Thursday, January 12, 2012

How to Reduce Wrist Sprain in Boxing?


Boxing requires you to repeatedly throw punches at your opponent, causing your hands and wrists to absorb extreme forces with each impact. Often times, a fighter ends up with a wrist sprain from improper biomechanics, overuse or lack of safety precautions in the ring. According to Dr. Derya Dincer of the International Boxing Association, hand injuries are some of the most common types of injuries in the sport and a lack of treatment can lead to crippling consequences.
Initial Treatment
When a severe sprain in your wrist occurs, the most important thing you can do is stop your training or boxing match. Continuing to throw punches in your injured state will only exacerbate the sprain and lengthen your overall recovery time. According to the health department of the State Government of Victoria, Australia, all soft tissue sprains in the wrist should be immediately treated with rest, ice, compression and elevation. This means that you need to place an ice pack on your wrist immediately for 15 to 20 minutes every two or three hours and avoid all activities that can aggravate the inflammation in your wrist for up to 72 hours. Wrapping your wrist in an elastic bandage and elevating your hand above the level of your heart will also help to minimize the swelling and pain.
Proper Assessment
Once basic treatment of the sprain is completed, have your wrist injury assessed by a medical professional. The wrist sprain could be the result of damage to the cartilage and ligaments in the wrist, or may be something more severe, like a scaphoid fracture, which is one of the small carpal bones. Assessment of the injury's extent may range from feeling for tenderness to X-rays or MRI scans for fractures. Your doctor needs to carry out a bone scan within 48 to 72 hours of the injury, according to Dincer.
Long-Term Treatment
Treatment for soft tissue damage in your wrist can range from a few days of icing and compression to the injection of corticosteroids or surgery in the case of dorsal ganglion, which is a soft-tissue tumor in the wrist. Bone fractures typically must be set and can take up to 12 weeks to heal. With the use of surgically implanted screws, healing time that you need to spend outside of the boxing ring may be reduced to six weeks.
Prevention
Use your best punching technique any time you step into the ring. Always try to land your punches with your wrist and knuckles completely perpendicular to your target. Wrap your hands properly before performing any kind of heavy punching, with an emphasis placed on creating wrist support that will stabilize your hand at impact. If you are unsure of how to wrap your hand, have an experienced training partner or boxing coach teach you good hand wrapping technique.

 
Design by Free Wordpress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Templates