Injuries from gaming are far more common than most of us can imagine. It is yet another of the many examples of the many repetitive flexion activities that are common in our society today. Here is an example of the questions we receive...

SF:Hello doctor zac, i am a passion gamer and plan to get involved with games as a career. A while ago i had it where i felt some sore under my wrist by my thumb and on the other side of my hand. At first i believe it was because of the way i used my laptop at first which laid down and my hands pushing above and immediatly stopped working like that. I still have some soreness under and sometimes feel a tension down my arms a bit. Now i do play a lot of games but i made sure i keep an idea on how long and sometimes it just an hour or two and then i take a break. I see how i weaken my hands that time and since i enjoy playing games why i feel that. It seems that it just might be tenden i ss. sorry couldn't spell it right. I bought your product and hoping it helps my hand. Should i just do the basic excersice for this. I will like to say that i'm cooling off for my games for a while but like to be able to enjoy without feeling a soreness. I have used these heating wristbands that have helped out. Also I have it where I worked out at a gym three times a week and have a trainer. My trainer mention it was tenden iss. Sorrry to bother you but just wanted to ask about the product and feel like this will help me out.

Hi SF:
Thx for your email. Regarding any soft tissue injury (muscle, tendon and/or joint), the first step is to understand the cause. I get lots of emails from gamers asking about hand, wrist & elbow pain. Many people make fun of exercises for gamers, but, upon injury, it is anything but funny, as you know. Gaming injuries are common and here's why: repetitive small range of motion (ROM) activity using fingers, thumbs and wrist. When an activity is done over & over thru a small ROM (gamers, surgeons, dentist, hygienists, computer, golfers, tennis, crafts, sewing/stitching, etc.), the body adapts by shortening and thickening the muscles in use. Eventually tiny adhesions occur within and between the muscles and eventually blood flow is decreased. All nutrients are received via blood flow, so now we have a tissue health problem.
That may seem like a long explaination, but the solution is now easy to understand. Handmaster Plus was designed so that people who must do regular repetitive motions (gripping, flexing, etc.) with their hands can easily offset the eventual muscular imbalance. Use the main exercise as well as the wrist & elbow exercise (http://www.doczac.com/downloads/basic_exercises.pdf) daily, as well as before and after gaming (warm up/cool down). Follow instructions. In doing these exercises, you will begin to re-establish healthy blood flow, muscle strength and balance, the keys to the health of all tendons, muscles and joints. BTW, tendinitis is simply an inflammation of a tendon (-itis = inflammation). Do not exercise if there is pain. Heat is helpful if the injury is chronic. Moist heat is best. Bracing is a good idea until you can properly restrengthen.
This experience will make you an expert in soft tissue (muscle, tendon, joint) health. Pass the word to your gamer friends. There are far too many needless gamer injuries. Proper understanding of the potential problem is all that is needed to prevent almost every gamer injury.
Hope that helps.

Best,
doczac