Hi everyone, this is Kyle. Kyle is my wonderful husband and father to our two little chickadees. Kyle is reasonably fit and healthy. Sure, he loves to eat half a pint of my favorite ice cream in one sitting before I even get a go at it. And sure, he often skips the gym to attend to more pressing matters such as catching up the latest episode of Gold Rush. But all in all, he is very active and in good shape. But Kyle has wrist pain, specifically he has De Quervains.
And his pain has only gotten worse as he spends more time picking up and holding our forever growing children. It doesn’t help that our two year old is in the 90th percentiles for height and weight. And both our kids loveeeee to be held and carried.
Luckily Kyle is married to me! And we have been able to treat and manage Kyle’s wrist pain so that when he goes through periods of wrist pain flare ups we can modify the way he is interacting with the kids, start some exercises and implement other therapeutic techniques to calm down the irritation.
What is Mommy’s Wrist?
Kyle’s wrist pain is often referred to as “Mommy’s Wrist” or De Quervains tenosynovitis. It is an inflammation of the tendons that run along the base of the thumb. This inflammation is caused by the repetitive movement of torquing our thumbs and wrists when we hold or pick up our kids. The movement of bending your wrist back towards you with your thumb facing up can be one of the most aggravating motions for these tendons.
And prolonged holding of a toddler or baby may be placing unwelcomed tension on the ligaments of the wrist which are not made for long duration load carrying. All of this is going to cause swelling and inflammation of these tissues.
So how do we fix it?
1. Rest:
Because this injury is an overuse injury we want to try to give these tendons and ligaments a rest. When lifting your child keep your wrist locked straight in a neutral position and avoid flexing the wrist backwards.
2. Positioning:
Avoid positions where your wrist is bent up backwards towards you when holding or feeding your baby. Always try to keep your wrist in a neutral position or rest the baby on your forearm as opposed to your hand when possible.
3. Modifications:
Try carrying your child in a different way that doesn’t require your fingers to have a strong finger grasp with wrist flexion. See below for one of my favorite ways to hold a baby
4. Wrist Splint:
It can be helpful to purchase and use a wrist splint to aid in keeping your wrist in a neutral position during the day or at night. Below is Kyle’s verrryyyy attractive wrist splint that he sleeps in at night. Here is a similar one on amazon: Carpal Tunnel Wrist Brace Support with Metal Splint Stabilizer by Zofore – Helps Relieve Tendinitis Arthritis Carpal Tunnel Pain – Reduces Recovery Time for Men Women- Left (XXL)
5. Ice:
You can ice the sore or inflamed area 3-4 x a day for 10 minute intervals. This will help to reduce the swelling of the tendons.
6. Stretch:
Gently stretch the tendons by using your opposite hand to slowly and gently downwards (the end motion of throwing a dart). Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and perform several times a day.
7. Strengthen:
You can help avoid De Quervains by strengthening some of the wrist muscles. There’s a very easy way to do that while you are sitting on the couch catching up on T.V. Place your fingers inside of an elastic hair tie. Stretch the hair tie by extending your fingers slowly. Repeat 10 x.
And as I’ve said before the best offense is a good defense. So avoid picking up your kids using too much wrist flexion or prolonged holding of your child with too much finger grasp. You can discover even more good body mechanics when caring for your baby here.
Now, as any therapist or health care provider can attest to, a family member (especially a spouse) is one of the worsssst patients. Great at talking about their pain; terrible at home exercise program follow through.
If you are experiencing wrist pain hopefully y’all are better than Kyle and listen to my advice. Otherwise, you’ll be like Kyle and have to grab yourself a sexy beige wrist brace from your local Walmart.
Happy father’s day Kyle!
–Monica 
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