recovering from sprained wrist

sprained my left wrist playing saturday. Any advice on recovering quickly from it (or how to play with it). was invited to play chicago golf club this Friday and definitely don't want to cancel

Good luck. I strained the tendons in my right wrist and thumb about 7 weeks ago and they're still not healed. I took 3 weeks off then tried playing again 2 weeks in a row which only served to re-injure it. I'm now resigned to resting my hand for as long as it takes - 2 weeks into my new "down time" and it's still only marginally better. Been to the doctor several times to check for breaks, tears, etc and they said the only thing I can do is rest it. Hopefully you're injury will heal faster then mine has.

I posted back in March that I actually broke my arm (the wrist is a "joint") while snowboarding in Tahoe. That happened on March 11 of 2007 and I was in a cast for 2 1/2 months. I was not able to even think about swinging a club for about 3 weeks after I got out of the cast. Even today after my rounds, I do ice/heat rotations with routine stretches to keep the soreness away. If you keep those tendons/ligaments stretched, there will be less the likelyhood of them tearing/unvoluntary stretching/breaking/etc.

I have found that if you are experiencing pain after a round, ice is the best remedy. No more than 20 minutes of "ice cubes in a bag directly on skin" contact. Let it warm up slightly then repeat if necessary.

Right after icing, what I do is heat it with a heating pad that just pops in the microwave to get hot. This loosens up all the stiff tendons/ligaments/cartilage. While its all warmed up, do stretches. Careful not to over do it though, stretch till you feel VERY minor pain then let off a bit and hold it. This also works WONDERS right before golfing as it loosens the joint up very well and I have found that my pain is MUCH less after/during a round when I take the necessary precautions before I even start to swing or warm up.

Not sure if any of that helps you out, but I know what its like to injure your left wrist (im a right handed golfer) and trying to golf again. Not only did I tear ligaments and cartilage, but I broke the end of my Radius bone where it attaches to the hand (wrist joint) right in half.

Its been a struggle, but if you take care of it now while the injury is still fairly fresh, you'll be less likely to have to deal with it in the long run. Good luck and take er easy!!!