"Wrist brace" is the most common search on our site, and about half the people typing it need something else. The brace that helps depends on which joint hurts and what you need to keep doing while it heals. Four types cover almost every case.

1. Wrist pain, sprain or carpal tunnel: a wrist brace with a palm stay

A wrist brace holds the wrist straight or slightly extended and leaves the thumb and fingers free. The rigid strip along the palm (the stay) is what does the work. Choose by how much support you need:

• Secur Basic ($28.75) — aluminium stay, breathable fabric, left or right, five sizes. The everyday clinic brace for sprains and post-operative support.
• Secur Premium ($35) — the same idea with a longer forearm section for more immobilisation.
• Ossur Exoform ($51.40) — a moulded shell with a removable, mouldable palmar stay; the choice for carpal tunnel and for anyone wearing a brace all day, because it's shaped to allow the fingers to bend at the knuckles.

Measure around the wrist to size it. If the pain is at night, wear it to sleep — for carpal tunnel that is often when it matters most.

2. Thumb-base pain and arthritis: a CMC brace

Pain at the base of the thumb, where it meets the wrist, is usually the CMC (basal) joint. A wrist brace won't help, because the thumb keeps moving. The Push Ortho CMC ($79) stabilises just that joint with a shapeable aluminium strip and leaves the wrist and fingers completely free — you can type, cook and drive in it. It's the brace hand therapists prescribe for thumb arthritis, and our best-selling brace. Size by palm circumference; it comes in left and right.

3. Thumb and wrist together: a thumb spica

A spica wraps both the wrist and the thumb. It's for injuries where the thumb must be rested along with the wrist — De Quervain's tenosynovitis, skier's thumb, a thumb sprain — and for rheumatoid arthritis affecting both.

• Universal neoprene thumb spica ($20.40) — 3 mm neoprene with a contoured metal thumb splint. Warm, compressive, inexpensive.
• Breg Apollo with thumb spica ($60) — soft foam, dual closure, malleable stays; more support and a better fit for all-day wear.

4. Mild pain and daily activity: a compression wrist support

For aching wrists, early carpal tunnel or support during sport and work, a low-profile compression support is often enough and far more comfortable than a rigid brace. The BodyVine Triple Compression Thumb Wrist ($65) uses silicone bands to take pressure off the thumb and limit wrist movement while keeping most of your range of motion. It fits either hand.

A quick way to decide

• Pain across the wrist, tingling fingers at night → wrist brace (Exoform if carpal tunnel).
• Pain at the base of the thumb, worse when gripping → Push CMC.
• Pain along the thumb side of the wrist, or a thumb injury → thumb spica.
• Ache and fatigue, want to keep moving → BodyVine compression support.

A brace treats the symptom while the cause heals; if pain lasts more than a couple of weeks, see a hand therapist or GP. Clinics ordering in quantity can call 02 9878 6188 for bulk pricing.