My wrist splints/supports

[lil_miffy]

Have ordered a load of splints to replace the not very good ones/dying ones I have.
I have ordered the following:

1 pair of LP525 wrist splints
http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Supports_And_Braces/Wrist_Supports/LP525

1 pair aircast a2 wrist splints,
http://physiosupplies.com/acatalog/Thumb_Wrist_Brace.html

Iv also ordered some ankle splints, an si belt and a therapy belt.

It's cost £200 altogether (!!) I'll loose half my dla from next month to pay for my care so decided to use this months to buy the very good quality splints in the hope that the extra money spent on them will mean they will last a good time and will offer much better support. All of them have come highly recommended by other bendies.
I'l post again when iv had them for a few days to let you all know how they are.

[Flora]

I have one of those wrist braces- LP525 -,and it's the best one I have tried. It is as small and lightweight as possible, which makes a difference for me. It's also not brown.....
Flora

[Rosie]

Hi all

that wrist splint is very similar to the exolte ones that i have. My orthotics guy suggested wearing them at night to prevent my wrists getting into uncofortable positions.

Rosie

[nemonie]

I've just got the LP 525 splints (as listed by lil miffy) and they are awesome. From the pictures I have found they are pretty much identical to the Ossur exolite ones which cost about 30 quid each. I've managed to get the LP ones for 14 quid each plus a few pounds postage. They feel very sturdy, only have one bit of velcro , which you only need to adjust once. They have a 2 clasp fittings which I find much easier to put on than struggling with hundreds of bits of velcro. They are also much cooler (in terms of temperature) to wear then my nasty neoprene ones and do look fairly cool to. I've found that they seem to conform better to your wrists natural resting position than normal splints with metal stays, which never seem to be able to be bent at the right angle. I can even use my stick and drive with them on. Just ordered a second back up pair. But have to wait a few weeks for one size to some back in stock. doh!

[mami2four]

My 7 y/o daughter is having her first orthotics appt next week for inserts and a thumb spica for her writing hand as prescribed by the ortho consultant. I'm kinda hoping that they will not only give her these but something for her wrists and the other thumb too, as i think the ortho just gave us those to get me to leave
Both of her thumbs dislocate/sublux at the cmc joint very easily and the mcp joints sublux constantly but also the bones in her wrist seem to move independantly of each other(and her hands).

When I've done a google search for "thumb spica" they seem to either be very rigid or have the support more on the outside of the thumb but hers would just sublux inside this surely she need something underneath the mcp to stop that? I like the look of the straps with the wrap around bit on the thumb that i think Stone posted a picture of but do these offer support on the wrists too?

Am I right in thinking that she should avoid anything riged? I was thinking maybe compression would be better.

Does anyone have any experience with pediatric straps? Do they make as wide a range of products as for adults? She is quite small for her age (her asthma meds are the dosage for a 2-5 year old) and I can see how they could make some of these things so small lol

Katie

[Jess]

thumb Spica can be soft or hard. I tried soft ones when writing but it wont help.
I have a semi rigid one and its molded to my thumb. The Orthotics timea can make specailize sized ones out of medical plastic.

once they have fitted her out with splints they wont just discharge her they will keep her on just incase there is a bit of a problem.

[mami2four]

Thanks for the info Jess It's always good to find out what others find useful or not.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed (but not holding my breath ) that the orthotist might be the first person Lili-Mair sees who knows something about hms/heds or at least be open minded about it lol

Katie

[Stone]

Hi Katie,

When I've done a google search for "thumb spica" they seem to either be very rigid or have the support more on the outside of the thumb but hers would just sublux inside this surely she need something underneath the mcp to stop that? I like the look of the straps with the wrap around bit on the thumb that i think Stone posted a picture of but do these offer support on the wrists too?

Any spica splints are designed to immobilise a joint - not sure this is what you want, more support to work normally. The black splint I use (I posted a pic) covers the IP joint so it can't bend as much, and where it wraps around it supports the MCP - it's not really designed to support the CMC as much as it can still sublux inwards. It's really designed to put the thumb in a neutral position when the hand is relaxed, obviously you can fight it but then you just tire your hand muscles out (usually around the CMCJ). I find it can be uncomfortable to wear for a long time as my pisiform bone subluxes in towards the base of my thumb due to the way it pulls the hand into a less-flat shape. I wouldn't recommend it for long-term / general wear but it's good to provide support for a limited range of tasks. Putting it on to write then taking it off afterwards is probably most sensible.

HTH

Stone

[mami2four]

Hi Stone,
You and Jess have really given me something to think about. I was hoping she could have duel purpose wrist and thumb straps to wear whilst she's in school, she always getting hurt when she's playing in the yard and I've got visions of having a phone call because her thumb/hand has fallen off but maybe 2 different types of straps would be better.
I was only thinking support rather than immobilisation because she is so little but I'm not an expert so if thats the way they'll have to go maybe I should just leave them do their job lol

Her appt is Wednesday and she's so excited! I've tried not to get her hopes up to much and warned her that they might be uncomfortable but I think she's thinking her straps and insoles will be a magical cure and she won't hurt anymore.

Katie

[mami2four]

How long do most people have to wait for their splints? I know we have only been waiting 2 weeks but it seems like a lifetime(thats summer hols for you lol)

He has ordered her a wrist/ thumb spica splint for each hand as he said her bones are quite unstable. They have metal bars for the thumb and wrist. I didn't want her to have anything quite so rigid but obviously he knows best

Katie

[sheppeyescapee]

I got some new wrist splints at my OT straight away They adjusted them a bit so they actually fit my arms now as I'm between sizes

[mami2four]

I wish we could have brought some home straight away, Lili-Mair was gutted she just left with insoles . Lili's hands are so little he didn't even know which catalogue he was going to be able to order them from!

I would like to say that she is the impatient one at 7 y/o, but I am just as bad as she is

Katie

[Hjalmberi]

I wanted to order LP 525 splints since they were recommended in this topic and found out that LP stopped manufacturing them and they are leaving the stock of the shop I wanted to order them from (they disappeared from ebay as well). The only shop with international delivery I found sells them for $51 (for both hands). Are they that good or is there a cheaper alternative? Or shall I look at something like PSB Sports Wrist Brace (http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Support ... s/PSBwrist)?

I'm looking for braces for housework, sport, guitar playing and PC work during bad days, the metal bar braces are useless for that. And there're no exolite or sport braces in local shops, so the web and this forum are the only source of information

[nemonie]

I have just discovered this too, as I was waiting for ages for a delivery to be fulfilled. I wrote a rather scathing email to the company the makes (or used to make them). I have genuinely found them to be the most comfortable and supportive splints I've ever tried. They give a much better neutral wrist position and are very low profile, meaning that more of your hand is free. This means that you can do more stuff in them and you are less restricted with them on. I also find them much easier to take on and off than normal Velcro fastened splints.

They seems to be identical to the Ossur exolite wrist brace (this can be bought direct from the ossur webshop for £29.99 each) and the OTC exolite wrist brace (a google search of 'exolite wrist brace' will bring up loads of results, mostly American and Australian)

I've found them on amazon.com (the american site, US $) for $14.26 each. Obviously you have to factor in postage and possible import tax charges but I think they are worth it.

For anyone interested I shall be wearing mine at the residential weekend at some point. I may bling them up a bit with nail varnish

[nemonie]

Never mind amazon.com

Apparently they won't ship wrist splints abroad for some stupid reason I haven't got the spoons to work out at the moment. Something about customs restrictions, I'll have another look tomorrow when I'm more awake.