09 Jun Thumb Bind Tendinopathy – #1 Wrist & Thumb Pain Pattern with Gaming
This is one of the most common pain patterns I have seen across every game title and with console the 1HP team calls it “falcon thumb”. It is both a wrist & thumb-related issue and with fortnite specifically it is associated with those who have actions bound to their mouse (cone, ramp, floor, wall) and use it quite frequently during practice or gaming. The muscles which lift the thumb to press these buttons become irritated. Additionally these same muscles are responsible for moving the mouse to the left. Both actions are shown below
Wrist Radial Deviation Thumb Bind Movement 
To keep things simple – we’ll talk about the main causes (THE BIG 3)
- Poor Wrist & Hand Conditioning – These muscles do not have the endurance or strength to handle the X amount of hours you are gaming and the X actions you are performing in fortnite as you grind creative or arena.
- Wrist Position & Posture – Please reference my posture article along with this key video on why wrist position and how we hold our mouse matters
- Playing schedule – you are likely playing too much without proper breaks. Your muscles need time to recovery from repeated loading! Reference the video above to learn more about the big 3.
Exercises to help prevent & manage your pain
Now that we understand the big 3, here is a simple strengthening & stretching routine you can implement DAILY to help prevent & manage your pain. Strengthening exercises should be performed in the morning and/or before you sleep. Stretching can be performed after your gaming session or in between your games when there is downtime. Here is a visual approach for how to perform the exercises
Try this regular strength & stretching program and let us know how it helps you! If you want to check out some of the other pain patterns head back to the main guide. Share this with anyone you feel like it might be helpful for!
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