man hand pain when writing

Do you no longer wish to write by hand because you are uncomfortable ? Does your child or your students complain of pain when writing (hand, wrist and forearm)? What are the causes of these pains and how can they be remedied to improve well-being and writing ?

In our cabinet, we often see young people who complain of pain when they write and more so when they are in high school. Indeed, the amount of writing and especially rapid note taking generally increases in high school and often amplifies this discomfort. There can be several reasons for this pain and they should not be neglected because writing should not be a painful act.

Here are the slow writing causes that I frequently encounter:

Posture 

The first thing we observe in the cabinet is posture. If your back is bent, your torso twisted or your head is too inclined, there is a strong chance that tensions will develop over time, causing body pains.

The first session is designed to help you acquire a good posture: feet flat on the ground, legs and arms bent at 90 degrees… We will also teach you to understand how to be well installed: what height of desk will be the best adapted, which chair to use and why.

enfant avec posture avachie
enfant qui écrit mal

Tensions, excessive pressure

Exerting a strong pressure on your pen makes your fingers, wrist, arm and even your body tense up and this can go as far as your jaw if you clench your teeth very hard. The fingers then have less and less mobility and the contractions can cause cramps.

With small exercises, we will teach you to loosen your fingers and to better manage the pressure. We will also be able to recommend different pens to suit your needs.

Inappropriate pencil holding

An inappropriate pencil grip can cause tension in the fingers, wrist or even the arm or shoulder. The pressure exerted by the fingers on the pen accentuates these pains. It is often linked to the tension and excessive pressure mentioned above, but also to the use of an unsuitable pen. Writing becomes a painful act and one would do anything to avoid it.

Targeted and daily exercises accompanied by a pen adapted to your needs, will allow you to find an appropriate pencil grip and to make the pains (except pathology) disappear from the hand.

correct pencil outfit

There is nothing worse than being in pain when writing. Would you like to write without pain and improve your writing or that of your child? Then come and talk about it at Ecriture sans frontières.

In addition to the most common causes, further insights are provided by my colleague  Anne-Soline Sandy in a very good article that you can read here.

Christine Groot – www.ecrituresansfrontieres.com

Handwriting rehabilitation, United States.