Can you actually get wrist pain from using your devices (handphone, tablet) too much? The simple answer is, YES!

A study on this issue revealed that it is in fact, common among mobile phone users. Besides, they also found that time spent on mobile phones correlates with higher frequency of wrist pain and disabilities.

This is alarming, as the world we live in right now can no longer function without mobile phones. We rely on them for everything – payment, work, getting grab rides, and entertainment, to name a few.

So how do we know that too much is too much? Does our daily posture affect wrist pain too? And what can we do to reduce our wrist pain?

Healthy amount of screen time 

We recommend spending 30minutes or less on your mobile phone outside of work. If you have already spent 8-12 hours a day working in front of your computer, anything more than 1 hours continuously is not advisable. It puts unnecessary strain on our eyes, and if we are constantly in an improper posture, we will develop wrist pain.

Improper posture

#1 – Lying face up on the bed and holding our phone

This is the most common posture we see nowadays. At first glance, it doesn’t sound that bad, but let’s break it down. In this position, both of the elbows are bent, and the wrists are curled forward as we hold the phone. Slowly, we start feel that our arm is numb because of decreased circulation.

#2 – Sitting and playing games on the phone

As we are engrossed in our games, we forget that we probably spend too much time in one position, moving our thumbs at the speed of lightning, trying to win every round. Repetitive movement using wrist or thumb can cause pain and inflammation in the wrist and thumbs, which is also known as tendonitis, or De Quervain Syndrome

How do I reduce my wrist pain?

Our therapist recommend the tips below:
– Stretch your fingers, wrist and forearms regularly
– Break up gaming into shorter sessions. Take rest breaks every 15 to 20minutes
– Avoid holding your phone up when you are lying down, instead try to sit up
– Switch hands

If the recommended steps above are not helping you, please feel free to give us a call, our therapists are always available to treat your wrist pain.