How long should you wear a wrist brace

Spraining your wrist or ankle is highly likely to occur in one’s lifetime, even multiple times in many cases. During such injuries, we are often told by our caregivers to use a brace for quick recovery. Using a high quality brace, like one by Sporlastic, surely helps but it’s crucial to know the duration for which it should be worn. Wearing a brace for too long than required can weaken the muscles in that area, and can lead to other severe problems. But how do you determine, for how long a brace should be worn for a specific type of injury.

In this article, we will be going through multiple injury scenarios and an approximate duration for which you should be wearing a brace. We’ll be keeping the article focused on wrist braces. It’s important to always take the advice of your health care professional when deciding the duration for using a wrist brace. 

There’s no single answer to any injury which would work for all. The key here is to understand the severity of your problem, and use a wrist brace in accordance with that.

A Look into the Different Injuries Requiring a Wrist Brace:

The function of a wrist brace is to immobilize, support and keep the wrist in a neutral position so as to avoid any further damage to the tissues, thereby enabling quicker healing.

Acute Injuries: This includes a regular wrist sprain, which you might face while playing tennis or any other sport requiring you to twist your wrist. In such a situation, one is required to immobilize the joint through the use of braces, for rapid healing.
It is generally advisable to wear it for 1 to 2 weeks, followed by gradual weaning. 

Repetitive Strain Injuries: Under this, conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis lie. In such situations, a brace is prescribed to alleviate the symptoms, and prevent any further aggravation.

Braces in these situations are generally worn at night time to avoid any strain on the affected group of muscles. You can also wear your braces during certain activities which poses a higher risk of putting strain on the damaged tissues, like typing, gardening, etc. 

Chronic Conditions: People dealing with chronic conditions like arthritis are required to wear their prescribed braces to support their muscles during flare-ups, and painful activities.

Braces in such conditions are used intermittently i.e., only when it’s painful or while performing certain strain causing activities. 

Post-Operative Care: After an orthopedic surgery, a high quality wrist brace might be prescribed by your surgeon to keep the surgical repair intact by completely locking the movement of the joints. A brace in such cases might be prescribed, ranging from several weeks to months depending on the graveness of the situation.

The duration of using wrist braces depends on the kind of injury or a condition which you have. For injuries which are grave in nature, or if you’re still feeling confused about the tenure for which a brace must be used, always consult your nearest healthcare provider before proceeding ahead. Remember, a wrist brace is meant to be used as a supplement in your healing journey, not a complete solution.