BACKGROUND: The prevalence of wrist pain among gymnasts ranges from 46-79%. To reduce and prevent wrist pain, gymnasts wear “wrist guards/supports” (WG) and most worn are Tiger Paws (TP) or Skids/Ultimate Wrist Supports (SUWS). There are no studies that have investigated what WG actually do to the wrist in terms of motion and force. PURPOSE: To examine whether WG decrease or increase the angle and force at which the wrist impacts the ground while performing a back handspring. METHODS A cross-sectional study design was used. Twenty-three young female gymnasts (age: 12.3±1.5 years) performed back handsprings with the following three conditions: wearing no WG, wearing SUWS, and wearing TP. Kinematics and kinetics were captured by 3D motion analysis and force plates. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: Not wearing WG was found to be statistically significant (P= 0.036) in having an increased arc of motion when compared to wearing WG (no WG (67.8 ± 11.0 (62.6, 72.9)), SUWS (59.6 ± 9.4 (55.2, 64.0)), and TP (60.6 ± 11.2 (55.0, 66.1)). There was a statistically significant finding (p= 0.001) with an increased sagittal plane moment when performing a back handspring with SUWS when compared to no WG (no WG (3.75 ± 0.79 (3.39, 4.12)), SUWS (4.76 ± 0.76 (4.40, 5.12)), and TP (4.00 ± 0.97 (3.52, 4.48)). CONCLUSIONS: WG do decrease the arc of motion at the wrist when performing a back handspring which could be beneficial if a Sports Medicine provider is trying to limit motion at the wrist joint; however, our data indicated an increase in moment while wearing WG, which may be indicative to an increased risk of injury.