Wrist/Hand Problems Help

[Madcatz McGee]

Hello everyone!
I recently had to go to the doctor for hand/wrist problems associated with Smash. I was diagnosed with De Quervain's Tenosynovitis, which is just a really fancy way of saying that the tendons connecting my thumb to my wrist are inflamed and also strained.

I was making this thread to try and find out what other Smashers that have hand problems do for their Hands/Wrist to keep them from acting up. I am trying to find a good brace for my hand problems, but most of the braces affect my ability to move my right thumb and makes a lot of movement (i.e. Wavedash/Wavelands) awkward. However, if I try and play without a brace, I can make it about 20 minutes of play before my wrist starts hurting.

Any help would be appreciated, as Melee is one of my favorite games and means a lot to me, and I would hate to have to give it up for dumb af hand problems. Thanks again everyone.

 

[EmpireCrusher203]

I ALWAYS do hand warm ups before I practice and play. Hand stretches after games do a really good job at prevent conditions such as Carpel Tunnel syndrome. Warm up your hands and never play with cold hands, in fact, warm up your hands before stretching in order to prevent injury. You can use hand warmers, but I personally stick my hands into my pocket and rub my hands together. De Quervain's is caused by excessive motion of the thumb, so to prevent that do thumb stretches. Of course not right not because you are injured, but you should start doing that after you've. I recommend you avoid playing Melee for the time being. Here's a guide to hand health in the Melee community: https://smashboards.com/threads/staying-healthy-a-guide-to-playing-melee-better-and-longer.332355/

 

[Dolla Pills]

I use a loose grip and don't really play that much so tension doesn't build up. If for whatever reason I notice strain while playing (usually cause I hurt my arm doing something else), I stop. You shouldn't be trying to play Melee while you're tendons are inflamed because that tends to slow/halt your recovery or make it worse altogether, plus it goes back to the issue of probably trying to play too much (if I were to guess)

 

[iAmMatt]

This might sound stupid, but guitar hero is a crazy good warmup game. Even better than melee imo. Playing guitar hero before I play melee loosens my joints and literally "warms up" my fingers. I mean literally, my hands feel physically warmer after playing guitar hero. Having limber hands allows them to move more and can help avoid injury.

 

[Dolla Pills]

This might sound stupid, but guitar hero is a crazy good warmup game. Even better than melee imo. Playing guitar hero before I play melee loosens my joints and literally "warms up" my fingers. I mean literally, my hands feel physically warmer after playing guitar hero. Having limber hands allows them to move more and can help avoid injury.

I swear I've never had hand problems playing Melee but guitar hero destroys my fingers and forearms lol