toller wrote:
My wife fell on her thumb a couple year ago and it took many months
to heal.
The orthopedist told her to use poles where the grip wraps around the
hand,
rather than the kind with straps, to protect her thumb in the future.
The
wrap around kind is no longer available, so I have picked them out of

discard piles whenever I see them.

I also use the wrap arounds because I don't like the straps, and you
can
hook them on the chairlifts rather than hold them. Several people
have
noticed mine and said they used to like them also, but they are not
available anymore because they can cause thumb injuries.
Well, that is the exact opposite of what her doctor told her. (and
she is
sure she isn't confused on what he told her.)

So, which kind is safer for thumbs? I am not going to change either
way,
but she should be using the safer ones. Thanks.

The safest usage of poles for avoiding thumb injuries, other than not
using poles at all, is to carry the kind with straps and just don't use
the straps. My orthopedist recommended cutting the straps off
altogether. For a while, I just secured them with a rubber band.

Nowadays I typically either don't use the straps or just put my hand
halfway through the straps, leaving the thumb free with the strap then
going across the back of my hand. This allows me to drop the pole
easier and still provides me with some opportunity to try to hang on to
it during a fall. Naturally, how much opportunity depends on how bad
the fall is. If I'm really serious about hanging on to my poles (like
on a very steep run) then I place my hand up through the strap loop so
that it is actually around my wrist. When holding the pole, the strap
is then between my hand and the handle. When skiing trees, I don't use
the straps. Better to hike back up and pick up a snagged pole than
have to pop my shoulder back in it's socket.

Most people just stick their hand through the loop so that the strap
comes over the top of the thumb. Then they instinctively stick their
hand out during a fall and the strap attempts to rip their thumb off.
I did this during my first ski trip and mentioned my sore thumb to a
friend, who proceded to enlighten me. This topic was covered years ago
here and someone drew some nice ascii-art of the two strap
configurations.

The old sword-grips are convenient, but they can be difficult to let go
of in a fall. Lots of people were tearing up their thumbs/hands when
using these, so they became less popular. Here's a thought, if being
able to hang your poles on the lift bar is a top priority, go to your
local hardware store and get some hooks to mount below the pole
handles. Or bend a coat hanger to do the job. Maybe secure it with
some duct tape. Either that or just sit on the poles like the rest of
us who are too lazy to hold them while on the lift.