If you have ever found your thumb or wrist aching after a few too many hours gaming or scrolling through your phone, you are not alone. You might have heard the term gamer’s thumb popping up more recently online. So what is gamer’s thumb? And more importantly, how do you fix it? As a physiotherapist and hand therapist, I have treated my fair share of this type of injury, although not everyone who comes through the door calls it gamer’s thumb. In fact, many people do not realise their symptoms are linked to the way they are using their hands during gaming or phone use. Here’s what you need to know.
Author: Josh Thomas, Physiotherapist and Hand Therapist, Habit Health
Gamer’s thumb is a term that can describe a range of conditions causing pain in the thumb and wrist, but it’s most commonly used to describe a condition called De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.
This is an overuse injury that affects the tendons running along the thumb side of your wrist. These tendons become irritated and inflamed, often causing pain that starts at the base of your thumb and travels down into your wrist.
It is a type of repetitive strain injury. We see similar injuries in people doing lots of typing or physical work, but in this case, it is linked to gaming or excessive phone use.
The cause is repeating small thumb and wrist movements over and over again without enough breaks. Think about the constant motion of using a joystick, tapping a screen, swiping through social media, or using game controllers.
Typical symptoms include:
Some people find it a minor niggle. Others find it quite debilitating. Many of my patients report pain levels of 7 or 8 out of 10 when they first come in.
While the name suggests this is a gamer’s injury, I see it across a wide range of people:
Gaming behaviours that can contribute to gamer’s thumb include:
It is not just about how often you game, but you game. Playing for hours without breaks or using poor hand positions can significantly increase your risk of developing gamer’s thumb.
If you suspect you have developed “gamer’s thumb”, here is how I typically approach treatment.
The first step is recognising the problem and reducing the aggravating activity. This does not mean giving up gaming entirely, but it does mean adjusting how long you play, taking breaks, and reducing the intensity of thumb movements where possible.
Similarly, cutting back on phone time, or being more mindful of how you are holding your phone, can help.
We often fit patients with a thumb splint to help offload the tendons and allow inflammation to settle.
A splint can support your thumb without fully immobilising it, meaning you can still do most everyday tasks, just with less pain.
Once symptoms start to settle, we move on to specific exercises. These help retrain your thumb and wrist muscles to move in a more controlled way and build strength.
For gamers, we will tailor exercises to mimic the movements they use during gaming, so they can get back to playing without pain.
An important part of recovery is improving what we call proprioception, which is your body’s awareness of where your thumb and wrist are in space.
Often the problem is not lack of strength, but poor movement patterns or going into extreme ranges. We work with patients to build better movement habits.
It can be tempting to push through the pain. But ignoring “gamer’s thumb” can lead to:
Longer recovery times. The sooner you seek help, the quicker you can get back to gaming pain-free.
Recovery depends on how soon you address it. If someone comes in early, within a few weeks of symptoms starting, they may recover in 4 to 6 weeks.
If they have been pushing through pain for months, recovery can take much longer, sometimes just as long as the symptoms have already been present.
The key is not to wait. The earlier you act, the better your outcome will be.
Absolutely. My top tips:
Be mindful of posture. The best posture is one that keeps changing. Avoid holding one static position for hours.
Some gamers and heavy phone users feel a bit embarrassed about seeking help for this type of injury.
There is no judgement in our clinic. Our goal is to help you keep doing the things you love, comfortably and safely.
If you love gaming, we want to help you keep playing. If your thumb is starting to cause pain, reach out early. Even one session of physiotherapy or hand therapy can make a big difference.
If you are experiencing symptoms of gamers thumb, or have any concerns about thumb or wrist pain, Habit Health’s physio and hand therapy team is here to help. Book online or contact your local clinic to get started. The sooner we see you, the sooner you can get back to gaming pain-free.
Please note: As gamer’s thumb/ De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is a repetitive strain injury, it is not covered by ACC.