SAFFY · Mar 18, 2012

See a doctor as soon as.
Apply ice to your wrist, it'll help sooth the inflammation.
Take some ibuprofen 2 every 3-4 hours (pain killers), you can buy them over the counter.

Good luck!

Hollow · Mar 18, 2012

Famine
Ibuprofen and paracetamol.

This. 👍

Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug so will work effectively.

Lizard · Mar 18, 2012

Chop off said hand and it will ache no more.

Although try seeing a doctor if it gets really bad.

boiltheocean · Mar 18, 2012

Famine
Ibuprofen and paracetamol.

This is exactly what the GP will tell you. I went to mine last week for a problem with my wrist and they told me to take those for 2 weeks, if the problem still persists after that period of time then go see them again.

sumbrownkid · Mar 18, 2012

I'd wrap it up in gauze or something to prevent the wrist from moving in the mean time.

Tom · Mar 18, 2012

Thanks for all your help guys, I've just taken 2 ibuprofen. 👍

mcfizzle · Mar 18, 2012

Where is the pain in your wrist? Any numbness, tingling, weakness(grip strength), or loss of range of motion? What about forearm or elbow pain?

Ice about 15 mins ever hour, 15 on 45 off. Ibuprofen is good but Naproxen, Aleve in US, is even better.

Tom · Mar 18, 2012

mcfizzle
Where is the pain in your wrist? Any numbness, tingling, weakness(grip strength), or loss of range of motion? What about forearm or elbow pain?

Ice about 15 mins ever hour, 15 on 45 off. Ibuprofen is good but Naproxen, Aleve in US, is even better.

Loss of range is definitely there, as well as weakness. No other pain aside from the wrist.

mcfizzle · Mar 18, 2012

Is your pain on the palm side of your wrist, back side, or all over?

After you ice it is good to do light stretching. Sit with you elbow bent about 3/4 of the way and palm facing you. With your free hand grab the middle of the hand you want to stretch and lightly push the palm down away from you. You want to feel a light stretch but no pain. If you can do this without pain you can slowly extend the elbow a little. You can also turn you hand so the back of the hand is facing you and again push away from you lightly. The key is to do this after you ice and do it 3 time for 20 seconds each time.

Your pain is probably related to overuse, from gripping the pole or the reel for long periods of time, depending on which hand it is. If your pain doesn't significantly improve after 3-4 days then see a doctor. Many times these things alleviate themselves with rest and time.

Good luck.

Edit: The other thing about ibuprofen, if you are taking over the counter doses it is not anti-inflammatory, it is a pain killer and fever reducer. Now, I am not a doctor, not your doctor and not recommending you do this, it is up to you if you think your body can handle it and if you have any contraindications. Only you and your doctor know your history.

1800mg of ibuprofen is prescription strength, at least in the US, and it is then anti-inflammatory. OTC ibuprofen is no different than prescription ibuprofen, it's just the dose. 3 200mg pill 3 times a day and it becomes prescription strength. The maximum dose per day is 3200 mg but I would never take anything close to that unless a doctor prescribed it. Never exceed that though.

Famine · Mar 19, 2012

Tom
Thanks for all your help guys, I've just taken 2 ibuprofen. 👍

No, take both ibuprofen and paracetamol.

Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory (though it also has mild antipyretic and some analgesic properties). Paracetamol is an analgesic (though it has antipyretic and mild anti-inflammatory properties). Taking your maximum daily dose of both (which is ~1.2g of ibuprofen and~4g of paracetamol) reduces any swelling and takes the pain away and is thoroughly safe. One or the other just doesn't cut it.

Just don't do it for more than a week - if it's still painful after that, go speak to a doctor.

axletramp · Mar 19, 2012

Wow, a thread about a painful limp wrist and not one joke about masturbation. I'm impressed.

F1 fan · Mar 19, 2012

You may have to ask the other guitarist in your band to compensate for you a little Tom. If your wrist injury is severe, it's not going to go away any time soon.

It's unfortunate, but it happens. I quit skating when I was 16 as I broke my wrist and as a result, couldn't play guitar for a few weeks. It was a choice I made as playing guitar was more important to me. You may have to make similar sacrifices.

axletramp
Wow, a thread about a painful limp wrist and not one joke about masturbation. I'm impressed.

I was waiting for you to go first.

Omnis · Mar 19, 2012

Famine, save for stomach issues, why not just take aspirin until your ears ring?

Famine · Mar 19, 2012

It's nowhere near strong enough.

Ibonibo · Mar 19, 2012

axletramp
Wow, a thread about a painful limp wrist and not one joke about masturbation. I'm impressed.

I haven't seen it sooner. But sadly my mind thaught of that when reading the thread title.

Tom · Mar 19, 2012

*ibo* S3 Racer
I haven't seen it sooner. But sadly my mind thaught of that when reading the thread title.

Luckily, the injury is on my right hand.. :sly:

Liquid · Mar 19, 2012

Tom
Luckily, the injury is on my right hand..

That would be bad news for me.

MazdaPrice
Do everything with the right hand.

I don't understand how some people are not ambidexterous, but do some things with the left, some things with the right.

Stay away from the PC if your wrist hurts! Typing will aggrivate your precious guitar hand.

CMvan46 · Mar 19, 2012

As others have said ibuprofen and then wrap it up. When you wrap it go around the wrist, between your thumb and index finger, then around the wrist and then around the palm. Then repeat that until your out of wrap.

While it's wrapped up apply ice and then heat alternating. Ice takes away the swelling and then heat is effective because it will speed up the blood moving through again. Alternate 20 mins with ice then 20 mins with heat often through the day.

That's about all you can do, I'd imagine if you keep on top of the ice and keeping it as immobile as possible it should be find by Wednesday night unless you severely strained something.

tfed · Mar 19, 2012

Sounds like a guitar injury that fishing aggravated. Carpal tunnel? Ive had it for a while,just sounds like similar symptoms to me

Villain · Mar 20, 2012

Next time you "go fishing" bring a partner.

👍

Tom · Mar 20, 2012

Villain
Next time you "go fishing" bring a partner. 👍

mcfizzle · Mar 23, 2012

How did your gig go Wednesday night?

Submerged · Mar 23, 2012

With ibuprofen and paracetamol, wouldn't you need to take two paracetamol then two hours later, take two ibuprofen and then repeat it for the day? So you're still taking two every four hours for each one?

Unless that was more for managing the pain rather than increasing the effectiveness of the doses.

Famine · Mar 23, 2012

Submerged
With ibuprofen and paracetamol, wouldn't you need to take two paracetamol then two hours later, take two ibuprofen and then repeat it for the day? So you're still taking two every four hours for each one?

How you dose yourself is up to you. However, both drugs at once are much more effective than either on their own - once you've got your systemic levels up to a point where you can tolerate the problem, it's just a case of keeping them there.

Ibuprofen should only be considered to be an NSAID. Paracetamol should only be considered a painkiller. You need the one to reduce the swelling that aggravates the pain and the other to reduce the pain.

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