Sorry to hear that. I'm pretty sure I don't have nor am getting carpal tunnel, but more recently when I've been playing games (even now as I type) I keep bending my wrists and squeezing my fist to get that *crack* sound, feeling like my wrist joints aren't aligned, or whatever you want to call it. It's been occurring more lately where I'm actually noticing it, and it's interfering with me keeping my hands on a controller normally for an extended amount of time, where holding a specific button down like L or R can't be done for a super long time before I want to move my hand around. I think it's more a habit that needs to get in control or something, rather than a serious issue, though.

Duder, get the surgery. It sounds way worse than it actually is. Super easy, and made all the difference in the world. I went from being miserable to pain free. Can't recommend it enough.

Do you use any sort of wrist rest at work? I recently started using one of these for my mouse hand both at work and at home. It was uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it. Then I forgot to bring it to work with me and my wrist hurt by the end of the day. It's made a good difference!

For some reason, my wrists tend to curl up when I sleep so whenever I do start to feel some bad pain, I'll wear some wrist splints to keep them straight while I sleep.

What is your posture like? How high is your desk? Do you sit up straight or are you leaned all the way back or hunched over? Are your elbows at right angles? Do you type with your wrists hanging off the edge of the desk? Have you tried an ergonomic keyboard? Have you tried a keyboard whose keys you only have to lightly tap? Have you tried using a trackball mouse instead of a traditional mouse at work? Do you take a minute or two every hour to do some basic arm and wrist stretches?

If you primarily game with a controller, have you tried resting your hands on a soft pillow while you hold the controller?

If you're in so much pain that you can't even use a controller to play games, then you should start looking into some things you can do. Changing your posture, changing the equipment you use, and learning some exercises and stretches can make all the difference in the world. It doesn't always completely fix the problem, but it can greatly improve it.

Thought this was going to be a thread about getting into PC gaming and not going back to consoles. I've had wrist pains at times after work, I also type a lot at my job. Normally if I take an hour or so break, maybe watch some movie or show then it's fine. Never had anything serious. I don't doubt in the future I will though.

I've had similar moments. I'm in data entry / admin and do try to take time out of every hour just to relax my hands. Unfortunately, if I'm cramming review work, I'm gaming heavily to get an assignment done. I still take breaks but I remember thinking I was in deep trouble when I spent a weekend trying to plough through Nioh.

I've mostly learned to pace myself. It helps that the productivity targets aren't nuts.

I have a padded rest in front of my keyboard because virtually everything I do in our ancient program at work (the copyright dates at the bottom are 1980, 2009) involves keyboard commands. The rare times I use a mouse I use my trackball mouse because I like trackball mice.

I have been wearing the splints to sleep for the past couple of days, and it seems to help. I honestly don't know how I sleep, but I have been waking up with my fingers feeling stiff.

I try to keep up good posture, but I'm sure a certain amount of slouch gets in as the day drags on. I do use an ergo keyboard, not for any pain related reasons, it's just the keyboard I'm more used to entering the work commands into. I do try to remember to stretch, I'll probably get some more tips when I go see the orthopedic doctor this Wednesday.

I have not. I'll give that a go.

Just to make it clear, playing with a controller hasn't been hurting, I'm just worried that using my hands in that way will make an already painful situation more so. It's not out of any doctor recommendation that I've been taking this break, it's purely paranoia. Maybe I'll try it out later today.

That's comforting to hear. I like my hands, they do a lot of things for me (card tricks, juggling, rubix cube solving, gaming, guitar playing, video game guitar playing, etc.) so getting an operation regarding them really freaks me out. How long ago did you get the surgery?

I had it done in 2012, and after a few weeks, maybe a month of taking it easy, had my hands back. I hates the wrist holder things and just took the plunge. I'm pretty nervous about surgery in general, but it was a piece of cake and i wish I had done it a year or two sooner. I kinda figured it would help a bit, but it was like a reset switch. Hope you get some relief, and can get back to enjoying your self.

@danishingact: Good to know, thanks for the info. I actually haven't had any surgery since I had my wisdom teeth out and they had to knock me all the way out for that (removed all 4 in one go). I'll talk about it with the doc on Wednesday, hopefully I can get back to my usual routine afterwards.