Recently a customer asked us this question:

My 16-year-old daughter has a stress fracture in her wrist. Once the doctor clears her to resume playing high school basketball again, do you have a specific product she can wear during practices and games to help her protect the wrist?

Our reply:

First let me say that I am not a doctor and anything I say should be run past the doctor who is treating your daughter. Second, the short answer is no, we do not have a specific product for this circumstance.

Having that out of the way, let me just say a few things about your daughters need and wrist supports in general.  The thing to remember is that wrist supports come in a whole range of support/stiffness.  If your daughters fracture is in her shooting hand, she won't be able to tolerate much stiffness because she needs to flex the wrist during the shooting process.

If this is the case then she will likely have to use a support much softer than a Tiger Paw. A new Tiger Paw, even with no insert in it, is in my opinion, too stiff to allow proper motion to shoot a basketball.  If the fracture is in her other hand, her ball handling will be impacted somewhat, but she'll probably adapt soon enough.

It is also possible that if you were to purchase a Tiger Paw and have her work out and play in it, without the insert in it, that it may soften enough to use it on either hand, shooting or otherwise. The bottom line is that there are a lot of variables, and it's hard to say what the correct approach is.

At this time, we do not sell a wrist support other than the Tiger Paw that would be of any use for your daughter.  We do have plans on expanding our line soon to include softer supports. If you want to try a soft support, Amazon has a lot of selection.  Maybe do both, a soft one and a Tiger Paw.  One thing for sure is that a Tiger Paw will provide a lot of protection from impacts, possibly preventing re-injury.

In case you are not aware of it, we do sell Tiger Paws in left or right, not just pairs. Just look under the bowling wrist supports in the navigation menu at the top of the site.  And rest assured that if you choose to make a Tiger Paw a part of your daughters solution, you are buying a quality American made product that will hold up well.

The customer replied:

Thanks, Steve. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your response. Of the soft supports on the market that would make sense for basketball, do you like any in particular?

We said:

The main thing to notice is that they come in two basic versions, those that wrap around the wrist (adjustable) and those that slide over like a sock (non-adjustable). My site will soon be carrying supports made by Chase Ergonomics. One of their models is a support labeled Body Glove, called the Body Glove Economy wrist wrap

It is inexpensive, adjustable, and made from a breathable material, a consideration for use in sports.  Another nice model that offers a tad more support than the Body Glove is the ProFlex 675 Ambidextrous Double-Strap Wrist Support

The claim a lot of flexibility, which would be good for your purposes. It's also a little longer than the BG unit so it should provide more protection.

Hope this helps.

If you have any questions about wrist supports, feel free to drop us a line either here or through the contact form at the store site!

I have learned a lot about wrist supports in the last seven months. One of the things that I have learned is that Tiger Paws are not the perfect wrist support for everyone who has wrist problems. That's why we have decided to expand our inventory! In order to be of better service to our customers, we will soon be adding other types of wrist and elbow supports by Chase Ergonomics, including their line of Body Glove supports.

Our goal is to be the most complete resource on the internet for wrist supports, as well as other types of athletic supports and braces. We'll also make sure to provide you with lots of valuable information so you can make the correct choice when it comes to meeting your needs for a wrist support or other brace.

I guess they know we are trying our hardest to provide you with the original Tiger Paws direct from the factory – and for a short time with Free Shipping!

There are no better wrist supports in the world than Tiger Paw Wrist Supports, and who would want to use (or have their child use) anything but the best available when it comes to safety from injury?

If you need wrist supports (and wrist supports are for bowlers, high divers, working men and women – and anyone who needs to support and protect their wrists) then the best tiger paw wrist supports are here now.

Looking for Nastia Liukin's Tiger Paw with her special logo on it? We have it! It's the same high quality Tiger Paw made by US Glove with Nastia's own touch added in. Available in pink and sand colors.

Well let's look.

First the thumb hole.
On competitive wrist supports the thumb hole can sometimes be larger on size small wrist supports than size large, because they are hand cut.

Since our leather is cut with a precise die they gradually get larger as the size increases, and every pair comes out exactly the same. This means more comfort and better fit with Tiger Paws.

Foam inserts.
Tiger Paws insert get larger as the size increases. A person who wears a large needs more support that someone using a small. If you look at our competition you will notice all of their foam inserts are the same size!

Wrist Support Design.
Look closely at the arms of the Tiger Paw wrist supports and notice they are rounded on the ends. We were told by customers that the squared corners of a support could sometimes scratch the athlete during use, so we fixed that issue. The pocket flap where the foam gets inserted is hidden on Tiger Paws adding comfort, style and safety.

In other supports the flap covers the bottom 3/4" of the pocket which means that the bottom arm has to be angled upward to attach properly to the pocket.

US Glove Inc. was the first company to introduce colored Tiger Paw wrist supports, in fact they are now available in nine colors.

As an added benefit we include plastic stays for additional support when needed. This is a $4.00 option when purchased separately, but we include one set at no additional cost.

We think (and have been told by many many customers) that Tiger Paw Wrist Supports are the best in the world.

Won't you try our Tiger Paws and let us know?

Tiger Paw wrist supports are designed for gymnasts whose arms, wrists or hands are (or become) sore and tender. Tiger Paws allow gymnasts to train longer without pain.

But here is a secret you may not know. Gymnasts are the only Tiger Paw users!

We receive mail from all kinds of active folks who swear by their paws! Bowlers, swimmers (especially high divers), wrestling, weight lifters, even guys who work all day at a job that requires heavy lifting tell us the Tiger Paws help them get through the day!

It warms our heart to know that we make a difference! Keep the letters coming!

A wrist support for gymnastics and other athletic activities.