Wrist pops & grinds

My wrist if poping and grinding so bad i had to give up the punching bag, It sounds horrible and I have to sleep in a brace to make the pain go away, and as soon as i let it heal all the way i try the bag.  after one time on the punching bag its bad as always.  any idea what it is?  I've tried hand wraps, boxing gloves with wrist support, but nothing works, and i love boxing.   ( I use to box amatuer and hurt it one time by rolling it really bad )
 
Lifting weights doesnt seem to bother it and i work arms 3 to 4 times a week
 
any ideas what could be messed up?

From the history you give, it sounds like a overuse injury of the wrist.
 
Where exactly is the pain in the wrist - which side, the thumb side or the little finger side? which way does it hurt the most to move, up or down? hows your grip strength in that hand compared to the other one? 
 
There are several other questions that need to be answered before any sort of diagnosis can be made and im afraid that can only be done by a physician.
 
It could one of many possible things - de quervains syndrome, a tendinitis, intersection syndrome, boxer's knuckle and the list goes on.
 
As to what can be done about it?

• X-rays - may show joint narrowing and cartilage wear
  
• NSAID - anti-inflammatory medication
  
• corticosteroid injections into the joint
  
• Wrist brace
  
• Rehab & strengthening exercises
  
• Avoiding activities that aggravate the injury

There are a few strengthing and rehab exercises for the wrist that i know about but i dont think its right to start treating something before knowing exactly whats wrong with it.
 
See you doctor - without a good physical examination, its going to be extremely hard/impossible to know for certain whats going on.

It hurts really bad around the wrist and on the back of the hand, my grip strength is good until i put my wrist at an angle.
 
Shaking hands has become painful at times and my grip will turn soft, but if my wrist is straight i have an extremely strong grip.
 
as to avioding activities that hurt my wrist, I gave up boxing and working out on the punching bag, but as soon as I roll my wrist or hit something it all comes back and I have to leave it in a brace while i sleep for a month.

that doesnt sound good - could have either a current fracture or fractures that havent healed properly.
 
A boxers fracture is where you fracture the bone that connects your little finger to your wrist. It could also include fractures of the little bones in your hand - carpals.
 
an X-ray is your best bet at the moment. Go see you doc and get one done.

Thanks for the information Lynx.
 
Youre so wise.  Like a mini Buddha with hair.

Anytime my fecal friend.
 
Just a note, while im not an expert on boxing, i do know that most punch fractures occur due to improper technique . The majority of the impact should be coming from the fingers and knuckles of the pointing and middle finger and can also involve the ring finger but defintely NOT the little finger - this is a very very common amateur mistake and results in a lot of un-needed injuries.
 
Im sure you knew that anyway but just saying it just incase.

Yea I knew that.  I think it has to do more with my short fencing career.  I went back to boxing after about a year of fencing and my wrist was giving me problems after that.  if you ever fenced you know its all wrist movement so I could have slowly done damage here and there maybe?

Absolutely possible. I tell ya... youve given your wrist a fairly hard time.

kinda like your knee from what I've read lol

 Those injuries werent my fault.
 
they were from getting tackled from behind, some guy doing a sliding tackle at my knee with his studs up and from someone stepping on my foot while i turned to get past the defender.

omg!