Wrist brace for commuting/touring?
 

I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with wrist braces. I found several online at price point. The 661 wrist wrap pro and the EVS wrist brace.

This is for my girlfriend who has begun to commute on her road bike, and she is complaining about her wrist that she broke several years ago. I've tried to change her saddle angle to alleviate some pressure but she still would like some support. She mainly rides on the hoods if that changes anything.

Does anyone have any experience with the aforementioned braces, or if there is a more road specific design that I have yet to be able to find?

Thanks in advance

- Derrick

No experience with that, but I may suggest the following:

– Rotate the angle of the bars (free). Sometimes, a few degrees make all the difference.

– Raise the bars, using either a steeper stem or by moving spacers around. At the same time, use a shorter stem so she would be less stretched out.

– Is it her left wrist by any chance? We often shift with the right hand, take water with our right hand... so the left moves much less. She could make conscious efforts to move her hand and do a few wrist rotations once in a while.

As for the brace, she should make sure it doesn't create pressure points in her hands or that it cuts blood circulation.

You made excellent suggestions. Getting the bars up and eliminating weight on her hands should be the first move. A wrist brace wouldn't be a bad idea but I think you're correct to worry about cutting circulation.

FWIW I have ridden with a carpel tunnel brace (available at most pharmacies) and a rollerblading wrist brace. The rollerblading wrist brace is very good at keeping weight off your wrist but is also restrictive on how easy it is to operate shifters and brakes. The carpel tunnel brace is more flexible but still a bit awkward.

Your choice I think would depend on if your GF needs to keep weight off her wrist or just maintain a proper hand wrist angle so things don't get sore.

I have broken both wrists in the past and now they are fairly weak. What really helps me is just to change hand positions A LOT. I would recommend she try that before anything else. Since she has drop handlebars it shouldn't be a problem, I had to get trekking bars for my old hybrid though.

I changed the angle of the bars about 1 degree. I also have her doing some wrist exercises with a dynoball to strengthen her wrist.

As far as spacers, and shorter stem. She has the shortest stem that I can find and she said that she doesn't feel stretched out. I may take her to the LBS to have her measured and get the right combo.

In the mean time we are going to buy her the larger of two guards the 661, go on a few rides and see how she does. We may also "try" her rollerblading guards and maybe modify it?

Thanks for the suggestions

- Derrick

Personally, I like wrist braces that go around the thumb also like this. It helps keep them in place and keep them from riding up (many also provide more bracing down onto the palm). I suppose some of it depends on the particular wrist injury. For me, holding the wrist in a neutral position was more important than keeping weight off, so the more immobilizing the better for my wrist brace.

I don't necessarily agree with raising the bars - of course, I don't ride on the hoods.

If I were though, I would lower my bar considerably. With my current bar position, my wrists are placed at an awkward angle if I ride in the hoods. If I lowered the bar substantially (unflip the stem, remove any spacers) I would be perfectly comfortable in the drops and my wrist angle would be natural.

I do think wrist position and angle is the right thing to be looking at though.

Bowling gloves work as well or better than wrist braces...has a larger metal support for more coverage and some have more padding for comfort. It's what I used when I had strained tendons in my wrist and the traditional wrist braces were just too uncomfortable and/or not supportive enough. Cheaper than the more expensive Wristoform wrist support models. Ebonite Pro-Form or Positioner as an example of a bowling glove.

And if you did what you suggest, you would put a lot more weight on your hands and instantly increase hand numbness and wrist pain. Raising the bars is indeed the first place the OP should start, IMHO. Having bars up allows one to ride on the hoods, tops, and drops more easily.

I had problems with meddling and recurring wrist injuries for a while...what I was told by many orthopedists is that most wrist braces are designed to prevent your hand from being forced straight back. If that was the mechanism of her previous injury then a wrist brace might help, but it's gonna be tough to find one that's actually supportive in all directions. If I wore mine on my bike it wouldn't do a thing.

FWIW I have a full brace with thumbie for skiing...like I said, it wouldn't help a thing.

I think she'll find more benefit in trying to raise her bars so more weight is on the saddle.

This is the one I like.
http://www.muellersportsmed.com/wris...siongloves.htm

The things I don't like about braces like the above Tru-Fit are the material over the palm is too thick and If there's a metal or plastic support in there, it's also in the way. I have had these and bigger, bulkier more supportive ones. Although, braces like this do give a lot more support than the kind I use.

The problems I have with braces that don't cover the thumb and part of the hand, is they tend to ride up until they're not supporting anything.