Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – How to Save Your Wrists!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ~

How to Save Your Wrists!

by Howard VanEs, M.A.
HR FactFinder

In fact, the risk of a muscle-skeletal injury for someone who works on a computer four or more hours per day is nine times greater that it is for a person who spends just one hour per day on the computer.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive motion injury to an actual tunnel located in the wrist in which nerves and blood vessels run through. This injury is caused by a number of interrelated factors. These include period of time a person has been at the computer doing a specific task, poor posture, lack of breaks, existing medical conditions and other stressors in one’s life.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can include, pain, tingling and or numbing in the wrists and fingers, lack of strength, and less movement in the fingers, hands, elbows or shoulders.

The good news is that you don’t have to give up your day job or night job for that matter! Most cases carpal tunnel syndrome can either be avoided completely or the symptoms significantly reduced with a little planning.

Below are 1 of 10 tips to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and make your time at the computer more enjoyable and productive. A new tip will be posted over the next few weeks.

Tip 1 ~

Keying at the right level. Your want your keyboard positioned so that your shoulders are naturally relaxed and your forearms form right angles with your upper arms – parallel to the floor. Your wrists should be directly inline with the forearms and your fingers a little lower than your wrists when placed on the keys. Be sure to select a keyboard that matches the width of your upper body.