11 ways to use your phone with less hand pain
Let me tell you about how my entire world got flipped upside down a week ago.
(ok, I’m being a bit dramatic but still 😅)
It was Sunday of 8 days ago and I remember the moment well. I was outside with my kiddos playing and my phone was on top of our deck railing, sitting there safe and securely.
No one dropped it.
No one messed with it.
No one threw it.
It just simply DIED.
I go to grab it to text my husband something (he was inside with our toddler and I was outside with our big kids. Sometimes it’s just dang easier to text one another than walking allllll the way back inside).
And I pushed the side button to show the screen.
And….nothing.
Crickets.
Black screen.
I tried probably 20 times in a row, thinking maybe I just didn’t push the button hard enough. Maybe I needed to hold it down longer.
Nothing.
I tried restarting it.
Couldn’t even do that.
I plugged it in.
Blank.
My stomach jumped up into my throat. I was finishing out my weekend promo for The Exercise Vault and felt completely helpless. I had more DMs to respond to. More IG stories to post. More emails to check.
So this is how we found ourselves at a Verizon store on an impromptu Sunday evening, with 3 little ones ages five and under.
I feel bad for the Verizon store worker (LOL).
Luckily there was a Big Lots nearby and my husband was able to distract the kiddos there with random furniture, the silliest toys, and single serving packs of Oreos while I got a new phone.
An hour later, I have a brand-new shiny iPhone 14 pro max…
…but here’s the thing.
The store didn’t have the type of case I wanted (I need a DURABLE case, y’all. I drop my phone on the daily due to my hands and my kids).
And without a phone case, I also didn’t have any of the external add-ons that make your case and your phone more ergonomic.
So for 4 days I STRUGGLED (And somehow succeeded in not dropping my phone once 💃).
During that time, I learned some hacks for phone use without a case…
AND I also scoured the interwebs for the type of grip add-on that would be most compatible with my phone.
Here’s how all of this relates to you and your hands:
Today I am breaking down the hacks for using my phone, case-less, that I learned during this time as well as 6 different options you can add to your phone case to make it more ergonomic.
CASELESS:
90% of the time, my phone was held by a phone stand I already had. Because let me tell you, constantly gripping your phone without any sort of grip or extra device on it is a surefire way to flare your hands.
I used the phone stand at the kitchen counter, at my desk, y’all I even brought it to the sofa with me in the evenings and put the stand part in between my legs so the phone was just right there in front of me, within a comfortable hands-reach. So good.
I *almost* purchased a stylus during this time(and I would’ve made it ergonomic with this foam tubing I have) but decided to wait on that since my case was coming in so soon. But having the option to use a stylus can be helpful, as it switches up the muscles and joints you’re using.
Some other helpful things I did: prop my phone with a pillow if it wasn’t in the phone stand, utilize voice dictation as much as possible, set timers to do hand exercises if I was working on my phone for a long time.
THINGS YOU CAN ADD TO YOUR PHONE TO MAKE YOUR HANDS HAPPIER & STOP DROPPING YOUR PHONE:
This greatly depends on the type of phone and case you go with, so let me lay out all the options for you:
For a year I used my old phone with so much ease by having this strap on the back of it. It truly made phone use completely grip-free. However, this wasn’t compatible with the type of extra-secure phone case I purchased for my new phone, so this option was unfortunately out for my new scenario. It served me greatly when I used a cheap / generic phone case.
You could also instead look into pop sockets. Just make sure you position it well for your own hands - most often, this would be in the lower third of the back of your phone. But position matters immensely for using your pop socket!
Also, I have seen people have success with using 2 pop sockets. It can make holding your phone more grip-free and make you less likely to drop your phone.
There’s a whole brand of phone cases called ‘loopy case’ that makes phone cases with a silicone ring loop attached to the back so you can slip your finger in it, which makes you less likely to have to forcefully grip your phone.
The downside to loopy case is that you don’t have the ability to customize where the loop is, and it obviously wouldn’t work if you wanted a different brand of case.
Because the case I was getting was MagSafe compatible, I skipped the above add-ons and instead looked at different options that are MagSafe compatible.
If you, too, have a MagSafe case, here are the options I found: MagSafe pop socket, MagSafe ring (slip your finger through the ring), and the one I landed on (‘the MagOne’) which is a ring with 3 different interchangeable silicone finger loop options you can slip a finger through.
I chose the MagOne option because of the 3 different loop options. There’s a silicone finger loop ring, a ‘tighter’ strap, and a ‘looser’ strap.
When I posted about this on Instagram yesterday, someone messaged me saying she is absolutely loving this too!
For me, the ‘tighter’ strap the MagOne came with pulled my hypermobile finger joints in unwanted ways, but I have been enjoying the silicone finger loop and this combination + my grippy phone case from Otterbox has made a world of difference.
I actually haven’t even needed to use my phone stand at all since getting this combination, but I see myself switching it up with my phone stand regularly, as it’s a great way to change positions and change the muscles I am using.
The downside to any of the MagSafe holder options listed above is that you can’t customize where you place this add-on on the back of your case.
I WANT TO KNOW, which of the above options works or sounds the best for your own hand/phone? Comment below and let ya girl know!
PS - my waitlist members are getting uber excited for the doors to open to Hypermobile Hands Blueprint next month. If you’re interested in the benefits of joining the waitlist (ahem… $100 off)... click this link to learn more! 💛