Carpal Tunnel injury?

[rlstef16]

I have a question that I already posted about the Zivkovic handles and this is just a follow-through of the question.

I bought a KIII Zivkovic handle and my friend has recommended them to me because it will prevent some injury related to the carpal tunnel. This is because of the handle's "unique belly shape". Other pistol grips will push into the wrist, eventually injuring you...

However, I feel less control BECAUSE of the belly shape.. is the carpal tunnel syndrome because of the visconti pistol grip that I had used before? Is it better to stick with the visconti or is it just that I need to get used to the Zivkovic?

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Hands, wrists, elbows, and how they relate to grips are extremely personal. Some people swear by Belgian Grips, but they press on some weird nerve in my hand making me drop them at the slightest provocation.

No one grip is perfect for all people. No grip seems to be dangerous for all people. And no grip can force you to use it properly. You do have to learn how to use a grip appropriately, but if you feel like one grip is worse for your hand, ask around, hold more grips in more sizes and more types until you find one that makes it as easy as possible for you to do it right.

My viscontis do not particularly "push into my wrist", but if they did, I would first attempt to modify them to not do that anymore (cutting, filing) before I used other grips because I really like viscontis.

I can't tell if you have carpel tunnel or are just worried about getting it. You also don't tell us how long you've been using the KIII. If it's one been once or twice, you may find it easier to hold in a week. If you've been using it a month, it's probably not the grip for you.

[rlstef16]

I can't tell if you have carpel tunnel or are just worried about getting it. You also don't tell us how long you've been using the KIII. If it's one been once or twice, you may find it easier to hold in a week. If you've been using it a month, it's probably not the grip for you.

I do not have the carpal tunnel injury but a few have told me about it and I am a bit worried that the Visconti may provoke the injury. That is why I changed to the KIII. I have just bought the Zivkovic a few days ago and have only used it twice or three times.

[Purple Fencer]

Are you sure they mean carpal tunnel or just trigger finger??? Carpal tunnel is caused by long term repetitive motion...trigger finger is caused by continual irritation on the tendon that moves the fingers...like that from impact forces being transferred down the blade and into your hand all day long. A fencer at one tournament is going to get more of those forces on his hand in one day than most people will in two weeks, and more rapidly, so the tendon has less chance to recover.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

In all of the things discussed here, I don't recall hearing anyone blame carpel tunnel on fencing. When people have it from other causes, like typing in a poor work area for hours on end, fencing can be more difficult, but I fail to see how fencing could be repetitive enough to create carpel tunnel all on its own.

There are lots of other things that fencing can do-- tendinitis of all sorts of different tendons, some of which have different names-- and one's chances of those can be affected by which grip one chooses. But, again, where one person swears by a [whatever] grip, another finds themself injured with one.

Zivkovic grips are unusual enough that it will take some people more than a few tries to figure out how to hold it properly. Talk to your coach about it, see if that person can give you some advice, but if after a few more times, you're still not feeling it, it may be time to move on.

[epeelion]

If you had a grip that put pressure across the internal aspect of the wrist (in en guarde), I could perhaps see carpal tunnel developing, since the visconti does have a prong that extends onto the wrist (so do most grips). Seems unlikely though. I've seen trigger finger develop from, say, a belgian grip. MP is right, depends completely on the shape of your hand vs. the grip.

I actually hate Zivkovik grips, they don't feel comfortable at all to me.

[rlstef16]

If you had a grip that put pressure across the internal aspect of the wrist (in en guarde), I could perhaps see carpal tunnel developing, since the visconti does have a prong that extends onto the wrist (so do most grips). Seems unlikely though. .

That was the reason, they said, that the zivkovic was better because there is not prong that extends onto the wrist...

[MyrddinsPrecint]

That was the reason, they said, that the zivkovic was better because there is not prong that extends onto the wrist...

There's a difference between it being near the wrist, or even touching the wrist, and it putting pressure on the wrist. In order for it to be meaningful, it has to actually reduce space in the bit around the nerve. When I hold a visconti, it may touch my wrist, but it doesn't impact it. I could certainly try to manipulate my wrist so that it does..... but it's unnatural and unuseful to me, so I wouldn't ever be in that position for very long.

If holding a visconti is not just putting a prong somewhere near your wrist, but actually putting significant pressure on your wrist, first double check you're holding it properly, that it's the right size, and perhaps canting your blade would allow for you to hold it just differently enough that there's no pressure (depends on lots of things, may not work). After that, you can either try other grips, or modify the visconti if you like it.....

I'd also point out that even if a grip was putting significant pressure on your wrist, it's not necessarily putting pressure on the right area to cause carpal tunnel....