Apple Watch causing wrist pain

Cåts wrote:

My ortho had me remove my watch and asked “ is that how you always wear it?” I said yes. He told me that I was wearing my watch improperly and it was pressing on one of many nerve pathways, and that I should entertain wearing it above the wrist bone. He also showed me how to make sure it isn’t too tight by being able to slip a finger under the watch and move it slightly.

It sounds as if you have very smart orthopedist!

I suspect this is the true cause for most people. It's complicated by the fact that there is some variation in human anatomy so the right spot for one person might be just a little of for another person.

Try the test someone suggested above. Start after any previous discomfort has cleared, Power off the watch and wear it as a simple wristband for a period which you would expect to cause problems. Of course, stop and take the watch off if discomfort is excessive. This should tell you whether it is the hardware (tight strap, etc) or watch electronics causing your problem. If you have the Series 3 cellular version you could also try another test by disabling cellular and WiFi, just swipe up for Control Center and turn them off.

First I want to stress instead of posting here, you need to make an appointment with a neurologist for nerve studies and and EMG test. This can be three things: carpel tunnel syndrome, trigger finger or a cervical disc compressing a nerve pinching it. I had surgery on both wrists in 2015 for carpel tunnel. I was left with scarring and my left wrist was worse than my right. For at least a year after the surgery, it was painful to wear a Fitbit or any type of watch that buckled on the back or was stretchy and squeezed my wrist or forearm. After that time, I tried a Fitbit Charge and it was fine. It wore out and I used a Fitbit Alta which has a buckle. That was a killer as the buckle dug into the area near the scar. I've been wearing Apple Watch Series 4 gold aluminum with the pink sand sport band with no pain whatsoever. Although I do have times where I just take it off during the day since I still have trigger finger and a nerve being compressed in my cervical spine. I'm going to say that the Apple Watch is not causing the problem, but is the symptom of the problem. The sooner you get it taken care of the better off you'll feel.

I figured it out myself. All the pain went away when I put the watch in Airplane mode. I only use Bluetooth when i need to link my phone and watch when I exercise. Thank you for you thoughtful response unlike some of the people. I love my watch and it is all good.

I have posted here a few months back when my wrist was painfully sore repeatedly. Heres the results.

1. I found my wrist in pain with 0 strength after wearing my watch 24/7 for several months. I stopped wearing watch for a week and it got better.
2. I wore it again for 24/7 and the pain returned within a week.
3. I stopped the heart rate monitor and stopped wearing the watch to bed. I only wear during the day. Pain did not return.
4. After a few weeks I turned on the heart rate monitor again. I wear it only when I am awake and remove when I sleep. Pain has not returned.

So my conclusion is that the pain comes from wearing the watch 24/7. I think when you're sleeping you tend to put more pressure on your watch head area. However I miss being able to use the watch vibration alarm to wake me in the morning. Maybe Ill try turning the watch head to the bottom of my wrist?

Kip

S34NHarr wrote:

I have same issue. Seems like some sort of radiation from the watch is causing it. Can not be good for you whatever it is. I have joint pain in my wrist hand and forearm including my elbo from it.

No, it's not at all likely that it has anything to do with "radiation". What is more likely is that the convex back of the watch is pressing against your wrist in such a way as to cause you pain. There is sufficient variation in human anatomy that there will be some people for who the watch is uncomfortable. Try wearing it just a it looser or a little further up your wrist, toward your elbow.

If you're experiencing that much joint pain, you should also consult your doctor.

I have the same issue deep throbbing radiating pain that starts anywhere from a couple of days to a week after wearing my Apple watch series 2

Can get bad enough to radiate to the elbow.

I used to have this same issue with my Fitbit when I would turn on the Heart Rate monitor

With the Apple watch the heart rate monitor is always on and tricky to turn off. Go into privacy settings in the Apple Watch app on your phone, and turn if off there.

No pain with the heart rate monitor off, takes a little while for the pain to go away but does not come back (for me) after I turn the heart rate monitor off.

Some people are sensitive to this, and some people are not.
Worth a try, it's a great watch I would have been super upset if I had not figured this out! I love my Apple Watch, I just use the heart monitor sporadically and turn it off when I don't need it.

OK, I was getting worried and really sad when this was happening to me this week, so I did some googling. It really could be as simple as wearing it too low on the wrist. It can sit on a large vein on the wrist. Sure enough, as soon as I just moved mine further up my wrist, the pain was gone. A relief!

One month with the Apple Watch: Pain, joy, and daily experiences | ZDNet

I saw this and want to share what happened to me - please hear me out.

was never one to wear a watch. I was gifted a regular wristwatch last year.

I have smal, wrists and did not like the way the watched looked when worn above the wrist bone , so I wore it below the wrist bone.

( I didn’t sleep with it on my wrist).

a week after I’d started wearing this regular wristwatch, I started having pain in the wrist that radiated up my arm. it felt like a low level shock.

Fast forward 3 weeks, it was still happening so I made an appointment with an ortho thinking I hurt it playing sports.

My ortho had me remove my watch and asked “ is that how you always wear it?” I said yes. He told me that I was wearing my watch improperly and it was pressing on one of many nerve pathways, and that I should entertain wearing it above the wrist bone. He also showed me how to make sure it isn’t too tight by being able to slip a finger under the watch and move it slightly.

he said no need for MRI or X-ray but I wasn’t convinced it was the watch and thought I’d hurt myself p,aging sports. ( high pain tolerance - I don’t always feel pain right away).

He humored me and ordered tests.

MRI showed nothing, nor did X Ray.

in my case, my improper use of the watch was to blame. I’d started wearing it the way the ortho suggested and no more pain. Of course I had to test the theory and go back to wearing it my way- below the wrist bone - and the pain came back.

for ME- the answer was proper placement of the watch on my wrist. ( this was a regular wrist watch- not an Apple Watch. )

thought I’d share this. Maybe it will help some people.

If you’re having g pain and believe it’s the watch, I suggest seeing a doctor and going from there- and showing him how you’re wearing your watch because you might be wearing it too low, too tight, or what have you.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But I want to add that there is definitely something in the apple watch thats causing this pain.

It almost feel like an arthritis pain, causing slight numbness.

I don’t even have to tighten the strap, I just hold it on my wrist and the pain is there immediately.

And when I take it off after a while the pain is gone.

I tried it repeatedly, did the same.

As I wanted this watch so badly I withstood the pain and its getting less with time, but the strong pain comes back but this time for short periods.

I hope it goes away.

There are normal variations in human anatomy. Some people seem sensitive to the convex back of the watch. A doctor who posted here a year or so ago said that, in some people, the watch could press against a particular nerve and cause pain. I believe he suggested moving it slightly up the wrist, away from the hand. Or trying the other wrist. He also recommended seeing a doctor.

What you describe are symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or a repetitive stress injury. See a neurologist. It may be indirectly related to wearing the watch - you raise your arm frequently to look at the watch, which is a motion you probably haven't used in the past, or at least not with the same frequency. The watch may also be pressing on the nerves or tendons in your wrist; try wearing it higher. But the important thing is to see a doctor.

Just put it in Airplane mode and on turn on Bluetooth when you want the phone to link. All my pain went away which radiated up and down the arm......... It’s gone no problem.

I have posted on this before and will repeat because I have fixed my issue very easily.

I put the pad of a band aid over the sensor so the full "rays" of the sensor don't go through my wrist.

I also recently put a piece of blue pain free skin tape on and still the same result, NO PAIN!

I change it out every week as a bandaid can collect water, germs, etc. Give it a shot, if it doesn't fix the issue then you should probably just stop wearing it :/

Looking at your photo I think I can see 2 darker lines which could be left by the watch. Leaving aside the possibility they are staining caused by the band (unlikely or almost impossible for a genuine Apple Sports band) that sort of suggests light bruising. The upper mark is too high for normal wearing a watch, and I would expect it to slip down to a thinner section of your arm.

The lower mark is roughly where I would expect you to wear a watch, but the mark seems to be skewed across your wrist joint. Wearing a watch band across the flexible part of your wrist is not correct, and I can imagine it putting pressure on internal elements as your wrist bends. The correct location is around the slimmest area of your forearm probably about 1” (2.5cm) above the bend of your wrist. The distal ends of the bones in your forearm have a slightly expanded end for the wrist joint, the watch should be clear above this wider part.

Also be aware your arm will swell and reduce slightly depending even on how active or hot you are, and this might mean you need to adjust the band fitting from time to time. As a general rule you should look for a snug fit so it can’t slip down over your wrist joint, but not so tight the band leaves “strap marks” all round your wrist when you take it off.

I, too, am experiencing “deep” wrist/bone pain wearing my Apple Watch 3, relieved by removing the watch. At first I thought it might be related to an old wrist fracture, but I have similar pain when worn on my other wrist, though not as severe.

Reading through all the “see your doctor” and “must be something wrong with you” replies belies the fact that LED light does have a biological impact. We’ve long used red LEDs to aid wound healing and diminish peripheral neuropathy as it promotes increased nitric oxide levels at local sites which encourages improved blood circulation. So I started looking around and see that green LED light has similar effects. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11061-y

My son - also a Watch wearer but with no issues - suggested trying a simple “control”, wearing the Watch while powered down under the same circumstances where we have experienced pain or discomfort. If you still have similar discomfort, then it seems more likely that it could be allergy, tightness, pressure or repetitive motion as others have already suggested.

My personal feeling is that some people may be more sensitive to the effects of LEDs than others which I’m sure a biomedical engineer could explain. There are a lot of nerves, muscles and blood vessels in the area our Watch sets. I’d like to hear of anyone trying the “powered off” trial and their results. (Just powering it off at night and wearing while sleeping isn’t the same thing.)