You pick up your phone to reply to a message.
Twenty minutes later, you’ve answered your emails, checked the news, scrolled through social media and somehow ended up watching a video you never intended to watch.
Then you notice it: an ache around your wrist or the base of your thumb.
If this keeps happening, you may start wondering whether your phone is actually causing the problem.
Wrist pain when using your phone doesn’t necessarily mean the phone itself is to blame. But the way we hold and use our phones can involve lots of repeated movement and prolonged positions, particularly for our thumbs, fingers and wrists.
For an already sensitive hand or wrist, that extra load may matter.
Why can wrist pain when using your phone develop?
Think about how you normally hold your phone.
Perhaps you support its entire weight in one hand while using the same thumb to scroll, type and reach across the screen.
Your thumb may perform hundreds of small repeated movements, while your wrist stays in one position for quite a long time.
Repeated use of the wrist, hand and fingers can contribute to pain and irritation. The NHS uses the broad term repetitive strain injury (RSI) for pain associated with repeated use of part of the body. Symptoms can affect the wrist, hand and fingers and may include aching, stiffness, weakness, tingling or swelling.
That doesn’t mean every sore wrist associated with phone use is RSI.
There are several possible causes of wrist and thumb pain, which is why persistent symptoms are better assessed individually rather than self-diagnosed.
Why does my thumb hurt when I scroll?
If your discomfort is concentrated around the thumb side of your wrist, repeated thumb movement may be relevant.
One condition affecting this area is De Quervain’s syndrome, which involves the tendons that move the thumb.
Symptoms can include pain and tenderness on the thumb side of the wrist, sometimes with swelling, and discomfort when gripping, twisting or lifting. Repetitive thumb and wrist movements can aggravate the area.
However, having thumb pain while using your phone doesn’t automatically mean you have De Quervain’s. Arthritis, injuries and other hand and wrist problems can produce similar symptoms.
It may be about more than screen time
You may use your phone frequently without any problems for years, so why might your wrist suddenly start hurting now?
Look at what else your hands have been doing.
Perhaps you’ve recently spent more time:
- working at a computer
- gaming
- gardening
- using tools
- carrying or lifting a baby
- playing a racquet sport
- doing a craft or hobby
- gripping or lifting repeatedly
Your phone may simply be one part of the total amount of work your hand and wrist are doing.
Rather than blaming one activity, it can be useful to look at the overall pattern.
What can you try if your wrist hurts when using your phone?
You don’t necessarily have to give up your phone. A few changes to the way you use it may be enough to reduce some of the repetitive load.
Use both hands
Instead of holding your phone and scrolling with the same hand, try supporting it with both hands or alternating hands regularly.
Give your thumb a break
Use another finger to scroll occasionally rather than asking one thumb to do everything.
Voice-to-text can also reduce the amount of typing needed for longer messages.
Bring your phone to you
If you regularly hold your phone low in your lap, you may find yourself bending your wrist and curling your upper body around the screen.
Experiment with supporting your arms and bringing the device into a comfortable position rather than maintaining one awkward position for a long time.
Take regular breaks
The issue isn’t necessarily one particular position being “bad”. Staying in the same position and repeating the same movement for a prolonged period may be more important.
Put the phone down periodically, move your hands and wrists gently and change position.
Notice what else aggravates it
Does your wrist also hurt when you open a jar, carry a shopping bag, lift a saucepan or use a computer mouse?
That information can be useful because it gives a physiotherapist a broader picture of which movements and loads are provoking your symptoms.
Should I stretch a painful wrist?
It can be tempting to aggressively stretch an uncomfortable wrist or thumb because it feels tight.
But more stretching isn’t always better.
For some tendon problems, repeatedly stretching an already sensitive area may simply irritate it further.
If you aren’t sure what is causing the discomfort, an assessment can help you choose exercises that are appropriate rather than relying on a generic online routine.
How can physiotherapy help wrist pain?
Physiotherapy isn’t only for backs, knees and sports injuries.
At Luck’s Yard Clinic, our musculoskeletal physiotherapy service includes assessment and rehabilitation for wrist problems, repetitive strain injuries, tendon problems and other joint and soft tissue pain.
Your physiotherapist can assess your wrist, hand and thumb movement and strength, discuss the activities that trigger your symptoms and look at how much load the area is managing overall.
Treatment will depend on the cause but may involve advice about temporarily adapting aggravating activities followed by exercises to gradually restore movement, strength and tolerance.
The aim isn’t simply to tell you to stop using your phone. It is to understand why the area has become sensitive and help you return comfortably to the things you need and want to do.
When should wrist or thumb pain be checked?
See a GP if wrist or thumb pain is stopping you doing normal activities, is getting worse or keeps returning, or hasn’t improved after around two weeks of home treatment. You should also seek advice if you develop tingling or loss of sensation.
Seek urgent assessment following an injury if you have severe pain, cannot move the wrist or thumb or hold things, have lost sensation, or the hand or wrist has changed shape or colour.
Is your phone becoming a pain in the wrist?
If wrist pain when using your phone keeps returning, simply swapping hands every few minutes may not address everything that’s contributing.
A physiotherapy assessment can help identify the movements and activities that are aggravating the area and give you a more individual plan for managing it.
Our musculoskeletal physiotherapy team at Luck’s Yard Clinic in Milford can assess wrist, hand and thumb problems and advise on the most appropriate next steps.
