A wrist sprain recovery time is almost always dependent on the severity of the trauma to the wrist and the correct type of rehabilitation applied. They are very common conditions and occur when the wrist gets moved beyond its normal range of movement.
There are three types of wrist sprains. You can have what is called an excessive flexion injury where the wrist gets bent forwards. You can have an excessive extension injury, where the wrist gets bent backwards or you can have a rotation sprain where the hand and wrist get twisted causing damage to the connective tissues and muscles that sit within the wrist and fingers.
Wrist sprain symptoms
Symptoms include pain, often there’s swelling and redness on the area, it becomes very tender to touch and very swollen which restricts your movement. You’re not able to actually move or bend the wrist or carry any weight, so often trying to lift things up or hold things can be really very painful.
How long is the recovery time for a wrist sprain?
Wrist sprain recovery time depends on the extent of the injury. There are three types of sprain; a grade 1 wrist sprain which is usually mild can take between 1 and 6 weeks to recover. Grade 2 which is more moderate can take between 6 and 12 weeks to heal. A grade 3 which is severe can take between 3 and 6 months to recover fully.
The correct treatment is key to preventing further complications or reoccurrence because the problem with sprains, is that they repair with scar tissue and because scar tissue doesn’t stretch, you often see these type of injuries reoccurring time and again. You must rehabilitate them properly and get rid of the scar tissue.
Treatment for a wrist sprain
If you want more information on wrist sprain treatment then get your symptoms assessed first with our pain assessment tool.
Once you’ve identified the likely cause you’ll be able to download a treatment guide. It will tell you everything you need to know to treat the condition, manage the pain effectively and help prevent re-injury.
…or simply grab our clinically-proven treatment guide right now.