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Twestry

macrumors newbie
Apr 14, 2017
1
1
I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361

I had the same experience when I purchased the Apple Watch Sport (antique white) on December 23. After only wearing it for about half an hour or less I noticed a deep tingling and then a slight pain in my arm. I thought I was crazy. I switched to my right arm and within minutes the same thing started to happened. The longer I wear it the higher the tingling and pain/discomfort went up my arm, all the way to my shoulders and neck. I loosened the band....no change. I stopped wearing it for 4 days, then put it back on and the pain started all over again. I found your post after searching the web to see what I could find to see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. I ended up returning the watch. I'm really disappointed because I LOVE the watch and I am a loyal user of many Apply products, I love the company and the brand. I don't know what could be causing this. I tried to force myself to wear the watch all day and HOPED that didn't feel anything because I wanted to keep it so badly, but I couldn't ignore the pain/discomfort. I just wanted to respond to your post to let you know that you aren't alone.
 
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SDColorado

macrumors 601
Nov 6, 2011
4,360
4,324
Highlands Ranch, CO
I had the same experience when I purchased the Apple Watch Sport (antique white) on December 23. After only wearing it for about half an hour or less I noticed a deep tingling and then a slight pain in my arm. I thought I was crazy. I switched to my right arm and within minutes the same thing started to happened. The longer I wear it the higher the tingling and pain/discomfort went up my arm, all the way to my shoulders and neck. I loosened the band....no change. I stopped wearing it for 4 days, then put it back on and the pain started all over again. I found your post after searching the web to see what I could find to see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. I ended up returning the watch. I'm really disappointed because I LOVE the watch and I am a loyal user of many Apply products, I love the company and the brand. I don't know what could be causing this. I tried to force myself to wear the watch all day and HOPED that didn't feel anything because I wanted to keep it so badly, but I couldn't ignore the pain/discomfort. I just wanted to respond to your post to let you know that you aren't alone.


I wonder if it could be the dome of the watch pressing into the median nerve. Since you have returned it, you can't experiment, but I wonder if it would still cause the same issue if worn on the underside of the wrist or with a different band?
 

Ingster

macrumors 6502
Apr 2, 2007
449
133
Leeds, UK
I wonder if it could be the dome of the watch pressing into the median nerve. Since you have returned it, you can't experiment, but I wonder if it would still cause the same issue if worn on the underside of the wrist or with a different band?

The median nerve travels on the underside of the wrist, not the top where the watch would normally sit.
 
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khnemet

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2017
1
0
New York, NY
I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361
[doublepost=1492714077][/doublepost]Yes. I felt a shock to my arm from the Apple Watch about a month ago. When I removed the watch there was a small brown dot approximately an inch from my wrist. The small brown dot was a burn scar which disappeared after a week. What I felt after the shock was tingling in my right arm and had but this discomfort has now progressed to pain in both arms, hands and feet. I believe I may have suffered nerve damage. I only stopped wearing the Apple Watch a few days ago. I didn't want to believe that all of that had happened and I honestly didn't think that anyone would believe me if I had told them. Yesterday, the pain had intensified. I haven't seen a doctor yet but I think I better get checked out soon. Thanks for sharing your experience. This information has helped me tremendously.
 

Renee S.

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2017
1
0
I am having the same problem with pain in my wrist when I wear my Apple Watch. I'll probably take it back. It's too bad too, as I like the watch. I just happened up on this post searching to see if anyone else might be having this problem. I wanted to see if anyone else was having this problem. So seeing this post confirms it's the watch.

I agree with the recommendation to see a doctor. But just curious, are you using a different watch band? Is the watch band tight?
 

teidon

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2009
443
213
For those having pain in their wrist when wearing Apple Watch: Try to massage those painful spots. Wear the watch long enough that it starts to hurt and then with your finger tips search those painful spots and massage them gently. Apple Watch caused pain in my other wrist but after massaging it for couple/few days it went away and haven't been an issue since.
 

JanieNS

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2017
1
0
I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361
[doublepost=1494087039][/doublepost]OMG, I would have never guessed this I have had the same numbness . I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY IWATCH . But I had NO idea it could cause this reaction . Not only the numbness and tingling but pains on the left side of my body. I do NOT have a " hairy body" reaction as one person suggested to you .
Try removing the charge cards used to purchase from your wallet.

Hey OP, believe it or not this may be a side affect you have to the HR sensors. I would keep an eye on it, as soon as you witness a rash or itchy sensation, remove the watch and contact apple. I too get a numbness. If it's not the HR it might be the case of you have hairy arms and the band tugs on a few hairs for a prolonged period. Causing the numbness, I'm no medic but these may be possible reasons.
 

Ingster

macrumors 6502
Apr 2, 2007
449
133
Leeds, UK
OK before everyone in the world dumps the apple watch, please take a breath, numbness, tingling and pain in hands and wrists are a VERY common problem ( I am a nerve and muscle specialist and hopefully can explain).

The human wrist has bones across the top (looking at the hand as if typing), tendons and ligaments across the bottom and nerve fibres sandwiched in between - it is a design flaw.
Now pains in the wrist and forearm with associated numbness and pins and needles/tingling are a common sign of nerve compression (carpal tunnel syndrome) this is usually mild and relieving the pressure tends to reduce or remove the symptoms but these can come and go and can wake you up at night ( you can do the damage during the day but wake from the symptoms at night or when at rest).

Now the apple watch - is seems like people are worried about pressure or signals/radiation from the watch, it is probably actually the band, your bones are above the wrist so the watch itself is pressing against bone (primarily) and others have stated they have worn other watches and they have been fine, for what it's worth i think these issues of pain, numbness and tingling could be due to the sport band as you can see from the picture (hastily done) the median nerve travels through the wrist and the short band sits almost directly over it - with the base of the pin slightly to the side, now depending on your wrist size it could be directly over the nerve and, say when typing as i'm doing now the pin can press that part of the band into the wrist causing intermittent pressure which can aggravate the nerve, especially if you have a more physical job with your hands ( i see builders, hairdressers, secretaries, cleaners etc) but anyone can be affected. So, it might not be the watch but the strap, try another strap and see if that helps.
You should go to a doctor if you are experiencing pain, numbness and tingling anyway if it doesn't clear up so you can have investigations performed.

In regards to the possible burn, get the watch looked at and also see your healthcare provider to check on it.

I hope this does help people out.
Presentation1.jpg
 

Farsider

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2014
620
301
London, UK
I hope this does help people out. View attachment 698983

Yes, this really helps putting the science behind it. I found this out myself by experimenting - for me its the band pressing against the *bottom* of my wrist in the middle. The Milanese Loop and Sports straps all did this. I switched to the Nylon strap and the problem went away over the course of 1 week. The buckle sits just to the right of the nerve and seems to make all the difference.

However, if I tighten even this band the numbness in my hand and soreness in forearm returns.
 
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Darrenlphillips

macrumors newbie
Jun 14, 2017
1
0
I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361
 

xxxda1xxx

macrumors member
Sep 2, 2017
57
22
ive worn alot of different kind of watches for a very long time & i have not encountered any numbness on my hand even if its tight or loose.. ive tried all the android smartwatches no problem at all the only thing is that its not compatible on my iphone 7 plus ios 11.. ive bought an apple watch, put it on, after 30min my left starts to tingle then gets numb.. maybe just maybe its causing this, is the magnetic heart rate thingy on the bottom of the watch.. some android smartwatch dont have the heart tracker so no problem there... the only thing i want on the apple watch is the notifications, face watch, & its just fancy looking piece of gadget.. i hope next year apple will have a choice of apple watch, one without the heart monitoring on the bottom & one with it.. so now im going to have to sell my apple watch & back to my old fossil watch
 
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Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,253
Jacksonville, Florida
ive worn alot of different kind of watches for a very long time & i have not encountered any numbness on my hand even if its tight or loose.. ive tried all the android smartwatches no problem at all the only thing is that its not compatible on my iphone 7 plus ios 11.. ive bought an apple watch, put it on, after 30min my left starts to tingle then gets numb.. maybe just maybe its causing this, is the magnetic heart rate thingy on the bottom of the watch.. some android smartwatch dont have the heart tracker so no problem there... the only thing i want on the apple watch is the notifications, face watch, & its just fancy looking piece of gadget.. i hope next year apple will have a choice of apple watch, one without the heart monitoring on the bottom & one with it.. so now im going to have to sell my apple watch & back to my old fossil watch

Some just can not wear it. No way Apple is going to make an additional model that does NOT have the HR sensors.
 

ssledoux

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2006
4,243
4,105
Down south
I actually had this problem with the series 2 stainless watch, and I think this was due to the thickness along with the additional weight. Since it WAS thicker than the series 1 (especially where the sensors are located), I chose to go back to series 1 instead of going with aluminum series 2.

Of course now I want to go to series 3 for cellular, and I’m afraid because of the added thickness again. I’ve been struggling trying to decide what to do...
 

noplaq

macrumors newbie
Mar 15, 2018
1
0
I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361

I too am struggling to wear my 42mm series apple watch. I am not sure what to do about it either. The numbness begins in my left hand finger tips and extends all the way into my left shoulder. The numbness subsides after it has been removed for a 30 minuets or so.
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I too am struggling to wear my 42mm series apple watch. I am not sure what to do about it either. The numbness begins in my left hand finger tips and extends all the way into my left shoulder. The numbness subsides after it has been removed for a 30 minuets or so.
How long has this been going on for you? I’ve been wearing Apple Watches since the original came out. This happens to me sometimes usually if my carpal tunnel syndrome got aggravated by something else first.

I admit to more discomfort more often when LTE on my Series 3 LTE model is turned on, so I’ve turned it off. I’ll turn it back on if I need it in an emergency. I don’t know if the LTE radio being on has anything to do with anything else but I figure just leave it off so I don’t have any paranoia about it festering at the back of my mind.
 

Resqu2

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2011
862
293
Add me to the list of Apple Watch induced pain, my March challenge is making me work out at least an hour ever day to meet the calorie requirement with no rest days. I hurt all over lol.
 
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danny842003

macrumors 68000
Jun 6, 2017
1,832
2,137
ive worn alot of different kind of watches for a very long time & i have not encountered any numbness on my hand even if its tight or loose.. ive tried all the android smartwatches no problem at all the only thing is that its not compatible on my iphone 7 plus ios 11.. ive bought an apple watch, put it on, after 30min my left starts to tingle then gets numb.. maybe just maybe its causing this, is the magnetic heart rate thingy on the bottom of the watch.. some android smartwatch dont have the heart tracker so no problem there... the only thing i want on the apple watch is the notifications, face watch, & its just fancy looking piece of gadget.. i hope next year apple will have a choice of apple watch, one without the heart monitoring on the bottom & one with it.. so now im going to have to sell my apple watch & back to my old fossil watch

Magnetic? Its just some flashing lights isn't it?
 
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daijholt

macrumors 65816
Jun 14, 2013
1,113
343
Wales, UK
I actually had this problem with the series 2 stainless watch, and I think this was due to the thickness along with the additional weight. Since it WAS thicker than the series 1 (especially where the sensors are located), I chose to go back to series 1 instead of going with aluminum series 2.

Of course now I want to go to series 3 for cellular, and I’m afraid because of the added thickness again. I’ve been struggling trying to decide what to do...
Had a similar experience with the S2 42mm Stainless steel. I previously owned the S0 38mm Steel for 20 months, and figured it was caused by the extra weight of the bigger size watch.

Also owned a 42mm sport watch, which caused no issues, and recently a 42mm Aluminium S3 with LTE, again which causes no issues.

Reading the earlier post from the Nerve expert really enlightened me as to what’s the likely actual cause.

My S2 watch was mostly worn with a sport band, while my S3 came with the sport loop. I think the post above nails the issue; something do with the median nerve. I’ve ruled out pretty much every other possibility in my 12 months with the Series 2, having this issue on and off.

I think I’m gonna need to ditch sport bands for good and go sport loop for workouts.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,025
WOW at all the posts with problems here. Remind me to never join the wearables business. lol.

The only problem I've had with the Apple Watch are the cheap $9.99 bands I find on Amazon. I get tempted to buy them thinking I'll make my Apple Watch band last longer but the cheap Amazon bands always cause problems - like burning - making my wrist red, and other things (yes I wash the band, etc...). Most of them cause a fire burning sensation on my wrist and make it red.

Apple Watch bands (Nike one included) don't have this problem. So I wear them and I have no problem.

Never had pains wearing the watch but I did have one pair of headphones that caused a near instant migraine when I put it on whereas other headphones never did.

Our bodies are touchy finicky things!
 

Isamoy

macrumors newbie
Jul 9, 2018
2
0
Hi, I am having exact same issue. My husband gave me Apple Watch 3 in December and I have been using it since.

A few months ago the same issue started and I would wear it for sometime but in te middle of the workout or just when wearing it i suddenly start having tingling and my arm begin to numb. It is relatively similar sensation as “Breath” app when it asks to take a minute to breath but stronger and with electric like feeling.

Initially i was loosing the strap, put fingers in between the strap and the arm, but issue continued. Sometimes it helps to put the watch on airplane mode (which I started to do more often) as I was not sure if it is was associated with data collection and programming pulses.

I used to wear Fitbit charge and other monitors before and never had this issue. So, looks like neither you or I or other people whose posts you referenced are going crazy but rather Apple needs to look into this issue as I like my Apple Watch but this issue is rather disturbing and causing a pain.

I thought I was going mad until I saw a similar post on the apple forums:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7026458

Please see the post from Mstattedcanvas on page 1.

I've had my 42mm SS ML since launch but whenever I wear it I get a dull pain in my arm, slight tingling and a bit of numbness! Don't understand it and thought I was going crazy but no someone else has posted a similar thing.

Has anyone experienced this with any of there AW's?

Another post : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7029361

I
 
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