REVOMAZE User Group

I have a serious question.
I guess we have all had a certain degree of cramps or hand pain when mazing for too long at a time. I have had my share of that, but that always passes quickly and completely after taking a break.
After finishing bronze though, I noticed I have pain at the base of my thumb, and a trigger thumb when I get up in the morning. Apparently when I don’t move my thumb too much when I am asleep, it sort of locks up. The first couple of times bending and extending it then are painfull and go with a ‘snap’. After these first moves, that goes away, and the rest of the day I have little to no complaints. Only for it to start again the next morning.
I can only attribute these complaints to the last couple of intense days solving bronze, as in the two months before that, I never had any real pain or physical discomfort during or after mazing. Even after resting my thumb as much as possible, and not touching a maze for two weeks now, this hasn’t changed much.

What I would like to ask is:
Has anyone had more serious problems like this, caused by mazing too much or too long?
What did you do to get rid of this?
What can I do to prevent this in the future?

Common problem, especially when you’re gripping the hex at the end of the puzzle. I highly recommend you take lots of breaks to think about what you’ve discovered. You may also want to get a training aid. They help a lot. Take some Advil and put the puzzle down for a few days.

Stretching, soaking, and breaks

Soaking?

Epson salts in a bowl of warm water is great for sore muscles and joints, and spasms if you push that far haha

Hard to say without seeing you but if this has been going on for 2 weeks without doing any Revomazes it sounds like you are describing de Quervain's tenosynovitis. This is caused by swelling in the tendons at the base of your thumb from repetitive moments and overuse of the wrist/thumb. This is typically worse in the morning. You can google this and read up. Can try doing the Finkelstein test to see if this reproduces any pain. Try ice, NSAIDS, rest, maybe a splint and usually resolves in a month or two. Some actually require a steroid injection.

I am a physician in real life but by no means an expert in this area. Hope this was helpful.

doc81 wrote:I am a physician in real life but by no means an expert in this area. Hope this was helpful.

Actually, I am as well. In my line of work I don’t see any tenosynovitis, so I had to look it up. Thanks for your advice. I hope it goes away without needing the steroids.
I was really curious to see if more people have problems beyond pain or cramps.

Once I can start with a new maze, I will try the trainers for prevention.

I have had tendon problems in the past from other activities and can feel the pressure from mazing, for sure. Maintaining straight wrists (ergonomic posture), as loose grip as possible, and taking frequent breaks are key to preserving hand function (in general, whatever the activity). I also do regular hand exercises as part of my yoga routine (just opening and closing the hands a number of times is helpful; for example, while waiting at a traffic light). Someone in another thread also recommended using one of those grip strength tools (rubber ball or spring device) to build up in preparation for starting a maze (not immediately prior to a session, but in the weeks and weeks (and endless weeks...) before a new maze arrives). And be aware of "Just one more try!" syndrome! Take that break--your hands will love you.

PS: Don't forget to get up and walk around a bit after sitting for a while--your whole body will love you!!

Revomaze injuries, this is priceless. All these years, who would have guessed. Is there a warning on the box? Playing with this puzzle could be hazardous to your health, and can cause a repetitive stress injury!! Maybe we should start a 12 step program for the Revoers that overdo it. No wait, an official Revomaze hand ointment that is a deep penetrating heat for those unexpected Revomaze injuries. We can get SHAQ to do the commercial. KIRK

Just kidding around, I hope your hand pain goes away and you can get back to revoing. Maybe a training aid will help. I use mine all the time. I took some sandpaper to it and it helped a lot with the grip and prevented the plastic from slipping.

Kirk2000 wrote:Revomaze injuries, this is priceless.
...
Just kidding around,

I am glad you added the second bit about kidding around, but I still have a hard time laughing about this.
I don’t think there needs to be a warning on the box, but most of us could use tips on how not to hurt our hands revoing. I have read quite a lot of posts of people mentioning pain, and cramps, so I don’t believe I am the only one here.
Kirk, I don’t mean to attack you, or to overreact. Please say so if you think I do. Maybe I am just grumpy, because this has kept me from starting with titanium (and orange, and silver), when all I wanted to do is get going with these.