My patient, Andy needed some good hand exercises for gaming before a tournament. Usually people ask me about this because they have carpal tunnel syndrome. But with a $255,000 prize at stake in Mortal Kombat, he was understandably more anxious about winning the competition.
He wanted to learn stretching exercises that would allow him to win the tournament, and not just keep hand pain away. Little did he know he actually needed exercises for carpal tunnel syndrome.
A new patient competing in the Mortal Kombat 11 Pro Kompetition called me for help with his hand pain.
Frankly, he seemed more concerned his hand pain would hinder his chances of winning the competitiion then it being a serious problem.
Andy found me online after the eSports doctor warned him NOT to ignore the wrist pain he was experiencing following gaming sessions.
Andy’s been an eSports player since childhood (starting on qBasic games and Snake) and for a while had developed stamina for long gaming sessions. The problem is, like most gamers, he spends 80% of his time at a computer with a keyboard, mouse or console. That's between his job, gaming, and recreation.
Under these circumstances, hand pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness are usually inevitable. It's particularly more prevalent in women, who are more likely to develop carpal tunnel.
Andy’s pain started in his right hand and wrist. He tried toughing it out by resting his hand for a day in typical eSports fashion – but he was using his iPad!
Soon he started getting painful, shooting "electric shocks" & muscle spasms. These are benchmark symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
I told Andy he had to catch pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling symptoms BEFORE they develop into full blown carpal tunnel.
So (for Andy) I developed the following "hand exercises for gaming". If you follow the instructions, you should be just fine, too.
I’ve never competed myself. So I spoke at length with Andy to make sure I understood what it’s like to be in the heat of the battle.
To help him, I designed the following 3-phase prescription to keep him in the game. My hope was he didn’t develop severe carpal tunnel syndrome yet. Depending on how he does after 7 days, we may need to take some additional steps.
The point of this post is to help gamers PREVENT carpal tunnel syndrome.
However, note that exercises for carpal tunnel PREVENTION and TREATMENT are identical.
With these exercises, it’s important to follow all 3 phases. Each one is needed to build and maintain healthy fingers and hands. No one phase is more important than another. Just like your console buttons, each component is necessary to maximize effectiveness of the system. So if you’re serious about competing – do as I advise.
Clearly, going into a tournament you need super fast fingers. You’ll enter the competition with the most nimble fingers possible doing the warm-up hand exercises for gaming I outline below.
Within 15 minutes of starting, spend 2 minutes on each of these exercises. They’re designed to lubricate tendons and speed up blood flow to your hands and fingers.
EXERCISE NO.1: Grab your straightened index finger. Next, gently pull back on it and hold this position for 5 seconds. You’ll feel the base of the finger stretch. Repeat with each finger, but not the thumb. (The thumb is a separate exercise below.)
EXERCISE NO. 2: Interlace your fingers. Then rotate both hands so that they’re facing away from you. Next, push out and straighten out your arms while all fingers remain interlaced. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Then drop both hands at your sides. Shake them out vigorously for 5 seconds. If they feel warm, that means blood is flowing through. Then repeat the process again.
EXERCISE NO. 3: Stretch your thumb. Grab it and rotate it like a helicopter blade. Do so several times, and then change direction. Also, as a final step, pull the thumb backward, slowly and gently. Hold that position for 10 seconds, and then switch hands. Finally, repeat all these hand exercises one more time.
IMPORTANT: For every 30-60 minutes of gaming, you need a few seconds of maintenance hand exercises (Phase 2 below). If you don’t do them, you fingers will slow down and even feel sore.
Occasionally Andy gets a pain that shoots up from his hand and through his forearm. There’s nothing worse to make you loose your focus. Do these hand exercises to keep your fingers fastand avoid such painful distractions.
They’re designed to maximize hand agility in the shortest possible period of time.
Within 30-60 minutes of starting, spend 30 seconds on EACH of these exercises.
EXERCISE NO. 4: Push both palms together, with fingers together and pointing up, in a “prayer position.” Keep both hands close to your chest and in front of you. Now relax your shoulders and slowly raise both elbows. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Then drop your arms at your side and shake out your hands for a few seconds. Again, feel the warmth, indicating good blood flow. Repeat these exercises for carpal tunnel once again.
When it comes to effective hand exercies for gaming, this prayer position is one of the best because it lubricates tendons from the forearm to the fingertips in one simple step.
EXERCISE NO. 5: Hold one hand up as if you’re saying “STOP!” With the opposite hand, reach up and grab your fingers. Then pull them backwards. Maintain this position for 10 seconds. As before, drop both hands at your sides and shake them out. Repeat the process again.
REMEMBER, repeat Exercises 4 and 5 every 30-60 minutes to maintain good, fast hand function.
How did you do? Regardless if you’re celebrating or vowing to do better in the future – you need to cool down.
A gaming marathon is no different than any other period of intense physical activity. You need to cool down much like a runner needs to “walk off” a sprint.
One of the trademark precursors to carpal tunnel syndrome is the formation of adhesions inside the soft tissue of the wrist. Those cause movement restrictions. I designed these hand exercises specifically to keep them from forming. Also, the stretches help the body's thoracic outlet clean debris and harmful substances from tendons.
EXERCISE NO. 6: Start with your left hand. Put the palm against a wall and then spread all fingers widely. Now extend (straighten) the elbow while pressing into the wall. Next, take a few breaths. Then bend your head sideways, trying to touch the right ear to the right shoulder. As you do, bring the left shoulder inward slowly, as if to face the wall.
Then hold this position for 30 seconds. Finally, repeat for the left hand. Then repeat the cycle once more.
EXERCISE NO. 7: With both hands over your head, make lose fists. Then make slow circular motions with each fist. Pretend each thumb tip is making circles on a blackboard. Try to make those circles as big as you can, for about 10 seconds. Then, switch directions.
Wrist mobility is just as important as finger dexterity for maintaining healthy gaming hands. So don't neglect your wrists.
Keeping your hands and fingers limber not only helps you win games, but it also prevents you from getting carpal tunnel syndrome. This is the central reason I created these hand exercises for gamers, like Andy.
Many of my carpal tunnel patients happen to be serious gamers – and often they’re in their 20's. So if you enjoy gaming, don’t let the carpal tunnel monster come knocking! Remember, these are essentially exercises for carpal tunnel prevention and treatment.
Even if you spend only half of the prescribed time doing the stretching exercises I described, you WILL avoid getting carpal tunnel syndrome. I promise! And if you need more help, please contact me directly through this website.
Good luck!
Dr. Z
