Hand exercises after a gaming session?

Solution 1:

check out carpal tunnel exercises online like bending your wrist up and gently flexing it a few times, then doing the same but bending it down. also, you may want to look into a comfortable mouse if it isnt already, and a wrist lift for your mouse pad.

Here are some recommended carpal tunnel hand exercises, with descriptions

Solution 2:

Putty is also good for hand exercise.

I'm partial to Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty.

Here's a diagram of recommended hand exercises using the Thinking Putty, but it also applies to any kind of putty that you can put in your hand and manipulate.

Solution 3:

This is an old question, but I suffer from wrist problems (and have for probably 10 years now) so I feel like I should share my experiences.

The first thing I want to say is - if you are experiencing pain, go and talk to a doctor. Keep talking to doctors until someone acknowledges that wrist pain is a serious condition and they take you seriously. This kind of pain does NOT go away, and it will NOT get better without work on your part.

I never found the recommended exercises did much for the pain. These are the things I found worked best:

• Try to work/play in an ergonomic environment - Some companies I worked for offered ergonomic consultants to come and take a look at my work environment, and the tricks they taught me I took home to customize my home rig. There's sort of a "standard ergonomic/posture" diagram, this one looks about right. The part I found the hardest was trying to adjust the height of the table and the chair to match. Most tables are fixed-height, and even adjustable chairs have a range. If your feet are up off the floor when you get the desk/chair adjusted right, get a foot rest.
• Try different mice. There are many that are billed as 'ergonomic' including trackballs, and some change the position of your hand to something you might find more comfortable. I found that the Logitech style (ie, MX518, although they make many with this shape) works best for me.
• Use a brace. I found that one with a splint that goes about 6" from my wrist towards my elbow worked best. My doctor suggested I wear it while I sleep, because some people (especially those who use computers all day) tend to 'type in their sleep!'
• Pick your battles. Sometimes I will opt not to continue playing a game because it is just too reliant on button mashing. I'd rather make it to retirement and be able to enjoy myself than burn out on a game now.

When I have pain, I like to pick up a small weight (ie, 5 lbs) and lay on my back. I rotate my wrist in different ways, similar to the exercises that people have mentioned. I also find that using a 'stress ball' (like this one) can help to work the joint and get it moving properly.

I've been in physical therapy before, and the therapist told me a few things that I find helpful to remember. One is that you should try to exercise every day. When you forget or get complacent, the pain will return. Even 2 weeks without a proper exercise regimen can cause issues to return. The second thing I learned was: if the exercises seem inconvenient or are a pain in the butt, remember that your choices are either pain on your schedule or pain on pain's schedule.

Solution 4:

Assuming that you're just getting cramped, tired out and not experiencing full carpal tunnel (which you should see a medical professional for). I can highly recommend an NSD Powerball (or at Amazon). Great for giving your arm/wrist a whole different motion and exercise, and a fun way to build up a bit of lower arm strength (a lot of climbers and tennis players use them).

This question also reminds me of the bit in The Beach when Keaty is explaining to Richard the list of reasons why Francoise would never be interested in him:

Keaty: And seven: look at - look at your thumbs, man! They're well defined!

Richard: Wh-what is that supposed to mean?

Keaty: You play a lot of video games! That is a powerful index of incompatabilty.

Solution 5:

Here's my formula: items in order from what I perceive to be most helpful to least helpful.

1. Pen input exclusively. Ditch the mouse. Wacom is the goto brand for tablets. The bigger the device, the better.

   

   I should note that Pen devices usually have an "absolute position" mode, and an "xy" mode. "Absolute position" won't work with certain FPS games that were programmed to use mouse dx/dy offsets (the screen will spin) but this can be fixed. To turn your Wacom device into "xy offset mode", (instead of absolute position mode), turn off the TabletServiceWacom in Start Menu/Services. When you want to use absolute position mode (which is great for a game like Warcraft/Starcraft), turn it back on.

   

2. If you have bigger hands, buy a bigger keyboard. (If you have smaller hands, you don't need this)

   

   This keyboard is called the Kinderboard and has 1 inch-wide keys. Since I started using it, the irritation in my hands has gone down substantially, even allowing me to cut back on exercises and other treatment.

3. Ice packs and hot water. Ice your whole wrist and hand for 10-20 minutes. Afterward, fill a small bin with hot water (about as hot as you can stand it, don't burn your skin!) and submerge your hand in it, (preferrably your wrist and forearm as well -- be sure to do both hands!). The water shouldn't be so hot that you can't just leave it in there for 5 minutes, but it should be hot enough to cause a blood rush to your hands (it feels good, especially right after icing). I usually do this once a day, in the morning before starting work, but I do it less when the irritation is less.

4. Stretching routines (best done after hot water, or after a workout. Never stretch too hard, and try to avoid stretching cold, it isn't as good)

5. Get Susan Butler's stretching program and follow it. Listening to the audios was very educational for me.

6. Do bicep curls and forearm curls (front and back).

7. Try to eat well.