Hand and wrist injuries are the most common injuries seen every single year. However, it is during the winter months that there is a roughly 20% increase in hand and wrist injuries due to a plethora of reasons. It is usually due to the colder temperatures on top of many other environmental factors such as windier weather and ice.
Not to mention the increase in events and activities in approach to the festive season heightening the risk of injury. It becomes harder when you add in shoveling snow, using the snowblower, and prepping for spring sports. With these injuries becoming so common, we have compiled a few ways that we can avoid hand and wrist injuries so that you can stay safe this year.
During winter, many people need to shovel the snow or use a snowblower. Obviously, this takes a huge toll on tendons, ligaments, and joints. If you’re doing this multiple times per day or multiple times per week, it is likely that you will overexert your hands and wrists causing significant injury.
Sometimes, the injury can be debilitating and long-term. To avoid this, you should try to avoid doing all the work. Instead, try sharing the work with the people within your household. That way, everyone is sharing the workload, so you don’t become injured.
On top of that, using a snowblower can be dangerous when the wet, thick snow causes the blades to stick. You definitely want to keep your hands away. When people clear the blades with their hands, they can mangle their tendons, bones, and nerves.
Protect your hands by using a stick or something else. Never use your hands.
Prepping for spring sports is never easy. Even if you continue playing throughout winter, spring sports usually require a whole different form of body conditioning. It is critical to prepare yourself to avoid injuries to your wrists and hands.
You should start your preparation as soon as possible. You should also try to keep active throughout winter. Otherwise, you may find that your body cannot keep up resulting in wrist and hand injuries that will keep you out of the game for the season.
If you find yourself dealing with hand and wrist injuries this year, AmeriCare is your go-to. We are extremely skilled when it comes to treating patients who are dealing with injuries such as arthritis, tendon transfers, nerve entrapments, distal radius fractures, crush injuries, complex trauma, TFCC tears, finger deformities, trigger finger, amputations, tendinopathies, pin site. Maintenance, open wounds, flexor and extensor tendon repairs, and burns.
