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In snowboarding, wrist injuries account for more than 22% of accidents. Discover our tips to effectively prevent them.
Why are wrists vulnerable?
To understand why wrists are vulnerable, we must first examine their anatomy and location on the body. Wrists are particularly prone to injury because they are small structures located at the ends of our arms. When we fall, we often instinctively extend our arms to break the fall with our hands. This puts these anatomical structures at risk, as they must absorb the full weight of our body combined with the speed of a downhill slope upon impact.
This reflex makes us susceptible to wrist injuries. The most common injuries are fractures, which involve damage to the bones, and sprains, which affect the ligaments. In this article, we will focus on these two types of injuries.
Common injuries
Bone fractures
The wrist is composed of two types of bones: long bones, which form the structure of the forearm, and short bones, which make up the carpal bones located at the wrist. Any of these bones can crack under significant force, resulting in a fracture. The most common fractures from a fall are distal radius fractures (Colles fractures) and scaphoid fractures (a short bone).
Wrist Sprains
The wrist contains multiple ligaments whose main function is to limit excessive movement of the joint. During a fall, the wrist may bend beyond its normal range of motion, stretching the ligaments. This mechanism of injury leads to a sprain.
The role of the physiotherapist
A physiotherapist can assist with wrist injuries by offering preventive exercises or designing a personalized rehabilitation program to support healing. Additionally, they monitor the progression of the injury and quickly identify any complications during recovery.
Preventive exercises
Here’s what you can do before a snowboarding accident to prevent wrist injuries:
Building good muscle strength in the forearm and wrist is essential to minimizing the risk of injury. Due to their anatomical position, muscles and tendons support ligaments in limiting excessive joint movements. Strengthening these muscles is therefore crucial. Using dumbbells or resistance bands, it’s important to work the wrist muscles in all directions: flexion, extension, radial deviation, and ulnar deviation. Forearm movements such as supination and pronation should also be included, along with finger strengthening.
Strength training with weights is also known to increase bone density, potentially reducing the risk of fractures in case of a fall.
Here’s what you can do during a snowboarding fall to prevent wrist injuries:
Since wrist injuries in snowboarding often occur when extending the arms to break a fall, learning how to fall properly is key. Instead of extending the arms, it’s recommended to bend the legs and roll to absorb the impact. Strengthening the legs with exercises like squats can improve lower-body strength, making it easier to adopt proper falling techniques.
Exercises for healing a wrist injury
The exercises will depend on the type of injury. Here are the general healing principles for wrist fractures and sprains:
For fractures
In cases of fractures, medical intervention is required to realign the bones (fracture reduction). This may be done non-surgically (closed reduction) or surgically (open reduction), often involving plates and screws to stabilize the bones. The wrist is then immobilized for 6–8 weeks to allow the bones to heal properly.
During this immobilization period, physiotherapists can prescribe strengthening exercises for the shoulder, and sometimes the elbow and hand, to maintain overall arm fitness while the wrist heals. It’s important to keep the rest of the arm in good condition, as immobilizing the wrist often leads to reduced use of the entire arm. After the immobilization period, specific wrist mobilization and strengthening exercises will be introduced to restore pre-injury fitness levels.
For sprains
For sprains, relative rest is recommended. Unlike fractures, complete immobilization of the joint is unnecessary. Instead, early wrist movement within pain limits is encouraged to prevent loss of function in the affected arm.
The main treatment for wrist sprains involves progressive strengthening exercises. As mentioned earlier, muscles and tendons support ligaments in limiting excessive joint movements. Depending on the ligament affected, the physiotherapist will recommend specific exercises for recovery.
A physiotherapist may also apply a bandage or suggest using a brace to temporarily support the structure. This allows the injured person to continue daily activities while promoting healing.
Article written by Anne Nhu Truc Vu, physiotherapist and snowboarder
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