Wrist Injury Despite Protective Gear

[dbfrese]

Many of you know I broke my wrist not too long ago after a 9bot1 fall (my own fault, not that of the 9bot ), but I was wearing wrist protection,  specifically 187 Killer wrist guards (Derby Wrist).

I am wondering if anyone else has suffered significant injuries to their wrists, either a break or bad sprain after using wrist protection, and what brand/model of wrist protection that was. The fall could have occurred as a result of EUC, skateboard, motocross, whatever. I'm interested in what works and what doesn't.

I do know that protective gear is not a guarantee of non-injury, but I am interested in what may be the least and most effective designs for wrist protection.

Likewise, if you took a particularly nasty spill where you thought your wrist guards saved you from a broken bone or bones, add your comments as well. It's going to be quite a while before I can ride again, so I have plenty of time to work on my repeat injury prevention plan! 

Edited July 14, 2017 by dbfrese
Edited to remove link to inaccurate photo on Amazon and give full name of this particular model.

[WeeJ]

ouch hope the wrist is healing up well,  not sure on best wrist guards.  J just wears an old pair we already had.   will be interesting to see what brands are recommended.  

 

[houseofjob]

I wear Rollerblade Bladegear XT Wristguards. 

1 spill on them so far (I always fall wrists first), all my fault (overconfident speed turn on my GT16, unfamiliar street where I hit an unseen bump).

Not even a sprain or a scratch 

 

(hope the recovery goes quickly @dbfrese)

[litewave]

32 minutes ago, dbfrese said:

Many of you know I broke my wrist not too long ago after a 9bot1 fall (my own fault, not that of the 9bot ), but I was wearing wrist protection,  specifically 187 Killer Wrist Guards.

Judging by the photo on the Amazon product page, the metal splint is only on one side of your wrist guards, is that correct? Did the injury occur as a result of the metal splint transferring the shock directly to your wrist, or because your wrist struck the ground at an oblique angle, in an area not protected by the metal splint? Sorry, I don't recall if you described the physics of the impact in detail already.

Edited July 14, 2017 by litewave

[steve454]

I had these until I put them on top of the SUV and drove off  https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Wrist-Guard-Gloves-Finger/dp/B0046EZ37Q  They seemed sturdy with good wrist splints.  After I lost them bought some DBX wrist guards at the sporting goods store,  but they look more like palm protectors, they don't prevent the wrist from over extending.  The Demons that @Marty Backe  just got look high quality, but pricey at about 80 bucks.

I fell twice with the Hillbilly gloves, once at about 8mph hit a patch of fairly deep sand on the sidewalk the wheel just bogged down and threw me forward, my wrists were fine, and the palm protector got scratched up pretty good on the left glove,  the second time I overleaned the wheel trying to go in reverse and fell straight down backwards, hurt my finger a little but not my wrist.

After looking at some of these things advertised as wrist protectors,  I think there might be a little false advertising out there.  It looks like some advertised as wrist protectors don't protect the wrist at all, just the palm.

My only complaint about the Hillbilly gloves, was that the straps were a little too short, the velcro just barely stuck together, and the stitching on the straps started to unravel very quickly, I dropped them off at a tailor shop to get them lockstitched (double stitched) after that they never unraveled again but it added about 12 dollars to the cost.  And since they were full fingered gloves, had to take one off the use the smartphone, or use my nose.

Edited July 14, 2017 by steve454

[dbfrese]

45 minutes ago, litewave said:

Judging by the photo on the Amazon product page, the metal splint is only on one side of your wrist guards, is that correct?

Wow! The picture does not accurately reflect what I actually got. I will edit to remove the link, and will add accurate photos in a future post!

[dbfrese]

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

hope the recovery goes quickly @dbfrese

Thanks for the well-wishes, it's going to be a long road to recovery, I fear, since I got bad medical advice in the beginning after a weeks delay in diagnosis, leaving to an even longer delay in proper treatment.

Long story short, if you have a wrist injury, have a break ruled out by a hand specialist ASAP!

Now, back to finding the best, real world-tested wrist protection....

[Dingfelder]

I have the hillbilly gloves too, and find the hard plastic palm protector very cumbersome.  It bulges out quite a bit  If I want to come to rest against a wall or fence or part of a nearby car, I can't just put my hand out and gently come to rest and support my weight on it.  I have to contact it first by the protruding palm guard. At any likely speed, that is going to come as a whack, maybe scratch up whatever I'm bumping into or just trying to lean on.  I don't usually want to do that.  But I don't have access to my hand in the usual way with those gloves on.

What I found myself doing to get around that is landing solidly on my fingertips and hyper-extending them.  Also my thumb, which took so much of my weight so many times that it became sore all the way down to my wrist, for weeks on end.  Then after successfully not doing that anymore (the unconscious temptation is always there when you don't want to just go around whacking everything) for a week or so, the thumb joint pain came back again for another week or so.  

So I haven't taken a hard fall in these gloves yet. Maybe they're great protection for falls.  But I can say that compared to the old rollerblading gloves I used to have and took plenty of hard falls in, I find the hillbilly gloves comfortable but difficult to use for anything *but* hard falls, and prone to causing strains and encouraging you to land on your outstretched fingers and thumbs (actually fairly dangerous).  I don't think I'd recommend them and will probably be looking to replace them soon.

[radial]

I was wearing a pair of Triple8 Hired Hands when I fell and broke my arm.  

They did a fine job of protecting my hands and wrists.  The palm protector took the brunt of the force and the double splints kept my wrist bones and ligaments intact.

Unfortunately, all that force had to go somewhere and it ended up doing damage further up my forearm in the form of a broken radius bone.  

In another post on wrist protection, Marty Backe was touting the Demon Flexmeter wrist guards.   They claim their design absorbs the kind of force that broke my arm by allowing some flex in the splints.  Not enough flex to result in wrist injury, but enough to reduce the likelihood of trauma elsewhere.  They aren't cheap, but as Marty pointed out, they can be had from REI for around $60 vs. the regular price of $80.  

I don't know how to evaluate the Demon Flexmeter claim.  Is it just marketing woo or does it really work?  But I went ahead and bought a pair anyway.  I will say that they are much more comfortable than the Triple8s.  Whether they actually deliver the claimed protective benefits remains to be seen.  

[dbfrese]

2 minutes ago, radial said:

I don't know how to evaluate the Demon Flexmeter claim.  Is it just marketing woo or does it really work?  But I went ahead and bought a pair anyway.  I will say that they are much more comfortable than the Triple8s.  Whether they actually deliver the claimed protective benefits remains to be seen.  

Great information on your Triple 8 experience. I hope you don't have to find out with another injury whether the Demon Flexmeter is mere marketing fluff or not. Maybe there are some other volunteers who might want to test the claims personally? 

 

[kour]

i use the flexmeters. i had one spill (running forward then falling on hands and knees on sidewalk) where the skid plates came into play. neither of my wrists hurt afterwards... i'm guessing that the splints helped a little and i know at least that my palms would've otherwise been bloodied

[US69]

I am wearing wrist protectors kind of like the triple eight...

From all of my falls i can just say that its a kind of luck what happends to your arm and how the energy is transformed...

I had falls where i easily glided on kneepads and wristprotectors...and had nothing! And there where also falls where thumb wss injured because of the style of the wrist guards.

Also there have been the cases where wrist guards did mot help at all, as i did not get my arms up fast enough! Fall on one arm and broke my rip!

So i would guess whatever wrist protection style it is...they all have their advantages and disadvantages!

[dbfrese]

As promised earlier in the thread, I'm posting an accurate photo of what the Killer 187 Derby Wrist Guards look like that I was wearing that fateful day. They have no stiffeners at all on the back side, depending only on the tightness of the Velcro straps to keep your wrist from bending too far back.

[steve454]

7 hours ago, dbfrese said:

As promised earlier in the thread, I'm posting an accurate photo of what the Killer 187 Derby Wrist Guards look like that I was wearing that fateful day. They have no stiffeners at all on the back side, depending only on the tightness of the Velcro straps to keep your wrist from bending too far back.

Those look similar to the DBX wrist guards I got after losing my Hillbilly gloves.  They don't appear to have any wrist support, only palm protection.  I almost got some of those also.  I suppose they should not be advertised as wrist protectors,  but they do say Derby Wrist.  Misleading IMHO.  If in your research you find better wrist protectors, a lot of people would like to know, I know I would.

[Scatcat]

The double flexmeter D3Os inspires confidence. Your lower arm and wrist is hugged from 2/3 up the radius to the knuckles, with protection that has enough flex to probably save you a break in the arm, but still quite stiff enough to stop overflexing. The third wrist guard I try, and the first that I feel really has a real chance of doing its job.

The only downside during summer, is that it becomes somewhat warm being so substantial. But I plan to use it when going skiing this winter. I think it will work out well if I remove the skid-pads. For EUC use, they're not really in the way, but with ski-poles they will be.

[steve454]

3 hours ago, Scatcat said:

The double flexmeter D3Os inspires confidence. Your lower arm and wrist is hugged from 2/3 up the radius to the knuckles, with protection that has enough flex to probably save you a break in the arm, but still quite stiff enough to stop overflexing. The third wrist guard I try, and the first that I feel really has a real chance of doing its job.

I ordered a pair from Amazon today, they look like the best available.

[Dingfelder]

I think hoping we don't hurt something when we take a hard fall on our hands and wrists is natural but hoping for a lot more than life can often deliver.  All the bones in the area are thin, and some are very small.  There are very few angles we can hit at that prevent us from folding up on ourselves, and that's the best tactic anyway.  I try not to stiff-arm it when I fall forward, and I think that's kept me from a lot of injury over the years, sports-related and otherwise..

Edited July 17, 2017 by Dingfelder

[Scatcat]

13 hours ago, Dingfelder said:

I think hoping we don't hurt something when we take a hard fall on our hands and risks is natural but hoping for a lot more than life can often deliver.  All the bones in the area are thin, and some are very small.  There are very few angles we can hit at that prevent us from folding up on ourselves, and that's the best tactic anyway.  I try not to stiff-arm it when I fall forward, and I think that's kept me from a lot of injury over the years, sports-related and otherwise..

I think my rolling reflexes are still active. Haven't been force to test them for years now luckily, but they've been with me since my skating years in my early teens. They've saved my arse more than once, falling of stairs, bicycles and whatnot - finding myself standing up or lying on my back, rather than smashing my face and wrists.

But I've had one fall where the geometry and timing of the fall prevented rolling. I ran over a walkway to catch a ferry and my rubber shoes stuck to the sharp metal ridges. That happened just as I was avoiding running into a person going the other way, and the result where that I started to fall while my shoe still was stuck - much like the effect in a cut-out.

I hurt my hands, wrists and face badly. Still has the scaring under my chin and on my knuckles. I hurt the knuckles because I didn't even have time to release the laptop bag I carried. The bloody computer made it without a scratch, it had a lot better padding than me. I had to do stitching in my face and taping of the hands, after picking out half a ton of gravel from the knuckles with a tweezer. The nurse looked like she didn't even know where to start, so I harumphed and took over, doing it myself - was still so full of adrenaline, it didn't even hurt  

But what it taught me is that while my rolling reflexed are good, they won't save me if I'm unlucky.

Since - except for my brain, which warts and all, I tend to use most of the time - my hands are what makes me able to work, I have to protect them. I'll still roll if I have the time and geometry to do so. But if I just can't, I want to minimise the consequences as much as I can.

There are two parts of my protection I never ride without, that is my helmet and my wrist-guards. Without them I feel stark naked on the wheel.

[Dingfelder]

1 hour ago, Scatcat said:

But what it taught me is that while my rolling reflexed are good, they won't save me if I'm unlucky.

Since - except for my brain, which warts and all, I tend to use most of the time - my hands are what makes me able to work, I have to protect them. I'll still roll if I have the time and geometry to do so. But if I just can't, I want to minimise the consequences as much as I can.

There are two parts of my protection I never ride without, that is my helmet and my wrist-guards. Without them I feel stark naked on the wheel.

Yeah you need both your hands/wrists and your head for everything, basically.  You can mess up anything anywhere in your legs or even lose a leg, two legs, get paralyzed from the chest down, and still do a lot for yourself.  Ruined hands or one good whack to the head and you could be near or totally helpless forever.

I always hope to roll out of a fall, but it's the lucky falls that allow it.  They're not infrequent, but unfortunately they're not the only kind that happen.

[Scatcat]

1 hour ago, Dingfelder said:

Yeah you need both your hands/wrists and your head for everything, basically.  You can mess up anything anywhere in your legs or even lose a leg, two legs, get paralyzed from the chest down, and still do a lot for yourself.  Ruined hands or one good whack to the head and you could be near or totally helpless forever.

I always hope to roll out of a fall, but it's the lucky falls that allow it.  They're not infrequent, but unfortunately they're not the only kind that happen.

Exactly.

[Smoother]

I bought a basic inline pad set in a French sporting goods store, when I got my first wheel (in France).  Served me quite well for over a year, and counting.  The wrist guards have been "tested" several times.  Only two injury events.  Came off the back when tilt back shot the wheel 4m out in front of me.  Landed hard, straight down on wrists and butt with a bouncing thump.  Strained my left wrist.  It went away after a few days.  Second incident was a full class 1 face plant, with a bloody chin.  Hands slapped down so hard that after the stinging went away (20 minutes), my left index fingertip was numb for over an hour. And another part of that hand hurt too, but I can't remember what, base of thumb I think.  Bottom line, this was minor stuff and my wrists were unscathed.  Even my chest hurt a bit, such was the force.

Have "upgraded" to Flexmeter F30 doubles as well.  I'm not convinced they are an upgrade, as I think they flex too much.  My only actual wrist injury was due to over flexing.  I would prefer less flex, as there will be plenty of flexing anyway once my body weight crashes down on them.  I'm thinking of "upgrading" my "upgrade" with a little back room ingenuity.

[duaner]

> My only actual wrist injury was due to over flexing.  I would prefer less flex ...
I've very nearly broken fingers due to too little flex in wrist brace.  Initial impact was absorbed by wrist braces, then the forward momentum rolled weight from palm over fingertips, nearly breaking fingers because stiffness of brace prevented wrist from flexing.  I'm not saying your braces are too stiff, just pointing out that there can be such a thing as too stiff / too little flex.

[Smoother]

1 minute ago, duaner said:

> My only actual wrist injury was due to over flexing.  I would prefer less flex ...
I've very nearly broken fingers due to too little flex in wrist brace.  Initial impact was absorbed by wrist braces, then the forward momentum rolled weight from palm over fingertips, nearly breaking fingers because stiffness of brace prevented wrist from flexing.  I'm not saying your braces are too stiff, just pointing out that there can be such a thing as too stiff / too little flex.

That's actually quite interesting and informative, and I would definitely take this into account if I were riding a bike or snowboarding, but in my "unfortunately" extensive experience in EUC face planting, I'm never going fast enough to initiate a roll over the top.  Its either a hands and knees affair, or a hands, elbows, knees and torso affair.  But, I thank you for this insight, into the value of some flex in a rollover situation.  Were you on an EUC or something else?

[duaner]

MUNI (mountain unicycling) - slower than EUC speeds but many UPDs (UnPlanned Dismounts)

Edited January 10, 2018 by duaner

[Cranium]

I don't think wrist guards are the full solution for wrist injuries.  Too little flex and it just transfers the stress further up and can break a radius bone as @radial experienced.

Too much flex and it just protects your skin but wrist injury still occurs.  I have personally found that the wrist guards with hard plastic can tend to be slippery when they make contact with the ground and result in your hand just sliding rather than absorbing some of the impact. This results in fingers having trauma as @duaner experienced or the trauma being transferred to the next object impacting whether it is the elbow, body or head. 

I think the ideal is a mix of pads with some practice on falling.  Wrist, elbow and knee pads.  Pads that you can build up enough trust and confidence where you instinctively try to have them take the brunt of the force and distribute it from just one area with the knees being able to absorb the most.  Anyone that has ridden skate parks with big ramps and half pipes tends to build up this instinct when falling.  I used to have it but that was over a decade ago and I need to get it again and intend to once I get my new EUC to replace my now dead to never be revived Ninebot.