Wrist problems

So for the past few months my wrist hurts after i climb. Never really bothers me when im climbing but several hours after it kills. It cracks when i move it around, and some days its so bad its hard to lift certain objects with it. Has anyone had a similar injury? Would wearing a wrist brace help? I think I'm going to have to get it checked out soon but im dreading the doctor telling me not to climb for an extended amount of time.
Thanks!

Your best bet is to see an orthopedist. Rather than an Internet diagnosis. But only if you really care about your wrist.

I've got the same thing going on. If it's the same thing causing yours, it is an overuse injury to your extensor muscles (kind of like carpal tunnel). I cut out any hard climbing for a few weeks (still did easier stuff that didn't rely so much on my grip), massaged those muscles a lot, had a massage therapist do some NMR on them as well. Stretching them is key; I just googled extensor muscle stretching and found out how to get them to stretch. Once it started getting better, I picked up a Dynaflex gyro ball and started using that to work the muscles a bit. It's been 12 weeks and there is still some pain and popping occasionally, but I am back to climbing most everything. Another thing that helped was a friend let me use her Voodoo Flex Band. It seemed to help, but I only used it once. Been planning on ordering a set, but haven't yet.

I'd say besides the rest, the NMR that the massage therapist did was what really relieved it. It would go away for a day or two before the symptoms would come back, which I am sure you know is really nice.

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Ibuprofin. Go very easy with the compression, you can injure yourself. Never use a compression sleeve when you sleep. Also take it easy with ice, you can over do it.

As stated, you should get a professional to check you out. If you know any Physical Therapists, they will have the answer if they are any good. For me, more than once, my doctor referred me to be diagnosed and treated by a PT.

I'd bet you a beer that you have a common overuse, tendonitis, swelling in the joint-type injury.

the rest ice and ibuprofen approach is good to reduce inflammation but unless you actually build strength in the supportive muscles and tendons you are just going to injure yourself again and the pain will be back.

i would recommend googling some exercises to strengthen your wrist and forearm, emphasizing those exercises that counteract the muscle groups you use when climbing.

Although you have not given any actual details about where your pain is located, what kind of motions provoke the pain, how long it lasts, the quality of the pain, or what you believe to specifically be the cause of the injury from climbing (if any), people on here have offered diagnoses, claims they suffer the same injury, and relatively specific treatment guidelines.

They're lying, brah.

You need to see a doc and get an in-person eval from someone who actually knows to ask these questions and has the training to give proper treatment guidelines for whatever specific problem you actually have (Frank's advice for the win!), particularly because the wrist is one of the most complicated joints in the body. And if you have to take time off to heal, it will be worth it in the long run, so do what the doc or PT says.

Sincerely,
a recovered wrist-injured climber

Thanks for the replies, hopefully will be getting it looked at this week!

I have been dealing with a wrist injury for a year and a half now. I tore my TFCC in my wrist which made it very unstable and caused a clicking sound. You can look up the injury online and see if it fits your symptoms. I had surgery to have it fixed in february which went really well but I have recently re-injured it and I am not sure if I need to see a doctor or not. If you do need to get it fixed Dr. Viola of the Steadman Clinic in Vail, CO is really good.

I have a similar pain. It bothers me most when cooking with cast iron pans, due to the weight and leverage.

I suggest microwave pizza until you feel better.