On a trip to Boston last year I found that I had neglected to pack my two braces. Being there only a few nights I tried to do without the first night and it was terrible. The following morning I picked up a pair of these at a well known three lettered drug store.
I have worn four different brands/types of braces for carpal tunnel. These are by far the most comfortable and worked better for me than any other brace I had tried.
I first thought that the little pillow that sits in the palm of your hand was more of a useless gimmick but I was quite surprised how effective it was. The difference in a nights sleep with these as opposed to the others I have worn was very obvious.
All the braces of this type utilize one or more metal and/or plastic supports to stiffen your wrist while you sleep. You may not realize it, but when you sleep your hands curl in at the wrist. For most folks this really does not cause a problem, however for people who have performed repetitive wrist movements over a number of years it can lead to serious discomfort.
The Carpal Tunnel is a sheath like tunnel in your wrist which has a main nerve (median nerve) to your hand going through it. The long term repetitive motions cause that sheath to thicken and in turn constricts the nerve when the wrist/hand is in certain positions; the above mentioned curled sleeping position is one of them. You wake up with your hand un-functional, tingling fingers or, as I experience, feeling as though your fingers are on fire and want to explode. It makes for a very long uncomfortable night indeed.
The purpose of the supports in the braces then is to inhibit the curling action of your wrist while you sleep. These braces have the usual beefy metal piece which is formed to the shape under your hand. However where I have always had the problem of the metal brace digging into my palm while I slept and my hand pushed against the brace, these little beany pillows have totally taken care of that. For this reason alone I love them.
Another great thing is that the brace fits either hand; no longer do you have to fish through the racks to try and find the correct hand.
The material is also very comfortable to wear; flexible and form fits around your arm and wrist wonderfully. Everything about these braces was well thought out except for one thing.
THE BAD NEWS:
The Achilles' heel of these braces is in the fastening system. Like every brace of the this type I know of they use a hook and loop method to close around your wrist. The stiffer hook part of the fastening system however mates not to a sewn on strip of the loop material but to the brace itself. The outside of braces are made from two different materials; a stretchy ribbed piece for the top of the hand and a fuzzy fleece like piece for the underside of the hand. The hooked tabs lock onto this fuzzy part of the brace quiet effectively at first but only after four months or so I started to see that where the hooked tabs mated to the brace body was beginning to fray which meant that they no longer held on as well. After a couple more months the hooked tapes would come loose during the night. To make it even more disappointing, on my wrist, the hooked tabs catch where there are a series of vent holes; the pulling loose of the material has exposed the inner shell of the brace and has me concerned that this will cause the braces to eventually tear here.
At this point the braces loosen up every night; the hooked tabs having less to grab no longer fit flush to the brace so they stick up a bit and detach when my hand just rubs up against something.
My wife and I have been examining the braces with the desire to attach a new strip of material for the hooks to bond to. The very small size of the hooks has made a bit of a challenge however to find something as effective. I hope that we can find something soon.
Although, at this price, the braces are for their effectiveness and comfort a great buy, and I do not regret purchasing them, the self destructive design is bothersome.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
They are half the price and twice as effective and comfortable as the prescription braces I had worn.
They have got to come up with a better way of locking them on your wrist. The self destructive design makes them almost worthless after only a half a years nightly use.
NOTE: Please see the comment section of this review for some links to some photos showing a simple mod I made to extend the life/usefulness of the braces.
K
I'm a Physical Therapist and I'm using one of these for each of my wrists for Thumb CMC arthritis (the joint between the long bone and the wrist bone). On one side, I also have a spur on another wrist bone in line with the thumb that is especially painful with flexing my wrist, as you usually do at night, although I never had pain at night. My thumb specialist MD prescribed a custom Forearm/Thumb Spica Splint for the worst side for use at night that would stabilize my wrist and thumb. It was helpful and after a few modifications, it was tolerable enough to wear, but not what I would call 'comfortable'. Had I not discovered this brace, I would definitely have continued using it regularly. But when I saw this and felt how comfortable it was with the cushioning beads, I decided to try it in place of my custom splint, even though it didn't actually stabilize my thumb, except somewhat through stabilizing my wrist. After using it and finding it so comfortable and having as good of an effect as the custom splint, I decided to get a second one for my other hand.
For a month now I've been using both every night. They are so comfortable that I would wear them even if I didn't have a problem. I set the straps to fit the first night and I've never moved the straps since. I'm able to slip my hand easily in and out of it when I need to when I get up at night.
The brace hasn't cured my arthritis, so I still have pain depending on how I use my thumbs and wrists during the day, but I can do a lot more with much less pain, now that the condition isn't being aggravated by the positioning at night. I do a lot of manual therapy as a Physical Therapist, so being able to use my hands is critically important to my livelihood. I'm also very physically active--kayaking, cycling, hiking with trekking poles, using free weights, and so on--activities that are stressful on the wrists and thumbs.
Probably the most common use of this brace would be for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or any wrist condition where stabilization of the wrist in this position at night is recommended. But it's worth a try for Thumb CMC arthritis where a Spica splint is recommended. And I would recommend it sooner rather than later at the very early stages of wrist or thumb pain or numbness and tingling. Or even just for prevention if you use your hands and wrists in a very stressful way, as in the use of a Computer all day.
Buy Futuro Wrist Support, Cushioning Beads, Adjust To Fit, 1 Wrist Brace Now
Best wrist supports I've had. I wear them every night, and they are not even too hot on the warm nights (although this is California so we don't have too many warm nights). I've had them before and after quite a while the fastenings did curl and stretch, as other people have commented. With this new set I am trying to keep the same size and just push my hands through instead of using the closer tabs. So far so good.
Read Best Reviews of Futuro Wrist Support, Cushioning Beads, Adjust To Fit, 1 Wrist Brace Here
These are by far the most effective and comfortable braces I have worn on my wrists while sleeping to help alleviate repetitive motion damage. I am not sure if the cushioning beads do anything useful, but overall the splint works effectively and it does not rub uncomfortably overnight. I have had a pair for about 4 months now. I wore them for about 2 months straight to get all of my pain to go away and now I wear them more as needed, maybe 10 nights a month. The splint slides on and then there is a piece of material with three Velcro tabs that wrap around your wrist and secure on the underside of the splint. This is easy to use and worked great for the first two months. Now though, I wake up in the middle of the night to find one or two tabs have come loose. It's a quick fix, even when not fully awake, but it makes me wonder how much longer they will last and if they are still helping my wrists. These are nice splints, but they are not cheap and I don't want to have to replace them every 4 to 6 months.
Want Futuro Wrist Support, Cushioning Beads, Adjust To Fit, 1 Wrist Brace Discount?
So, PERFECT that I am going to order 2 more
I tried them all! ***** This night brace is number 1 *****
Over 25 years of wasted money on braces.
When I wasn't looking, this blue night brace appeared.
I too am small frame boned and it fit me just perfect.
I just puchased another one for my sister.
My sister is well over 225 and it also fit her.
The first reviewer commented that it was too large for his wife
and that the brace was too large.
Again as I stated above, I too am small framed bone and it fit me just perfect!
THIS BRACE IS ADJUSTABLE
Knowing that I have been wearing it every night for 1 year,
I am going to order 3 more for furture use.
The first one lasted me 1 year.
Save 21% Off
Just the best out there. They are nice and soft, wet from the first one you use when open. Some wipes are almost dry when you open the package. The cover helps keeping the wipes wet as well. Great for travel.
