Wrist Guards/Supports in Gymnastics: Are They Helping or Hurting You?

Autor:	Hart, Elspeth, Whited, Amy, Bae, Donald S., Bauer, Andrea S., Sugimoto, Dai
Předmět:	GYMNASTICS injuries IN vitro studies STATISTICS WRIST joint RANGE of motion of joints ANALYSIS of variance CROSS-sectional method EFFECT sizes (Statistics) PROTECTIVE clothing TASK performance WRIST injuries RISK assessment COMPARATIVE studies BODY movement DESCRIPTIVE statistics BIOMECHANICS DATA analysis DISEASE risk factors
Zdroj:	American Journal of Sports Medicine; Nov2023, Vol. 51 Issue 13, p3426-3433, 8p
Abstrakt:	Background: The prevalence of wrist pain among gymnasts ranges from 46% to 79%. To alleviate wrist pain, gymnasts wear wrist guards/supports (WG/S). Purpose: To investigate the effect of WG/S on the wrist joint through joint moment, angles, total joint range of motion (ROM) arc, and ground-reaction force (GRF). Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to investigate 23 female gymnasts (mean ± SD: age, 12.3 ± 1.5 years; height, 143.4 ± 7.6 cm; mass, 37.7 ± 6.6 kg; body mass index, 18.6 ± 2.9) who performed back handsprings (analyzed by first half [phase 1] and second half [phase 2]) with the following 3 conditions: no WG/S, Skids/Ultimate Wrist Supports (S/UWS), and Tiger Paws (TP). Wrist joint moments, angles, total ROM arc, and GRF were examined by the 3 conditions using analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction and effect size (Cohen d). Results: For mean wrist flexion moment, both S/UWS and TP showed significantly higher values than the no-WG/S condition in landing phase 1 (S/UWS: P =.001, d = 1.30; TP: P =.019, d = 0.87). In angle comparisons in landing phase 1, no WG/S showed greater mean wrist extension angles compared with S/UWS (P =.046; d = 0.80), but no significant differences with TP (P =.096; d = 0.65). Also, in landing phase 1, total ROM arc of the right wrist was greater in the no-WG/S condition compared with S/UWS (P =.018; d = 0.88), but there were no differences with TP (P =.400; d = 0.52). Conclusion: These data show an increased wrist flexion moment using S/UWS and TP compared with the no-WG/S condition in landing phase 1 of back handsprings. Also, increased wrist extension angles and total arc ROM of the right wrist were found in the no-WG/S condition compared with S/UWS, but not with TP in landing phase 1. S/UWS may be helpful to reduce wrist joint angles, specifically wrist extension in landing phase 1, but both S/UWS and TP caused higher wrist flexion joint moment in landing phase 1. There were no differences found in GFG among the three variables. Clinical Relevance: In the first half of the back handspring, wrist guards can limit wrist extension joint angles and total arc ROM; however, an increased wrist flexion moment was found when wrist guards were worn, which may potentially lead to an increased risk of injury. Injury history, especially overuse signs/symptoms, and previous surgery on the wrist joint need to be well considered before the application or use of wrist guards. Also, the amount of time/exposure wearing wrist guards should be carefully controlled in young female gymnasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze:	Complementary Index
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