I broke my wrist in 2 places cartwheeling over the front of the bike at Farmer Johns.
Cast just came off after 5 weeks and the Doc was talking months not weeks.
Who’s had similar and whats the best way you dealt with it?

I’m wearing an old peoples brace they gave me at the hospital so a dedicated MTB/MotoX one is on my radar. Any recommendations?

Riding with a wrist brace is horrible – couldn’t get on with it despite trying a few different ones. Get yourself something to strengthen your grip (I got some rubber eggs from Amazon) as it will be weaker. Do your physio as much as you are able to. You will know when you can ride again because before that it will hurt even when you move the bike let alone ride it.

Which bit(s) did you brake? I broken my distal radius and could ride again at 2 months (after injury) but not for long. At 3-4 months I can now do longer rides but if it gets cold and wet it aches like a git. I’d probably still only just be thinking about DH as opposed to technical XC though.

**EDIT** I also read some research which suggested taking vitamin c to reduce the likelihood of chronic pain syndrome so I did that just in case.

Snowboarding wrist brace for me. I broke mine in three planes and had a volar plate put in to hold the bits together. Then a second operation to shorten the screws six months later. Two years later I’m still wary of giving it the hard shock treatment – which for me is rigid singlespeed and cross riding. It tells the weather too. I don’t DH and am strictly wheels on the ground.

I’d get on a road bike to maintain fitness and sanity. If your break is anything like mine was, it WILL be months not weeks.

I broke mine, almost 2 years ago to the day & did a load of tendon damage at the same time.

The way I dealt with it, was to strap it up (a lot) & carry on riding with a lot of drugs 🙄

I was half way through a summer season in Whistler though. Had it looked at when I got home, I was lucky in that it was still healing (this was approx 6-8 weeks later). I spent probably a year suffering from the associated tendon issues. I rode in a brace (Allsport Dynamics) to help support it when I rode, had to modify my riding style as I couldn’t get my arm at the angle I used to ride at. 2 years on, it still gives me grief, If I hit a big compression I still don’t have the strength to keep it in the same position as before.

I’ve got friends who are many years into recovery & still have to ride in braces, I am fortunate I can ride without it now, still worried about falling off though & wrecking it again.

I race DH & Enduro for reference.

Having broken my wrists a few times, I would say rest up, and wait until properly healed.

Going back to an mtb will only slow recovery and your in danger of doing more damage if you fall off.

The damage I did to my wrist during my Xmas 2013 was very vague, or I forgot the details if told, which is probably more likely knowing how forgetful I am (and more so since that RTA I think)! 😆

I did also fracture my index and middle finger metacarpals on the same hand, (plus tried to make a jigsaw out of my maxilla and teeth, but normally they aren’t usually used directly to cycle anywhere 😉 ).

Probably worth mentioning I had complications with my right hand completely seizing up completely by the time the cast was removed ~3 weeks after the RTA, Southampton General physio referred me to the amazing Odstock Road specialist hand unit in Salisbury, where I lived 0900 Mon-Fri 1630 for ~5 weeks (thanks to the brilliant League Of Friends free accommodation).

I didn’t get the nod to ride again until after mid March and even then, ~11 weeks after the RTA, my hand and wrist were sore after short ~5 mile rides on the roads.

My right wrist never fully regained the range of movement it had previously, but enough to do “normal” everyday tasks. If I try to bend my right hand back towards my right elbow, I can reach ~55 degrees at best, while on my left hand I can very close to the full 90 degrees.

I had a comminuted fracture in mine, 6 months in plaster from finger tips to shoulder and when they took it off my arm was like a wookies. After a few months I got the movement back and since then it’s been better than it was before (grew up skating vert so many injuries)

All good advice, thanks.

I don’t think braces help unless absolutely necessary, maybe a few weeks or whatever. I’ve used them for knee, ankle and wrists after injury but you won’t improve the flexibility and strength if you continue to use a brace all the time. Maybe keep it off for short rides, leave it off on longer days at the start of riding until you start feeling it go weak, which it probably will.

It’s gonna be weak for at least a year and most vulnerable when riding, so physio to strengthen it but I intend to wear a brace while riding to protect it from repeats of the injury. Eventually discarding the brace.
I had a windsurfing wrist injury years ago and used a cheap 661 wrist support for 6 months while out on the water. It really worked too. After having no aches or pains for a couple of months I discarded it and all was well.

Has anyone used or seen the Mobius X8 Wrist Brace in action?

Looks expensive. I rode with a Demon Flex. Wore one out, but it survived a crash when I went OTB in a road race!

Looks expensive. I rode with a Demon Flex. Wore one out, but it survived a crash when I went OTB in a road race!

That’s a good suggestion TiRed. What kinda support did it give? All directions?
Did you use it after damaging your wrist?

I would recommend getting 1) private physio/osteo/sports injury recovery clinic treatment which sadly you will have to pay for but is infinitely better than NHS and will improve your recovery outcomes considerably. You will also get access to various pain management and cortisone injections. £300-£500 could be sufficient which isn’t a lot in the scheme of things.

2) as part of that pay for a custom wrist / arm brace to enable riding where it will support your wrist properly in suitable positions. Anything from £100-£300 roughly for one of those.

Smashed up my distal radius a few years back. I was lucky in that all the bits stayed in the right place and I dodn’t need surgery.

I had a 5 week gap before the next biking holiday. I don’t smoke, but was told no alcohol would speed things up too. Went to see this guy which was all very snake-oily, but a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. Spent a lot of time on the turbo and walking as fast as I could to and from work.

I was back commuting in the cast after 3 weeks. Did a gentlish MTB ride after 4 (everything felt pretty bombproof in the cast). The last Friday I had the cast cut off, rode home with this weird floppy thing on the end of my arm (very strange), jumped in the car, drove down to Les Arcs then rode for 2 weeks solid in a 661 brace. Hit the Black 8 road gap on day 2 which I was pretty chuffed about! It’s given me very little trouble since (maybe 10 years now?)

I think the Physioclinic stuff did do some good, but also being fit healthy and active did too.

I broke my left wrist 20 years ago. I still get pain when it’s cold and I’ve never really got full strength back. Movement is okay though

I’d echo above and look for private physio. The NHS will stop physio when you’re ‘more or less’ right – but crucially not quite. Do the physio and rest. A little extra time off the bike is worth it IMO

That’s a good suggestion TiRed. What kinda support did it give? All directions?
Did you use it after damaging your wrist?

It locks the wrist down so you can’t move it at all. That’s what I wanted. You soon forget you are wearing it. I wore mine for all riding (mainly road) for the best part of nine months. Rode my fastest Ride London with it (4hrs). It did venture off road, but not very often.

I also was treated (and operated on) privately. Without that, they would have left my wrist to heal in a cast with completely incorrect articulation, that would have needed re-breaking once healed. I did the physio religiously and have almost full movement (can’t go down as far as the good one, but based on the original NHS prognosis, any down would have been out of the question – comminuted fracture).

It’s pretty good now, and 30% thicker than it used to be – I have tiny wrists, so looks more normal, I guess! Clunks at certain angles where the joint surface is no longer the right shape, aches a bit when I have an infection, but it’s better than it could have been,

And I bought this to ride for when I was recovering 🙂

Always wanted one. Rode it into work just yesterday in fact.

We have had several motocross athletes as well as the Rio gold medal winning BMX athlete and a Freestyle cyclist using the Mobius X8 Wrist Brace even shortly after their wrist injuries and being able to perform at the professional level. Search MX pros such as Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb, Zach Osborne, Mitchell Harrison and Colt Nichols as well as Connor Fields in BMX and Austin Warren, Freestyle Cyclist, and see the extent of their wrist injuries. Our website, http://www.mobiusbraces.com, can give further detail on how our technology works and differs. Our brace not only limits hyperextension to varying degrees, but also provides progressive support through the range.

And I bought this to ride for when I was recovering

Top class 🙂

I have a similar issue.

Went over the bars on a rock garden at Hamsterley 4 weeks ago.

Went to AE same day and the nice lady at XRay said my radius was fractured, doctor told me to come back in 3 days and I would be placed in a cast.

When I went back, the fracture clinic put me an NHS brace on and sais come back in 3 weeks for a further XRay as I may have damaged the Scaphoid.

I went home and bought a Bioskin wrist brace ( use there knee ones for skiing and your soon get used to them)

To my surprise when I went back last Wednesday, my Radius has a crack down it from the wrist. So potted for 2 weeks then a splint for 2 weeks. I should have been going to Peebles for 4 days today and all cancelled. Turbo trainer only for me.
I feel it is now ready for riding Trails but want to wait until pot of next week.

Bioskin brace will be used for a few months for strength and protection.

Arm or Leg Injury? Train the Other Limb to Build Strength in Both

https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/unilateral-exercise-improves-endurance-on-both-sides