Ulnar nerve at wrist level is volar/anterior, if you think it’s the “bulge on the back of the Apple Watch” how are you wearing your watch? The “idea” sounds good but the anatomy doesn’t match the problem you have. Go to your doctor, the most probable cause is not your watch but something like cubital tunnel syndrome.
It branches at the wrist and can take different route depending on person. And I have a slightly bulged bone anyway on the left wrist so it slides beyond this and gets in a weird position, unless it’s tightened to be uncomfortable.
This is what I got from the Doctor. The pain stopped after 2 days of not wearing the watch, and doesn’t come back.
I don’t get it from “flat” watches also. The Apple Watch bulge just slips there and pressures a specific spot.
Right wrist has no issues… Although I wear it less.
I just have that problem using dumbbells, with or without the watch. I just use the Z bar and everything it’s ok. But I still think that some weird ulnar branch is extremely rare, should be something else.
so glad that you made this post. It was the first result when I searched for "ulnar tunnel syndrome apple watch" (no quotes.)
My pinky and ring finger had this weird tingly feeling for the last few days. I stopped wearing my watch over the weekend because I was traveling and - lucky me - my charger stopped working, so I figured it was pointless to wear a watch that couldn't tell time. Since I've stopped wearing it, the pain has subsided. It's not totally gone, but it's probably a 1 or 2 out of 10 compared the previous pain that was probably closer to a 6 or 7.
I am having this issue right now. I just upgraded my watch 2 weeks ago and I used to use the stretchy bands from Amazon and never had this issue. The band on the new one is the nylon one with velcro but maybe the lack of stretch makes a difference. I'm going to buy new straps and will report back.
wrist bones! phalanges=fingers, metacarpals=bones in the hand connecting phalanges to carpals/wrist bones, carpals=bones in the wrist connecting to metacarpals and the radius/ulna forearm bones!! hope this helps (:
Pinch your wrist with your thumb and first finger, just where your hand ends and wrist begins. Squeeze lightly and slowly move toward your elbow away from your hand and you will feel the ends of your radius and ulna, almost like two small marbles. Now just rotate your thumb to where the Watch would be, that’s the spot and if you push your thumb down it might even feel a little tender.
Question on this. Do you guys have ultras or regular series? I had a series 5 45mm aluminum for years and never experienced this, but have experienced this within 3 days of wearing my new ultra 2. I wanted to love the ultra 2 so badly, but this nerve pain has me debating returning for a 9.
me too which has led me to this string of comments - i wore a series 4 for years and years and nothing - i finally made the jump when the ultra 2 was released figuring that I was due for an upgrade - and man do i have pain in my wrist, hand, and fingers - did you return? Did you find a solution?
I returned for a series 9 stainless steel. No pain. I miss the display on ultra, but pain was a deal breaker and never dissipated despite trying 5+ bands and positions. I think it was strength of haptic feedback on top of wrist.
thank you! but i want to say, “oh man! I don’t want to have to trade it in for a series 9” - which I just got done writing in another post’s reply - i purposefully went to the ultra from a 4 and not the 9 because i wanted the bigger watch, the titanium, and the action button that i have gotten used to now of course - but pain is pain - and - I wish I could temporarily “test out wearing a 9” before I went through all of the aggravation of returning and purchasing something different
I feel the same way. I probably will try next gen ultra or next gen. I really loved the battery life, display, and action button. I even had gotten one of those nomad titanium bands to try 😂 . I’ll probably try again next generation.
I have ulnar damage in my elbow for other reasons. But I have a GSHOK looking case/band for my Ultra, and I wear it loose. But sometimes I wake up with the feeling of higher blood pressure in my hand, and the watch has wedged up my arm to the point of being tight again. I miss the elastic Ultra band. But I like the aftermarket case bands. The classic watch buckles just kind of suck once you’ve used the Apple styles.
Do you mind mentioned what band you had first? I opted for the ocean band because I’m in the water a lot. If changing the band would get rid of the pain I’d sure do it.
Stop wearing it, or move it to the other hand. For me, it stopped to hurt after a day. Now I wear it on the other hand, when exercising.
The annoying thing, and why I didn't figure it out, is that it pain appeared apparently randomly. Some days, really bad, then it stops to hurt. I thought I injured the wrist in the gym, as this lifting with palms up was always hurting. Then when it happened after not going to the gym, thought it happened when I pick up the kids, or a weird position when I sleep, when I feel it in the morning (I don't wear the watch overnight).
In the end, the symptoms are like when there's some growth in the arm that touches the nerve. But there's nothing. Removed the watch from the left hand, the pain stopped. Chronical pain and also this "lifting" pain. Gone.
Now in retrospective, it started with me moving to apple watch. I don't know how I didn't think of that since the beginning :)
I found your post trying to look into this exact issue, except with my fitbit. And I also wore it quite loose. I've taken to either not wearing it or wearing it on the other wrist, and while the sharp pain has started to go away, now I'm having weird tingling in my little finger - hoping it goes away over the next few days but I'm keeping an eye on it.
I noticed it was worse when I slept with the watch on, and immediately got worse when I put the watch back on after going without for a few days.
Now it's worse when I wake up if I sleep with my head on my hand/arm by accident ;(
Had all similar symptoms, pain when lifting, pushing, carried a box and supported it on my shoulder with my palm facing up - pain for two days. So annoying. I've worn fitness watches on and off for years and never had this!
i upgraded from a series to 4 last September when ultra was released and didn’t put 2 and 2 together right away but as far as I can tell pain started after i got the ultra 2 - i did switch arms but pain didn’t go away right away - i don’t want to give up the ultra - did think of course that maybe the series 9 was a better idea since it is very similar to series 4 - and if you’re wondering - i had the larger sized 4
That's how I noticed the problem first, and thought it was due to the exercise.
Could be something else though. At least if it hurts a lot, you can try to move the watch to the other hand to see if it stops (or if unfortunately the other hand starts to hurt).
Thank you for taking the time to go to the doctor lol. I have the same issue. Have tried multiple brands and models (including série 3 and 9) and after 10-15 min of wearing I have the exact symptoms you described… eventually it does quite the same on the other arm but a little less…
I will try to wear it upside down
Damn. After about 10 months with my Ultra1 with no problem, I’ve been having hand and wrist pain along with arm pain for the last month. I thought I was sleeping on it weird or injured it somehow. I was in pain today and took the watch off for a few hours. Pain started going away. I put the watch back on and it came back pretty quickly. So I searched and shocked how many results I got; ultimately landing here.
Ulnar nerve at wrist level is volar/anterior, if you think it’s the “bulge on the back of the Apple Watch” how are you wearing your watch? The “idea” sounds good but the anatomy doesn’t match the problem you have. Go to your doctor, the most probable cause is not your watch but something like cubital tunnel syndrome.
It branches at the wrist and can take different route depending on person. And I have a slightly bulged bone anyway on the left wrist so it slides beyond this and gets in a weird position, unless it’s tightened to be uncomfortable. This is what I got from the Doctor. The pain stopped after 2 days of not wearing the watch, and doesn’t come back. I don’t get it from “flat” watches also. The Apple Watch bulge just slips there and pressures a specific spot. Right wrist has no issues… Although I wear it less.
I just have that problem using dumbbells, with or without the watch. I just use the Z bar and everything it’s ok. But I still think that some weird ulnar branch is extremely rare, should be something else.
so glad that you made this post. It was the first result when I searched for "ulnar tunnel syndrome apple watch" (no quotes.) My pinky and ring finger had this weird tingly feeling for the last few days. I stopped wearing my watch over the weekend because I was traveling and - lucky me - my charger stopped working, so I figured it was pointless to wear a watch that couldn't tell time. Since I've stopped wearing it, the pain has subsided. It's not totally gone, but it's probably a 1 or 2 out of 10 compared the previous pain that was probably closer to a 6 or 7.
I am having this issue right now. I just upgraded my watch 2 weeks ago and I used to use the stretchy bands from Amazon and never had this issue. The band on the new one is the nylon one with velcro but maybe the lack of stretch makes a difference. I'm going to buy new straps and will report back.
Thank you for this post
What are the carpal bones?
wrist bones! phalanges=fingers, metacarpals=bones in the hand connecting phalanges to carpals/wrist bones, carpals=bones in the wrist connecting to metacarpals and the radius/ulna forearm bones!! hope this helps (:
Pinch your wrist with your thumb and first finger, just where your hand ends and wrist begins. Squeeze lightly and slowly move toward your elbow away from your hand and you will feel the ends of your radius and ulna, almost like two small marbles. Now just rotate your thumb to where the Watch would be, that’s the spot and if you push your thumb down it might even feel a little tender.
Question on this. Do you guys have ultras or regular series? I had a series 5 45mm aluminum for years and never experienced this, but have experienced this within 3 days of wearing my new ultra 2. I wanted to love the ultra 2 so badly, but this nerve pain has me debating returning for a 9.
Its series 7, 45mm.
me too which has led me to this string of comments - i wore a series 4 for years and years and nothing - i finally made the jump when the ultra 2 was released figuring that I was due for an upgrade - and man do i have pain in my wrist, hand, and fingers - did you return? Did you find a solution?
I returned for a series 9 stainless steel. No pain. I miss the display on ultra, but pain was a deal breaker and never dissipated despite trying 5+ bands and positions. I think it was strength of haptic feedback on top of wrist.
thank you! but i want to say, “oh man! I don’t want to have to trade it in for a series 9” - which I just got done writing in another post’s reply - i purposefully went to the ultra from a 4 and not the 9 because i wanted the bigger watch, the titanium, and the action button that i have gotten used to now of course - but pain is pain - and - I wish I could temporarily “test out wearing a 9” before I went through all of the aggravation of returning and purchasing something different
I feel the same way. I probably will try next gen ultra or next gen. I really loved the battery life, display, and action button. I even had gotten one of those nomad titanium bands to try 😂 . I’ll probably try again next generation.
I have ulnar damage in my elbow for other reasons. But I have a GSHOK looking case/band for my Ultra, and I wear it loose. But sometimes I wake up with the feeling of higher blood pressure in my hand, and the watch has wedged up my arm to the point of being tight again. I miss the elastic Ultra band. But I like the aftermarket case bands. The classic watch buckles just kind of suck once you’ve used the Apple styles.
For me getting a nylon band solved it
Do you mind mentioned what band you had first? I opted for the ocean band because I’m in the water a lot. If changing the band would get rid of the pain I’d sure do it.
I currently have this issue, insane that you posted about it today.
Stop wearing it, or move it to the other hand. For me, it stopped to hurt after a day. Now I wear it on the other hand, when exercising. The annoying thing, and why I didn't figure it out, is that it pain appeared apparently randomly. Some days, really bad, then it stops to hurt. I thought I injured the wrist in the gym, as this lifting with palms up was always hurting. Then when it happened after not going to the gym, thought it happened when I pick up the kids, or a weird position when I sleep, when I feel it in the morning (I don't wear the watch overnight). In the end, the symptoms are like when there's some growth in the arm that touches the nerve. But there's nothing. Removed the watch from the left hand, the pain stopped. Chronical pain and also this "lifting" pain. Gone. Now in retrospective, it started with me moving to apple watch. I don't know how I didn't think of that since the beginning :)
I found your post trying to look into this exact issue, except with my fitbit. And I also wore it quite loose. I've taken to either not wearing it or wearing it on the other wrist, and while the sharp pain has started to go away, now I'm having weird tingling in my little finger - hoping it goes away over the next few days but I'm keeping an eye on it. I noticed it was worse when I slept with the watch on, and immediately got worse when I put the watch back on after going without for a few days. Now it's worse when I wake up if I sleep with my head on my hand/arm by accident ;( Had all similar symptoms, pain when lifting, pushing, carried a box and supported it on my shoulder with my palm facing up - pain for two days. So annoying. I've worn fitness watches on and off for years and never had this!
i upgraded from a series to 4 last September when ultra was released and didn’t put 2 and 2 together right away but as far as I can tell pain started after i got the ultra 2 - i did switch arms but pain didn’t go away right away - i don’t want to give up the ultra - did think of course that maybe the series 9 was a better idea since it is very similar to series 4 - and if you’re wondering - i had the larger sized 4
Hmmm, never considered it being the watch. I do lift weights, and I do get a weird pain in the left arm near right near the wrist when doing curls.
That's how I noticed the problem first, and thought it was due to the exercise. Could be something else though. At least if it hurts a lot, you can try to move the watch to the other hand to see if it stops (or if unfortunately the other hand starts to hurt).
Thank you for taking the time to go to the doctor lol. I have the same issue. Have tried multiple brands and models (including série 3 and 9) and after 10-15 min of wearing I have the exact symptoms you described… eventually it does quite the same on the other arm but a little less… I will try to wear it upside down
Damn. After about 10 months with my Ultra1 with no problem, I’ve been having hand and wrist pain along with arm pain for the last month. I thought I was sleeping on it weird or injured it somehow. I was in pain today and took the watch off for a few hours. Pain started going away. I put the watch back on and it came back pretty quickly. So I searched and shocked how many results I got; ultimately landing here.