I watch causing Wrist and arm numbing and pain?

Hello all, I have read through this thread and several others regarding the wrist/hand/arm pain.

I received my apple watch on December 29th, 2016. I ordered the SS with the Milanese loop. I noticed on the first day that my arm ached. I thought it was just due to the new device and looking at the watch face. I switched arms and experienced the same pain on the right side. I thought I would just get used to the watch. I watched the tutorials on how to wear it and adjusted the band accordingly.

My husband is a physician and I mentioned the pain to him. His response was that I was having anxiety and that the pain was most likely due to the newness of the device and me thinking about it too much.

Over the week, the pain became worse, almost like a carpal tunnel effect, causing pain in my ring finger in the hand of whichever arm I was wearing the watch. Yesterday, my husband offered to wear the watch for awhile. Fifteen minutes into wear, he said he felt the same thing I did: His arm ached and he felt discomfort. My son tried it on and experienced pain and muscle twitching.

I have put the watch in airplane mode and also switched the watch completely off. The effect is the same. I ordered a sport band and that arrived today. It seems as though I have become even more sensitive to the pain, as almost immediately I felt pain from the watch after putting it on with the new band.

I have contacted Apple and they have been very helpful. I am going to try a different watch case (maybe an aluminum one) to see if that helps.

I wanted to give an update, letting you know that even my husband thought I was crazy, but experienced the same sensation as I did. The only thing I can think of is there is some effect with the charging base on the back of the watch. Even with the watch turned completely off, the members of my family and I can feel pain.

I hope this answers some questions for those of you wondering about the pain and when it occurs. I think it is really weird, and I am super bummed because I absolutely love the watch and all of its' features, and I want it to work for me.

Just got the watch January 3rd. I put it on as soon as I got home from work that evening and opened up the packaging. Within an hour I mentioned to my husband that i thought it was making my arm feel funny. Completely ignored it, went to sleep and went about my next day. I have noticed in the 4 or 5 days of wearing the watch that the worst time for the odd feeling (tingling, warm sensation, slight pain, numbing) is when I'm driving or relaxing at home. When I workout, or am busy doing something, it's fine. I can't figure out if I'm going to just ignore the pain during those times of not moving my arm around or just return the item, in which I had better receive a full refund, because it's not my fault I'm part of the small percentage that this watch is effecting in a negative way. Keep in mind on January 6th I purchased one of the nylon bands (watch was purchased with the sports band) and I'm still experiencing the same feeling. Clearly I am not going to waste my time and more money by seeing a MD, since according to this thread, has already been undiagnosed by others who have seeked their opinion.

What Apple made works with about 99.99% of the people that use them. For those that it doesn't they should see a doctor and try to find out which material in the watch, or the way that they are using it, that could be a problem. Garmin uses the same type of battery, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and materials as the Apple Watch. So are you saying the WatchOS is the issue?

I am now on my second Apple Watch as I sold my first sport watch to a friend who hadn't ordered one early enough and didn't want to wait. After a short adjustment, mainly to the size, (I'm a regular watch wearer for many years) I found the aluminum watch very comfortable and a pleasure to use for the 2 weeks I wore it. I received my replacement watch, a 38mm stainless milanese loop, 2 days ago and I have had issues I didn't experience with the sport watch. It is a beautiful watch and works well except for some weird battery issues and that it heated up so much yesterday I had to take it off and my skin was hot and reddened under the watch. I'm not sure if this one has a faulty battery but I'm exchanging it for another sport model. I don't know what it is about the ss milanese but there do seem to be more people with issues with this model. I think the ss milanese has 2 magnets, the magnet in the watch itself as well as the strap magnet, though I'm not sure what difference this makes, if any. My stainless steel strap sticks to the bottom of the watch so it appears there is a magnet there probably as part of the wireless charging system. I personally find this watch feels lighter or certainly less bulky than the sport model and i really like that. I'm sad that there are problems with this particular watch because I think it is really beautiful, but I'm not willing to take a chance on a second one of these so I'm going back to the sport.

I find KiltedTom's blanket rejection of any possibility of biorhythms or anything else he disagrees with fairly offensive. "Your pain is not being caused by radiation or electrical signals." If you're not a doctor, and more importantly, you're not a doctor who has examined Mstattedcanvas, stop making diagnoses. Apple is wonderful at inventing new and wonderful products and I love and happily use them all, but modern life is a huge experiment in progress on the effects of many new electrical, chemical and physical changes in the environment. Unfortunately it can take many years or even decades before negative effects appear, in some cases, and there is no way to fully understand our grand modern life experiment until more time has passed.

Comments like: 'I didn't say these devices don't emit radiation. What I'm saying is you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. If you seriously believe that , then you need to sell every piece of electronic equipment you own and move to a deserted island somewhere where there is not electricity at all." are dogmatic and condescending.

then there is this comment: "Um... no. The heart rate sensor is optical. That means it uses light. If light is causing you a problem, then you have bigger issues than your watch."

I'm not sure what you are trying to imply about their issues but lasers use light and energy from the sun comes to us as light as well as other frequencies. Light can be very powerful. I'm guessing the optical system in the watch it is too weak and well calibrated to cause problems, but light can cause burns and other issues so your logic is illogical.

Good luck Mstattedcanvas, and hopefully a sport watch will be a better option for you and not cause issues. The fact is that some people are a lot more sensitive to their environment than others and this is ok.

It is not an allergy. I didn't mention any external symptoms because there aren't any. All of the symptoms I have are internal, which is pain. Pain in the muscle or tendons in my wrist, arm and hand. An allergy to any part of the watch would show up as a rash or peeling skin, etc. Again, there are no external problems. My skin looks perfect and smooth. The symptom I have is internal pain.

This is the second day of wearing my new apple watch. I am having the same experience, tingling, numbing in my hand and upper arm. I wear a watch all the time so am used to them. I do not think its an allergic reaction. It feels more electrical, like it is affecting my biorhythms or something along those lines. I am hoping that my body gets used to the computer on it, because I really like my new apple gadget.

I mentioned my age in the first post as a reference point. I mentioned it again to say I've been wearing watches a long time and don't need instructions or a tutorial on how to wear one. It was the Watch. Not sure why this is such a contentious point. For whatever reason, the Watch and my body did not get along.

Hi

If you experience redness, swelling, itchiness or any other irritation or discomfort on your skin around or beneath your Apple Watch or band, then Apple recommends that you remove your Apple Watch and consult a doctor / physician before wearing it again.

Skin reactions can be a result of various causes including:

• Allergies (eg to nickel).
• Extended exposure to irritants (eg soap or sweat).
• Environmental factors.
• Wearing the band too tightly or too loosely.

More information, including tips from Apple:

• Cleaning your Apple Watch - Apple Support
  

  Includes "Tips to avoid skin irritation, or if you have allergies or skin sensitivities".

• Wearing your Apple Watch - Apple Support
• See under "Skin Sensitivities":

  Important safety information

If you are concerned that your Apple Watch may have experienced above normal operating temperatures, then follow the instructions here:

Keep Apple Watch within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support

If you are concerned about a potential hardware defect or other issue, then I suggest that you contact Apple Support (remote diagnostics and/or mail-in service may be available, if required), make a Genius Bar reservation or visit an Apple Authorised Service Provider for assistance:

• US: Apple Watch Service Answer Center - Apple Support
• Elsewhere: Select your country for Apple Watch service and repair information

All models of Apple Watch emit radio frequency (RF) energy. Apple advises that, in order to ensure that RF exposure levels remain at or below the levels reported from testing:

• When holding Apple Watch (any model) near your face, you should keep at least 10mm of separation between the watch and your face.
• When wearing Apple Watch (any model) on your wrist, no separation is required.

Information about Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limits and the highest SAR values for all models of Apple Watch under specified test conditions (including when worn on the wrist) are available via Apple's website:

Legal - RF Exposure - Apple

I'm now on my second day of wearing my Watch, and I'm not noticing anything different, other than that I have something on my wrist (I previously went 11 years without wearing a watch). The only really different thing is the unobtrusive light penetration from the sensors (which are measuring heart rate and detecting that the Watch is on a wrist in the first place) and the material of the Watch. If you're finding tingling, etc., it may be that the Watch is too tight, or you're having some manner of reaction that you weren't previously aware you'd have.

If you're able, I'd just check in with your doctor on your next visit and do a test for allergies.

I am actually a hand surgeon, and while I can't diagnose you for sure via text, numbness and tingling is the main symptom of carpal tunnel, which is caused by compression of a nerve in your wrist. The symptoms can often be reproduced by pressing on the inside of your wrist for a while- you start the get the feeling of your "circulation being cut off". If that is what you're feeling, it could be that your watch is too tight (though honestly I have never heard of a watch being so tight it causes carpal tunnel). Like someone else said, it could also just be that you are using your arm differently now (to hold it up and look at the watch). I can't really explain why a watch would cause that, but, if it persists, I would agree with getting it checked out.

After having the watch for nearly 3 weeks now and trying various methods of wearing the band I have put the issue down to the Stainless Steel Case with Milanese Loop combination. It's must be something to do with the way the case and band sits on your wrist and possibly the strength of the magnet as there are others with similar problems :

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458?start=15&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361?start=45&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7019855

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1880533&page=4

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=21290632#post21290632

I appreciate this is not effecting everyone but as many others with the issues report the same problem it seems for some of us unlucky ones this combo wont work.

I am now going to wait for my sport band to come and get rid of the ML and if the problem still persists will unfortunately have to sell the device despite really loving its functionality.

For your information today I have not worn my AW and have got on my previous usual timepiece and the pain as instantly gone with no odd sensations from my wrist to elbow!

Oh my Gawd ... it is true then .. about that light in the iWatch that 'sees' into your body looking for blood ... otherwise the iWatch will not work at all ... and if one has tattoos on the wrist ... also the light will not turn on the iWatch as it can not see blood. I thought is was nonsense and a hoax ... but it is true what other blogs are saying. wow .. that is so creepy.

And yes ... there is magnetite in the brain .. it is absorbed with food as we are not born with it in our body and it is how humans and animals have an innate sense of north. Other magnet fields would of course in certain circumstances interfere with that.

Meg St._ClairMay 15, 2015 2:22 PM Re: I watch causing Wrist and arm numbing and pain?
Re: I watch causing Wrist and arm numbing and pain?

Tygerlylly wrote:

If "their heads should be exploding in bloody pulps" is your idea of hard scientific fact then clearly you attended science classes at a comic book illustrator's school. You are free with your pseudo-science comments, but the offensive part is your vehemence and conviction that only you know the truth and that whatever Mstattedcanvas and the other posters who experienced sensations they attributed to the watch said is "pure bull". No matter what the actual cause and effect, I think they should be able to post without your antagonistic responses denigrating their experiences.

No one is denigrating their experience. It is their scientifically unfounded suppositions about the cause that are generating the comments.

Yes, light, in certain wave lengths and intensities, can cause damage. Drinking too much water can also kill you. Unless someone is holding the heart rate sensor up to their eye and staring into it for hours (assuming you could get it to stay on), the light used is not going to cause a problem. The magnets in the band have no way to affect human tissue.

<Link Edited by Host>

I think it is the nail shape button of the band pressing on the inside of your wrist that make your arm feel numb. Because I feel numb the same as you, but when I took off the bands and put only the watch on my arm, no numb. Apple watch works well when I do sports but it does make me uncomfortable when I'm working in the office. Apple should redesign the bands of the apple watch!

"AlexroetMay 7, 2015 11:05 AM Re: I watch causing Wrist and arm numbing and pain?
Re: I watch causing Wrist and arm numbing and pain?in response to Mstattedcanvas

I am actually a hand surgeon, and while I can't diagnose you for sure via text, numbness and tingling is the main symptom of carpal tunnel, which is caused by compression of a nerve in your wrist. The symptoms can often be reproduced by pressing on the inside of your wrist for a while- you start the get the feeling of your "circulation being cut off". If that is what you're feeling, it could be that your watch is too tight (though honestly I have never heard of a watch being so tight it causes carpal tunnel). Like someone else said, it could also just be that you are using your arm differently now (to hold it up and look at the watch). I can't really explain why a watch would cause that, but, if it persists, I would agree with getting it checked out."

DuraQ wrote:

Tried the Sport 42" and the regular 38".

The arm that wears the watch starts hurting after a while. `

It appears that some people are sensitive to the convex back of the watch pressing into their wrist. Depending on your particular anatomy, it may press against a nerve. Try moving it up your arm. Being fit has nothing to do with this.

@Apple, if you want to examine this further I can assist and help you with that since I can sense that it is your product that is causing this pain.

Apple is not reading here. Submit feedback using the feedback link:

http://www.apple.com/feedback