Gamer's wrist

I know there are other gamers out there that experience “Gamer’s Wrist”, our oh-so-fancy term to describe the forms of pain caused by playing with a controller or keyboard. It can be aggravating to get wrist pain or aching hands while playing your favorite game, not to mention the effects it can have on your career if it involves computers and office work.

Over the last decade it is becoming increasingly common for gamers of all ages to develop RSI (Repetitive Strain Injuries), CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) or just aching hands. If you are playing Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC video games or your PDA device, you should use daily exercises and stretches to treat your aching hands.

Some of the stretches you can do are listed below but you can always be creative and mix it up. You can do however many you want, I usually do sets of 10 per hour.

• Place your hands together in a prayer position. Rotate your fingertips around in circles. Clockwise and counterclockwise.
• Ball your hands into tight fists and then splay your fingers to their widest. Repeat as necessary.
• Interlace your fingers and rotate your hands around in circles. Clockwise and counterclockwise.
• Hang your hands down, fingertips towards the floor, then pull your fingers in and reach them up toward the ceiling.

There you have it. A few simple stretches you can do while you have some downtime during your next game or at the office to condition your hands and wrists to prevent pain. If pain persists for an extended period of time, go to the doctor. Don't argue, just go!