Yesterday I went to the doctor to confirm something I had been convinced of for the last couple weeks: I have the Gamer’s Thumb: De Quervain tenosynovitis - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic . I noticed a bit of general soreness in my right thumb when using a controller/Switch Lite about a month ago which then two weeks ago turned into a more intense dull pain after only a few minutes of extending my thumb to use the stick or hit buttons. I stopped playing games that require active movement of the thumb and started resting it and doing stretches. I feel like it’s maybe starting to get better but am trying to be cautious, I haven’t had an RSI before and I’m paranoid it’s just gonna forever change my relationship to this hobby.
Things I’ve started incorporating into my routine that I probably should have before:
Frequent breaks to stretch when sitting for a long time, at least once an hour.
Thumb stretches specifically meant to help Gamer’s Thumb each morning and evening.
Just not playing for long sessions anymore.
Trying to find alternate input methods that will make using my thumb less common like mouse keyboard and fight sticks. Also rebinding controls.
Getting into my large library of unplayed visual novels.
For when I’m ready to try a controller again making sure I am holding the controller in a way that’s ergonomic, like having neutral wrists instead of bent. I’ve read that placing a pillow on your lap and laying your hands on it is a good way to go for this.
The Switch Lite might be the least ergonomic piece of hardware I’ve ever held and playing on it so much may have contributed a ton to developing this!!!
For any fellow sufferers of The Gamer’s Pain: what have you found that works for mitigating or healing? Which controllers or accessories or habits have helped you? Have you had to just change the way you interact with the medium to avoid physical pain or discomfort?
When playing my Switch in bed I’ve been using a tablet holder for the screen and it’s incredibly comfortable, an ergonomic blessing. Can absolutely recommend getting one.
Can you believe people defend the idea of an intelligent designer, yet, that same designer would both allow something as perfect as Gaming, yet also afflict gamers with Gamer’s Thumb?
Ok serious contribution time: if you’ve never held a control with paddles before, get the best one you can afford for your main console at the moment ASAP. It will only take a moment of holding one to understand their value in terms of ergonomics. And, at least for the cheapo Switch one I got, they’re likely to be independently remappable to whatever other button on the controller (perhaps with some limitations idk).
Every time I play a game on the Switch I end up redundantly mapping The Most Pressed Button to one of the paddle buttons and it’s always a good time. Last Switch game I was playing at least partly with a controller was that The Great Ace Attorney collection and even though it wasn’t a game that required any level of dexterity I still fiddled with the two paddles buttons available to be able to do stuff like progress through dialogue and access other functions using either hand. That was nice, great for eating or petting my dog with the other hand.
related somewhat, but i can’t seem to get very comfortable with my right hand since i got keyboard tray for my desk. i figured not having to raise my arms and not having the desk dig into them would make things better, but i started noticing some pain flaring up when i was using my mouse (corsair harpoon).
i changed to an MX vertical but even then, the discomfort remained for a good while before i finally got used to it. still not sure where i should go from here, but i probably should get back to exercising my body and hands specifically
Most important thing for a desk is posture and that includes your upper arms being about parallel with your torso and lower arms bent to about 90 degrees. What everyone misses though is keeping your hands in a neutral position and rotation. You can’t really do this with a normal keyboard and mouse. A vertical mouse is great, but a split keyboard with tenting is more important for me
The rebinding paddles to most used buttons strat is also my go to, but the Switch Lite might need a case that gives you grabby bits more like a traditional controller. The Steamdeck is a hefty boy but the more ergonomic shape is huge for me.
RSI doesn’t really go away quickly, sorry to say. If you catch it early and can afford to take it super easy, maybe. It can take years to heal because the movements that cause it are by their nature very common movements. I got it from work when I was in retail, and even taking a few weeks off wasn’t enough. When I got back to work on a reduced workload, they just kept asking me to do the same stuff again anyway.
As I’ve been resting my thumbs more I’ve been trying to keep the neutral hand position in mind. When I’m playing my visual novels I rest my hands on a pillow on my lap to keep them laying in a natural position with the controller. This plus taking more frequent breaks to get up and stretch has helped relieve it somewhat. I’m lucky enough that I can take it a bit easier at the moment but the day to day hand actions you just have to take unfortunately also flare up my thumb. I do think the changes I’ve made plus rest have helped though. Do you have a recommendation for a split keyboard? When I have to go back to work I think that’ll help me a lot.
I went to a local game store and traded in my Switch Lite for an OLED so that I could have a better set up. Now I can position the tablet on the kick stand more at eye level for better posture. I also grabbed an 8bitdo controller with back paddles which has been great for me so that you everyone for that recommendation!!!
Good call on breaks. I struggle to get up and stretch because of ADHD stuff.
For ergonomic keebs, there are a lot of options but not all of them cover everything. The only one that does just about everything I want is the Dygma Raise which is very expensive, but I treat it like a good desk chair; the good stuff costs good money.
If that’s out of budget though, check out the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard. There’s a few versions, all cheap, and all good enough. I have a Raise at my personal PC and the Microsoft board at my work desk.
The thumb cluster on the Raise is really important for me. It lets me use modifiers without bending the wrist and doing some awkward chording. No F keys but you can work around that by adding layers and other fancy stuff. The enthusiast fancy keyboard rabbit hole goes deep.
since i’m buying a bunch of computer parts i’ll splurge a bit more on a mousepad with a wrist rest. i got one for my keyboard and it already feels a lot more comfortable just resting my hands on it, hopefully it should do the same for my right hand when using either of my mice
The keyboard rest makes sense because instead of resting your wrist on your desk and then bending your hands up to reach the keyboard, you’re resting your wrist more in-line with your arm.
With a mousepad rest, it might not work out that way. You could end up resting your wrist on the pad and then bending it to the sides even more because you used to move from your elbow and wrist. It’s more important for the mouse to be an ergonomic shape so your hand is at a neutral rotation and not bending weird to hold it. But hey, if it works it works.
HELL yeah, so glad you like it. I proselytize about them to everyone just for Gamer Reasons (was just ranting and raving to a co-worker who just got the first party PlayStation Super Dual Sense one with back paddles about putting the dodge roll button on one for Elden Ring) but it’s even better that it’s helping you for Ergonomy Reasons!!
