In short, yes, they do, but the long answer is a bit more complicated. How well your wrist guards work depends on a few factors, including how well they are constructed, whether they fit your hand properly, and also on your abilities. Poorly constructed wrist guards may just falter under impact, still offering protection but not as much as they could. Wrist guards that are too large or too small for your hand will also not offer the best protection and may even make matters worse. Finally, if you fall a lot or in the “wrong” way, they will offer slight protection at best, and learning to fall correctly is as important as learning to skate correctly. In summary, there is no guarantee that a wrist guard will protect you 100% of the time. Similar to a seatbelt in a car, they will offer a certain amount of protection most of the time, although there are too many confounding factors to make absolutely certain.