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Looking for tips to deal with wrist pain.

Metalhead

Video game and movie addict.
V.I.P Member
Yesterday I played my Xbox from 10AM to 10AM, and i think all the repetitive thumb motions might have given me tendinitis in my wrist.

Now I have my wrist iced, I popped some Naproxen, and I am going to lay off the games for a while.

Any tips on how to manage the wrist pain in the meanwhile?
 
Hey sorry to hear about this. Can you buy a cheap wrist brace off of ebay to help get you thru? I bought a cheap ankle brace when l broke my ankle, it helped with healing. Just checked. They have huge amount of braces for gamers. Amazon, Ebay. You can wear this while you play.
 
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There is a Fred Meyer I can walk to for a wrist brace, but I do not want to go there the evening before the 4th of July.
 
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When I had tendonitis, I was told to keep it regularly mobile, gently. Keeping it entirely immobile for long periods of time, I was told, makes tendonitis worse.
 
When I had tendonitis, I was told to keep it regularly mobile, gently. Keeping it entirely immobile for long periods of time, I was told, makes tendonitis worse.

Not a bad idea. Although holding a game controller is out of the question for me, and I have tomorrow to spend all alone without playing games.
 
Okay, so, this is something I have a LOT of experience with, I'll do my best to offer some advice:

1. Get it examined. Just because the pain is being felt in your wrist, doesnt mean the PROBLEM is in your wrist. "But I got it from too much controller use, so the damage/problem must be there", you might say, and to that I say AHA! That's what I thought too. But I soon learned otherwise, thanks to examinations by a doctor and my physical therapist. All the braces in the world arent going to do a bloody thing whatsoever if they arent being applied to the right spot. On that note, dont assume that it is tendonitis or any specific thing. Right now, it is an unknown, until you've had it looked at by a professional. Note that even too much controller use, if that is the original cause, might have caused damage of a type you arent expecting. It aint necessarily in your wrist, however it may feel. Seriously: Professional examination. I cant stress that enough.

2. Avoid too much usage until an examination has been performed. I mean, duh.

3. How's your chair? How's your posture? Believe it or not, these things can directly play into exactly what you're experiencing. Changing them up aint gonna magically solve it in an instant, BUT, if something is off, it could be a contributing factor. Armrests (or the lack of them, depending on what's going on) can be a problem in particular, but it depends on the situation. One way or another though, a good chair, and good posture, is going to go a LONG way towards helping you deal with this as time goes on.

4. Get one of these lovely things:

BeFunky-design-29-1.jpg


This is a vertical mouse. While you may think that the controller is the full cause of this, I guarantee you, your mouse is playing a part whenever you use your computer. Normal mice are not REALLY designed for full ergonomic use. Oh, they say they are. But they arent. They contort your wrist/arm/hand into a very unnatural position, and this builds up problems over time. A vertical mouse does not do this.

I'll put it this way: My problem is similar to yours, and I outright cannot use a normal mouse. But this? I can use this.

In all honesty, ALL computer mice should have this type of design. All of them. I'm baffled that they dont.

And yes, there's a bit of a learning curve at first when you get one, it's gonna feel weird and you'll have trouble pointing at things. But it doesnt take long to get the hang of it and it's worth the effort.


5. Okay look I know I mention the water thing a lot, but I'm mentioning it again here, because if you've gotten at all dehydrated, it's only going to exacerbate this.

6. Use ice! This is to keep inflammation down. Just, you know, do it in a way that doesnt put pressure on it, and in a way where you can hold your arm in a neutral position the whole time.

7. Get up! No, seriously, just get out of your chair and walk or pace or whatever every now and then. Every 40 minutes, is what I was told. This is just overall healthy, and "overall healthy" is gonna do nothing but help you here.



EDIT: quick thing: Even if you're using a laptop, the mouse bit is still important. I guarantee you, those bloody track pads or whatever are NOT helping here.
 
Yes, l see a lot braces deal with thumb pain also. Maybe some gummies to help with pain? Good points in @Misery 's post.
 
My wrist still hurts, yet I hesitate to see a doctor over it. I can already hear my mother yelling at me accusing me of being a hypochondriac just like my aunt, going to the doctor over a little pain and throwing good money away because I am a wimp.
 
My wrist still hurts, yet I hesitate to see a doctor over it. I can already hear my mother yelling at me accusing me of being a hypochondriac just like my aunt, going to the doctor over a little pain and throwing good money away because I am a wimp.

Ignore that. Do it anyway. Force yourself, if you must.

Take it from someone who went through this: it's a bloody bad idea to delay on this. If you think it's bad now, well... you havent gotten to "bad" yet.

This crap can get outright debilitating. Seriously. Doctor.
 
And just to point out how bad it can get: I had a period of about two years... two YEARS... where I couldnt use a computer mouse because it'd immediately cause a flare-up. If it had been caught earlier, maybe that'd be lessened...

Even now I actually use a controller to emulate the mouse much of the time.

Seriously, it's the kind of pain you really dont want to mess with.
 
Ignore that. Do it anyway. Force yourself, if you must.

Take it from someone who went through this: it's a bloody bad idea to delay on this. If you think it's bad now, well... you havent gotten to "bad" yet.

This crap can get outright debilitating. Seriously. Doctor.

My mother has accused me of being a hypochondriac many times in the past. She has told me that mental health care is a waste of money, that a stay in the psych ward is the same as a stay in a five-star resort, she accused me of lying to her once when I told her a doctor sent me to the ER when I told him I was vomiting blood (she claimed I was "not at death's door" and she accused me of going to the ER by myself because of hypochondria), she told me that going to the doctor when my ankle was swollen to the size of a grapefruit was a waste of money even after that ended up getting me a diagnosis of gout. She compares me to my aunt who is a genuine hypochondriac who jumps from doctor to doctor looking for pain pills.
 
When I started feeling wrist pain, I probably could have stopped playing piano and rested for a week or two then been as good as new. Instead, I ignored it until I couldn't ignore it and ended up not being able to play for a year, delaying my transfer to a university.
 
My wrist still hurts, yet I hesitate to see a doctor over it. I can already hear my mother yelling at me accusing me of being a hypochondriac just like my aunt, going to the doctor over a little pain and throwing good money away because I am a wimp.
I agree with Misery, but, also wanted to mention that turmeric reduces pain and inflammation. Particularly, in joints. You can buy fresh turmeric root, boil and drink it as a tea. In addition, it comes in powder and capsules. I have found the loose powder to be the most effective, personally. A side benefit, if one has depression; the curcumim contained in turmeric, acts as a mild antidepressant for many. I didn't have depression when I was utilizing it, but, Ive heard that it does in fact, provide relief. I hope your wrist feels better, soon.

edit: I just noticed that you mentioned having gout. My Mom had it, and drank tart-cherry juice, religiously, for a period of time, which completely eliminated it.
 
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Just saw a doctor. Well, it isn’t carpel tunnel and it isn’t gout. The doctor suggested I take regular breaks during my gaming sessions, not use the reclining seat when I game, change my diet to add more vegetables instead of being the pure carnivore I have become, and replace the Dr Pepper with tap water. He also said I should give up my weekly cigars, but he always says that.
 
I miss my Xbox and PlayStation. Gaming was a massive part of my life, and now I must deprive myself.
 
Here is an update. I just got a doctor referral to a physical therapist for my wrist. The doctor also suggested I take a turmeric supplement.
 

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