Wrist Protection for Better Workflow

A good practice that works for me is to get used move around the elbow and the wrist not just, so you will move all you hand and avoid the wrist effort and if you can to get used move you complete arm, it will be better!.

Blessings!

Todd,

I work from laptops so I can understand your pain. Most of the time, for me, it's back and neck problems from posture alone. If you are working from a desktop, there are materials on the internet that shows you how you can posture yourself as well as the keyboard in relation from you as well as the desk and computer. If you change your posture as well as how your keyboard is positioned, you might be able to change how your wrists are positioned thus fixing any muscle and joint problems you may acquire. Hope this helps. Incidentally, I'm a code monkey and therefor resigned to the fact that if anything, I'm going to get arthritis in the future; it's all part of the beast.

Cheers!

Hi Shawn,

Thanks for the tip. You know, it's interesting because I would have thought the wrist pad that I use would have pretty much covered this problem. Also, I'm a short guy, so I typically sit on some books if I need that extra elevation, but I still find myself over-extending my fingers when trying to reach keys in hard-to-reach places on the keyboard.

I've heard from people that some medicinal ointment can help, but I have my doubts about this. It feels like just a band-aid approach to a much larger problem.

Anyway, I'll do some searching and see what I can come up with.

Thanks again,

T

I agree with everything Shawn Gregory has said.

I wanted to emphasize his points on posture and wrist position. These two factors can be the cause of or solution to a lot pain.

If possible, position your chair close enough to the keyboard so that your back can rest on the back of the chair as well as raising the chair high enough so that your feet can rest flat on the floor so that from the floor to your knees and also knees to back are close to 90 degrees - like a pair of stair steps.

If possible, allow your hands, when on the keyboard, to be level or even pointed slightly downward - you don't want your wrists to be angled upward as this will result in significant pain after extended typing.

An adjustable chair, and ideally desk as well, are great for customizing the above aspects. In certain conditions, like your height vs chair height vs the height of the desk, a pull-out keyboard drawer, and hopefully room for the mouse to site beside the keyboard, can be useful so that you can pull your chair arms under it. It also leaves more room on your desk. ;)

Another point to consider is try to be aware if your shoulders are higher than normal, like in a shrugging position and that your neck is not too extended or crunched. Attempt to have your shoulders in as natural a position as possible and not to have the view to the monitor(s) too low or too high so as not to strain your neck.

I realize all these conditions cannot be met realistically in everyone's situation, but try to be aware of these and attempt to be in as natural and comfortable position as possible with the furniture available.

Hi Sean,

Thanks so much for the tips. The tutorial did have some helpful advice that I've begun to incorporate into my rituals, so we'll see how this works for me in the long run.

I'm also wondering if I should invest in one of those angled-keyboards. I saw one of my colleagues using a keyboard like the one found here: click here.

Not sure though.

Anyway, thanks again!

-T

If you have damaged your carpal tunnels, invest in wrist braces for carpal tunnel. You wear them at night when you are sleeping, not for working. With my first laptop I had a lot of trouble with my left hand caused by using the track pad. Using a brace and getting a mouse solved that problem.

Thanks for the feedback, Lauri. Will look into that!

-T