Ouch!

There's already been a lot of great advice in this thread, but hopefully this can help too:

A little background - I've spent the last couple of years successfully healing from wrist and hand pain, due to my occupation and my gaming hobby. I seriously thought it might be arthritis, especially as the pain was becoming increasingly severe. Tried many times to stop and rest, and though it helped, the issues kept coming back and for longer.
Since quitting was not an option for me, I had to see a physiotherapist. The info she gave me was incredible, so hopefully it helps you too!

A lot of wrist and hand pain may not be 100% due to injury to your wrist/hand itself. There is a major nerve, along with a series of tendons, that run down your neck, through your arm, and to your fingertips. If there are any irritations to this track - such as from overuse, outright injury, or bad posture - you can feel pain in your wrist/hand. This also includes tightening of muscles anywhere along this track, that in turn put pressure on your tendons, which is why you feel pain elsewhere.

For some immediate relief, do these exercises at least once a day, preferably right before computer use:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Stretches and Exercises
- Hand, Wrist, Neck, and Shoulder Stretches and Exercises for Artists (you can skip the finger webbing stretches and the rubber band exercise)

Get Workrave, a free and open source timer that you can customise to take short breaks: https://test.workrave.org/download/

I also recommend seeing a physiotherapist to give your arms, neck and upper back a thorough massage. You can also self-massage your arm, at least. If you have tightening higher up, you'll need someone else's help.


Now, you have to look at the cause. It might be overwhelming at first to pinpoint the exact issue (it was for me), so sometimes you do have to take a long hard look at everything:

- Check your ergonomics:
Check out this diagram and compare your current set up with it.
A handy note: you can compensate somewhat by using cushions under your feet and butt to get you to the correct height. Of course, a good desk and chair are preferable.

You also want to make sure of the following:
-- If arms are reaching forward, you need to tuck your chair further in.
-- If your neck is reaching forward, you need to either move the monitor closer or you might need glasses (turns out I did haha).
-- If you feel scrunching up/raising of collarbone or shoulders, your desk is too high / chair is too low.
-- Keep your peripherals positioned in a way that, from your elbows, your forearm is coming forward and angled slightly towards the centre of your body, not dead straight ahead. There should be a straight line from your elbow through to your fingertips.
-- Keep your keyboard at a slightly tilted angle (eg, using your left hand on WASD, move the right side of the keyboard slightly towards your chest). This lets your forearm, wrist, and fingers rest naturally.


- Check your back posture: Both at your place of gaming, and your daily life. Do you stand AND sit upright with a natural curve, without overextending your chest/hips? Do you have proper back (and if possible, neck) support when you sit?

- Check your neck posture:
-- Forward head posture. You can also do this test against a wall to see if it applies to you.
-- Upper Crossed posture

If you find that you do have either of these posture issues, there are certain exercises and tips I'm happy to share. I just don't want to waste your time by typing it out if it's not needed. :>


- Avoid crossing your legs, leaning to one side, and/or resting your chin in your hand. It messes up your posture.

- As others have said: learn to aim with your arm, not your wrist

And while it's not as critical as everything else, you might want to look into hand strength (it can help prevent the overcompensation-tightening of the muscles near your elbow, that then lead to hand pain):
Get a squishy/squeezy toy - less like a firm stress ball, more like a foam squishy, or playdough - something that lets you fully make a fist but provides some resistance. Give it a 10-20 hard squishes, at least once a day.

Sorry for the info dump, but hope this helps :)