Anyone with an active lifestyle is bound to experience the pain of strains and/or sprains at some point in their lives. The wrist is an area especially prone to this type of injury, due to instability and overuse. Wrist sprains can easily be treated by following the well-known RICE protocol--rest, ice, compress, elevate.
Instructions
1. Rest your wrist. This means not using it for any activities, especially for the first 24 to 48 hours after the initial injury. The more complete rest you can give the area, the quicker it will heal. Trying to push through the pain is never a good idea and will only serve to lengthen the injury time and possibly worsen your condition.
Once the pain has subsided, slowly start using the wrist in activities that put very little pressure or weight on it. Of course, if pain resumes, back off any activity and resume complete rest.
2. Ice the injured wrist. For the first 48 to 72 hours, ice the area three to four times daily for 20-minute periods of time. Icing will help to lower inflammation levels in the area and assist healing.
3. Compress. Wrap the wrist with an Ace bandage. Start at the base of the fingers and wrap all the way up to the top of the forearm. Overlap the wrap by 1/2 to 1 inch as you are going up the arm. The bandage should be snug, but not be tight enough to cut off circulation to the hand and wrist. If your fingers become cold and blue, or numb and tingly, re-wrap!
4. Elevate the wrist. Try to keep your wrist elevated above heart level as much as possible. Two easy ways to add up elevation time is to do so while icing and while sleeping.
Tags: complete rest, first hours, your wrist