• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

What Is Gamer’s Thumb?

June 10, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

Video games and e-sports continue to rise in popularity across the world, which has led to more and more people of various ages taking up controllers. However, with this surge in popularity and adoption could come some lesser-known problems. For most of us, our gaming habits do not necessarily impact our health – but that doesn’t mean gaming does not exert its own strains on the body.

Advertisement

Sure, gaming and e-sports are nowhere near as physically demanding as most traditional sports, but they can still lead to injuries from wear and tear. “Gamer’s thumb” is one common example of this.

Advertisement

Although “gamer’s thumb” sounds like it is specific to the world of computer games, it is not limited to gamers. Instead, anyone who takes part in repetitive movements with their thumbs could develop it, including people who text or type a lot, or repeatedly lift heavy objects. For gamers and e-sports players, whether using a console, PC or mobile phone, hours spent tapping on keyboards, twisting, and gripping may make them prone to this problem. 

The technical name for the condition is “de Quervain’s tenosynovitis”. It is an overuse injury, similar to carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger, which causes inflammation of the thumb’s tendons and the sheath that surrounds them. This, it is thought, is caused by the repetitive movement involved in grasping, clenching and pinching movements, which makes the tendon thicken and struggle to move smoothly through its sheath.

The recurring motion can lead to pain and tenderness at the base of the thumb. This can sometimes be accompanied by additional pain along the radial side of the wrist – the side where the thumb is. Some people may also experience difficulty moving their thumb, especially when trying to grasp or pinch something.

Once the pain sets in, it can easily interfere with everyday activities. Carrying objects or performing seemingly simple tasks like opening jars can become painful.

Advertisement

If it is allowed to progress without treatment, the pain may start to impact your gaming performance and experience, due to pain and impaired movement.

If you have symptoms like this, it is worth seeking medical treatment. The longer the issue goes on without care, the worse it can get. In some cases, the pain can spread further into the thumb or down the forearm and movement may become more painful too.

During examination, your doctor will likely examine the thumb and wrist and may request an X-ray of the hand and wrist area. If the diagnosis is positive, then treatment will focus on pain relief and the restoration of the hand and wrist’s function. In severe cases, a doctor may recommend surgery.

Non-surgical treatments include taking anti-inflammatory medications to help ease the swelling and discomfort. Corticosteroid injections are also an option in some cases, and can help lessen pain and inflammation. A doctor may also recommend immobilizing the thumb and wrist area with a brace or splint, this will help prevent further aggravating the affected area.

Advertisement

In many cases, treatment for “gamer’s thumb” is straightforward with treatment. However, the best way to avoid the issue is to avoid prolonged periods of gaming and to have breaks between sessions. This will help prevent injury and let you enjoy gaming without issue.  

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.   

All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.  

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. R. Kelly accuser says she reached $200,000 settlement after herpes diagnosis
  2. Spotify rolls out podcast polls and Q&As to creators and users worldwide
  3. A New Explanation For “Strange Metals” Could Lead To Better Superconductors
  4. Neil deGrasse Tyson Has Opinions On The Scientific Accuracy Of Dune

Source Link: What Is Gamer’s Thumb?

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • How Do We Predict The Weather? Find Out More In Issue 40 Of CURIOUS – Out Now
  • You Should Never Leave These Foods In Your Fridge Door (But We Bet You Do)
  • These Gullies On Mars Look Carved – We Might Finally Know What Created Them
  • Potential Environmental Trigger For Autism Identified, 3I/ATLAS’s Tail Appears To Have Changed Direction, And Much More This Week
  • Spaghetti Has Inner Secrets We’re Only Just Learning About
  • How Far Back In Time Could You Go And Still Understand English?
  • We Now Know How The First People Reached America – And It Wasn’t On Foot
  • Two Major Coral Species Now Functionally Extinct In Florida Keys, After Record-Breaking Marine Heatwave
  • A “Super-Earth” In The Habitable Zone Is Half The Distance To Comparable Worlds
  • Adorable But Critically Endangered Bornean Orangutan Born In Conservation Success
  • How Did The FDA Settle On The “2,000 Calories Per Day” Guideline?
  • Comet 3I/ATLAS Losing At Least Two Kangaroos’ Worth Of Dust Every Second
  • Mummified Dinosaur Duo Prove They Had Hooves, Marking “The First Confirmed Hooved Reptile”
  • What Do The Numbers On Your Toaster Really Mean?
  • NASA Vs. Elon Musk: Is A Moon Landing This Decade Off The Cards?
  • Scientists Explored Some Of The Deepest Parts Of The Ocean And Spotted Some Seriously Weird Deep-Sea Creatures
  • 500-Meter-Tall Megatsunami Struck Remote Alaskan Fjord After Massive Landslide
  • 3I/ATLAS, CKM Syndrome, And Mosquitoes’ Final Frontier
  • Male Humpback Dolphins Spotted Wearing Sea Sponge “Wigs” To Woo The Ladies
  • Can’t Sleep? The Military Sleep Trick That Helps You Fall Asleep in Just 2 Minutes
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version