Hand Stretches for Gamers
Gaming has long surpassed just being a hobby and has become a sport or a job for a lot of people. Thinking about gaming as a competitive sport will lead to understanding why health should be a central issue when discussing improvement.
Many areas are affected by how you use your computer and how much you game, and there are also counter-measures already put in place to alleviate some of the strain – computer glasses to protect our eyes, gaming chairs to keep our postures correct, and even different keyboard sizes and layouts to make typing more comfortable.
Besides all of these, we have to also remember that a lot of the movements we are making and a lot of the injuries people suffer are from swiping their mice around a lot.
This is mainly because manipulating a mouse with control requires a lot of practice which can be strenuous on your muscles and soft tissues found in your arms.
Of course, you can alleviate this by using lighter mice while gaming, but the true solution to this issue is stretching before, while gaming, and after gaming. Once again, if you think about gaming as a competitive sport this makes so much more sense – you do not see football players or basketball players just running onto the field, all of them warm up to prevent injuries, and that is why hand stretches for gamers are a must!
Why Stretches for Gamers Are Important
You can find a lot of studies that touch on this topic, but just in case, we will briefly mention some benefits to stretching and properly warming up before your gaming sessions or even office work.
- A big reduction in the probability of injuries
- Increases muscle flexibility
- Improves recovery time after gaming sessions
- Improves overall coordination of hand muscles
- Improves fine control
- Prevents muscle cramps and tightening during or after gaming sessions
The list can go on and on but the main point is just as obvious as it gets – if you value your health and wellbeing and if you want to be able to play games without injuries (which will prevent you from playing games) then hand exercises for gamers should become a daily routine.
Hand Stretches for Gamers We Would Recommend Before Gaming
You can find a lot of resources and information online so we decided to give you a couple of effective hand exercises for gamers and some hand stretches that will help you keep gaming-related injuries away!
All of the exercises mentioned were recommended and compiled by Kastor so a big shout out to him!
Before starting your gaming sessions we would recommend following a mobility routine that will prepare your body for physical activity.
- Hand Rotations
- Hand waves
- Prayer stretch
- Inverted prayer stretch
- Hang loose stretches
- Sagittal hang loose stretches
All of these exercises will reduce friction between your articular cartilages and help your joints move freely and precisely with a lot fewer chances to injure yourself or feel pain.
This should become a daily routine for you before you start your work at your PC and should become a habit of yours.
Hand Stretches for Gamers We Would Recommend After Gaming
Just the way you warm-up for physical activity there is a need to complete a routine for hand stretches for gamers after your activity is done.
These exercises are static stretching exercises and will help you unwind and relax after your gaming or work session. These exercises are not recommended before your physical activity because loose muscles are harder to control leading to less precise movements.
Here is a list of exercises we would recommend:
- Wrist extension
- Wrist flexion
- Fist stretch
- Wrist supination
- Wrist pronation
- Thumb extensor
- Thumb flexor
- Thumb adductor
- Finger flexor
- Finger extensor
This list includes finger stretches for gamers, thumb stretches for gamers, and overall stretching for your hand to allow it to relax after physical activity.
As with the warm-up exercises, the stretches should become a daily routine and before going to bed, or before finishing up your work, make sure to go through the 10 stretching exercises we have included above.
A thing to mention is that if you do still experience pains during or after gaming even after following this routine, then you should consult a professional in the field that will suggest personalized routines just for your issues!
We would once again like to thank Kastor for creating such a handy public guide to keeping gamers around the world healthy and happy.