Apple Watch causing wrist pain

I, too, think the wi-fi/IR hypothesis is pure bunk--if anything, IR would help ease, not cause wrist pain, since it's used in physiotherapy. Got my 38mm Series 2 back in June, worn w/a wide variety of bands, without incident (except inadvertently trigging Siri).

I've also had L lateral wrist pain wearing it for abt. 6 wks now, after breaking a fall with my outstretched hand. (Kids, don't try this at home). OK for a day or two, then stiffness, soreness, clicking/snapping and even metacarpal burning while late-night typing. (No visible swelling). Am a guitarist/dulcimerist, and it keeps me from gripping a guitar neck and making chords. Didn't try a brace, because not sure what kind to get. Went to walk-in ortho/sports med clinic, got X-rayed. Noticed symptoms much milder after removing the watch. No fractures or dislocation, but ortho doc says "TfCC" inflammation from a combo of the injury & a slightly-too-long ulna (bone along the outside of forearm). Radiologist noted arthritic changes--but on the thumb side (where it doesn't hurt). Ortho doc says too late to splint because that'd stiffen it more, so see if topical NSAID gel helps and get an MRI & cortisone shot in 6 wks if it doesn't.

Noticed this a.m. that I had no pain or stiffness until after wearing the watch for a minute or two. I bet it's the strap: an aftermarket leather one that is thicker & wider than the silicone and less flexy than the mesh (both Apple & aftermarket). I pushed the band higher up above the joint, which seems to help but still feels restrictive. Will go back to the orig. silicone strap and see if that's better.

Wish they made slimmer straps--or even the old "Twist-O-Flex" style.

Oh, and no skin reactions at all with the Apple Watch. Used to have a Fitbit Surge--and the rubber in its non-removable band combined with sweat (even worse when wearing lotion) gave me a blistering rash, which was such a known issue that I was able to exchange it for a Blaze (which has removable and interchangeable bands like the Apple Watch). Make sure you know what your straps (Apple or aftermarket) are made of. Silicone good, rubber bad!

Sandra Andina1 wrote:

Wish they made slimmer straps--or even the old "Twist-O-Flex" style.

There are lots of non-Apple bands available. Also, kits to convert bands so they work with the Apple Watch. It might be worth poking around on Amazon.

I have a whole wardrobe of non-Apple bands--in fact, the one that's the apparent culprit is an aftermarket leather one. The aftermarket silicone ones I have (pale and bright pink, navy, red) are identical in construction (materials, dimensions) to the white Apple one that came with my watch; the rose-gold-plate aftermarket mesh one is a bit thicker and wider than the stainless Apple one I originally got for dresswear. None of the aftermarket bands on Amazon are any slimmer than Apple's OEM spec. I'd like to see if I can modify a cheap one to taper more radically so it restricts motion a bit less--but it could make the edges too sharp.

I've used different bands and even switched the arm that I wear the watch on and the problem occurs only with the wrist that I wear the watch on. I wish it wasn't an issue as I really like the watch and many of the features it offers.

My solution is that I quit wearing the watch as I don't have any wrist related pain when I'm not wearing it. My iPhone has once again become my go to time keeper and step monitor.

I will continue to update my watch and wear it from time to time to see if the issue resolves itself. I bought the watch from a friend when she upgraded to the 2nd generation, so it isn't like I'm out a lot of money. Plus, I keep the watch on my nightstand to use as a clock and to help me find my iPhone when I misplace it, so it is not a total loss for me.

I ended up returning it. Even as I returned it, I had thoughts of maybe if I try to move it on my wrist it will be okay, etc. But the date for return was upon me and I just couldn't let us swallow the $325 price tag on a chance that moving it would help. I tried looser, tighter, different places...but anyway, thanks for the feedback all.

Ok Apple employee. Now onto the issue that everyone is concerned about...

I've been experiencing arthritic type pain after about 6-9 weeks of wearing this device.
It's a sharp pain that I've never experienced before. It doesn't stop me from doing pushups or other exercises.
It's just a sharp pain that i notice when leaning on objects while wearing the watch.

I will be looking to return it for a full refund. Apple watch 3 is what i had acquired.

JonCor123 wrote:

Ok Apple employee. Now onto the issue that everyone is concerned about...

I've been experiencing arthritic type pain after about 6-9 weeks of wearing this device.
It's a sharp pain that I've never experienced before. It doesn't stop me from doing pushups or other exercises.
It's just a sharp pain that i notice when leaning on objects while wearing the watch.

I will be looking to return it for a full refund. Apple watch 3 is what i had acquired.

No one here is an Apple employee. This is a user forum.

Go see your doctor.

Bummer! But at least you were able to return it! Sadly, the shoes I mentioned are taunting me from the corner of my closet. I’ll keep an eye on this thread though. It is odd that many people have the same problem. Hope you can find some kind of fitness monitor that works for you. I find mine so helpful with workouts, nutrition, medication reminders, etc. I’ve heard Fitbit doesn’t have great customer service from more than a few of my friends. Just wanted to toss that out there. Otherwise, they were quite happy with the unit.

Just so you understand, the return period for Apple products for a full refund is 14 days. You are going to have to try and sell the device on your own to recover as much of your money as you can. You will not be able to return a device after 6-9 weeks for a full refund.

Haven't read all the replies yet - sorry. Just wanted to add that I had bad wrist and even elbow pain for the first few weeks, and then it went away. I think it's the repetitive motion of raising the watch - I haven't worn a watch in years, and remember conventional watches causing the same pain.

Now the pain is gone. Maybe the muscles got toughened up!

Personally I find that the Apple Watch (I have a Series 2) has caused me wrist pain right from the outset.

When I put the watch in Airplane mode, the pain goes away. I suspect the pain in my case is because of electromagnetic radiation.

Of course, this limits he usefulness of the Apple Watch. So I wear it only occasionally and limit its use in a non-Airplane mode to an absolute minimum.

More research is needed on the detrimental effects of radiation - especially when devices used in closed proximity to the body.

@Apple what do you have to say?

Rajsanta wrote:

When I put the watch in Airplane mode, the pain goes away. I suspect the pain in my case is because of electromagnetic radiation.

No, the human body is not capable of perceiving electromagnetic radiation at the levels output by a watch unless the emission is in the form of heat or light.

More research is needed on the detrimental effects of radiation - especially when devices used in closed proximity to the body.

The research has been done. You might also want to look up the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

@Apple what do you have to say?

Absolutely nothing here. This is a user-to-user forum.

Thanks for the response.

You’re probably technically right. However, the pain that people like me experience is real. I don’t know what the underlying cause is.

All I know is that, after a period of time, I can definitely sense the pain when I forget to turn on Airplane mode when wearing the Apple Watch.

I had the wrist pain issue with a Fitbit HR (which I stopped using). So this isn’t specific issue pertaining to the Apple Watch in my case.

Historically, people and industries have been in denial (for example, the tobacco industry denying the linkage to cancer). Time will tell if wearables have negative effects.

In the meanwhile, to avoid pain, I have no choice other than not using these devices or using it in a very limited manner (fully activated during exercise time only) with workarounds such as airplane mode at other times when wearing the device.

Point noted on this being a user to user forum. Thanks.

Rajsanta wrote:

Historically, people and industries have been in denial (for example, the tobacco industry denying the linkage to cancer). Time will tell if wearables have negative effects.

The tobacco industry denying that tobacco caused cancer is not really an apt analogy. Non-ionizing radiation has been studied independently of wearables (in fact, since before wearable was a word). So, read the actual science, not the marketing.

All I know is that, after a period of time, I can definitely sense the pain when I forget to turn on Airplane mode when wearing the Apple Watch.

However, unless you tested it in a situation where you didn't know if the watch was in Airplane mode or not, conformation bias is a very real possibility. Human brains are remarkably easy to fool. And pain perception can be affected by a large number of factors. Please understand, I'm not suggesting you're stupid. I'm saying the way the brains of our entire species are wired, it can be very easy to make us belief certain things and very hard for us to give up certain beliefs even in the face of very strong evidence.

I had the wrist pain issue with a Fitbit HR (which I stopped using). So this isn’t specific issue pertaining to the Apple Watch in my case.

There are some anecdotal reports about people whose anatomy is just enough different that the convex back of the watch presses against a nerve in their wrist. It's been a while since I closely examined an FitBit HR so, I can't postulate if there is possibly a similar mechanical explanation.