A Step by Step Guide on How to Hold a Pen Correctly

Choosing a comfortable pen

As you can imagine, the pen which you actually write with plays a significant part in how much your hand aches after a long session of writing. For example, you have different types of pens that have a certain unique structure. This can prove to be beneficial due to many people having many different types of grips. Some pens have a rounded structure, this makes the pen user feel vulnerable that it may slip out of their hand and therefore make them feel like they have to grip the pen tightly. On the other hand, some pens have a hexagonal structure. This gives the user of the pen extra grip and therefore they feel as though they don’t need to grip the pen as tight. In my opinion, I have tested both types of pen and feel as though the hexagonal structure pen feel much better. This was due to having a comfortable grip and also not feeling any pain or strain on my fingers.

How to Hold a Pen Correctly

Don’t hold the pen too firmly

When writing for a long period of time, your grip on the pen starts to tighten automatically. This then results into getting bad hand and arm ache. By tightening your grip, the tip of your fingers starts to hurt and because the force is focused on a small area of your finger, this causes the tips to go numb. It has been advised by specialist that you should loosely grip the pen when writing to improve performance and decrease pain.

How to Hold a Pen Correctly

Don’t press too hard on the page

There are many different types of reasons why you shouldn’t press too hardly when writing on a page. Firstly, the tip of your pen may give way. This could then lead to a catastrophic ink leak on your sheet of paper. Also by pressing to hardly on the page, you will cause pain to your “Dorsal Interosseous Muscle” (Found in between you thumb and first finger) and to your “Septum Muscle” (Found in between your first and middle finger). This will then cause to take regular breaks from writing; this could prove to be crucial at a certain time.

How to Hold a Pen Correctly

Should you use your arm or fingers?

It has been scientifically proven that writing with your arm causes less strain than writing with your fingers. Keep your hand and wrist still, and move your whole arm using the elbow and shoulder with a loose grip on the pen. It has been said that this method of writing can improve your arm posture and strengthen your arm muscles. It is also a good idea to take regular breaks when writing for a long period of time.

How to Hold a Pen Correctly

Practice good posture

When writing for a long period of time, it is vital that you use good posture. Firstly, you’ll need to sit up straight yet relaxed position. This will allow you to get a better view of what you are writing so you can spot mistakes as early as possible. With your thumb and first finger, loosely grip the pen (as displayed on the picture). This will allow you to make comfortable pen strokes. Some people say that it is good to position your sheet of paper straight in front of you. This is apparently due to it improving the neatness of how you write and the whole general experience. Although a recent survey shows that 94.2% prefer writing at an angle due to it being more comfortable and getting neater results. It is vital that you lean over the page when you are writing; this is so you can identify mistakes earlier rather than later. It also gives you a better view of the page.

How to Hold a Pen Correctly

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