Gamer Stretch: Part I

Gamer Stretch

By: xIVA DARLINGx

Some time back, I learned from a gaming poll what bodily aches and pains you guys feel when gaming. The response was major!  So many of you gamers experience so much soreness while gaming that it inspired me to put together a list of stretches to help alleviate some of that gamer pain. In this blog post, I’m going to go over simple forearm/wrist stretches because this is the area of most concern. Please take note, if you have any concerns or worries PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING AND USE CAUTION. Do not over-stretch and BE SLOW WITH YOUR MOVEMENTS.

Now, one of the first things I really want to encourage is to make sure you get up and walk around every couple of hours. If you’re a hardcore gamer, sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up in marathon gaming. This does not do well to your circulation and if you’re not careful, (worst case scenario here so I apologize if it’s shocking) you could develop deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) which can be devastatingly tragic. So, take a break and move around for a bit. Bringing blood flow and oxygen to the tissue can help so much. Don’t be that gamer that we read about on the news :/

Now that I've made that point, I’ll show you guys some good stretches to do for preventative measures. You don’t want to end up looking like this:

Hours of gaming= annoying pain!!!

                                         

Your Hands and Wrists:
The top complaint received in the poll was wrist/hand/forearm pain. This is obviously coming from overusing your hands by grabbing, typing, and/or gripping a controller too hard when you’re in an epic battle or are just overly passionate about your game. These hand stretches are great:


STEP 1:
You want to get the wrist moving. Simple circular rotations while in fist form will help get the synovial fluid moving and will help range of motion.

STEP 2:
Open and close your hand. When you open your hand, spread the fingers out as far as they will go. Then shake your wrists like you’re doing the twist.

STEP 3:
 This one might be tricky for some but really beneficial for alleviating hand and finger stiffness. Have your hand in a ‘stop in the name of love’ position. Now bend all your fingers inward as if you’re making a letter “E” in sign language (FIGURE 1). For me, I was shocked at how stiff my fingers were and how I couldn't get my fingers completely bent and looking like an E. They looked more like a claw lol (FIGURE 2). After you make your ‘E’, shake it out. Repeat this often. 

Figure 1                                                                                                                 Figure 2

The claw!!

"E "in sign language 

           

                                            

  

                       

                
STEP 4:

      Next, this stretch will be good for your wrists and forearms. Bring together both your hands like you’re in Namaste position or praying. Make sure your elbows are up. Now push your palms together slightly while lowering both your hands. Slowly start to separate your hands starting from the palms and ending with your fingers being separated. Do a lil shake.

STEP 5:
     Have palm face down and take your thumb and stretch it back to your forearm. I do this with my index finger as well. Then, my whole hand I push towards the bottom side of my forearm.  This is the opposite from Step 4. Here, I’ll show you :

                            
STEP 6:
 The next exercise is more of a massage for the hand/thumb.  You’re going to grab in between your thumb and index finger with the opposite hand’s index finger KNUCKLE on one side and the thumb grabbing that muscle that aches so much sometimes on the other. Now press firmly on both sides while massaging that muscle with your knuckle. I like to add a bit of massage lotion to help with any dryness when massaging. You might as well massage the entire hand while you're at it! lol  Now doesn't that feel good?!

                
                      

I do this ALL the time. 

                        

So, I've gone over some really good stretches for your gaming lifestyle. These are just the BASICS for the wrist and forearm that will hopefully help you with common gaming ailments. I look forward to adding more and more as this blog unravels.  It’s time to start feeling better while gaming... so on that note GAME ON!!!!

     

*Remember that if you have any concerns or worries, please consult with your doctor before doing any of these stretches!