Advice - Wrist pain started developing this last week
polycounter lvl 18
Hi Everyone, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one whose had this problem before, so I was hoping to hear some advice.
Over the last week I've been starting to get some light wrist pain when I've been using a mouse for a few hours at work. I've been trying to switch entirely to a tablet, but I still have to do stuff on my second monitor, so I need a mouse.
Is this something I should see a doctor about immediately? Does stretching help? I don't have a any pain during my weight lifting workouts, but should I stop them? Am I hurting myself somehow? Do wrist guards help?
Any advice from people who've gone through similar issues would be fantastic.
Over the last week I've been starting to get some light wrist pain when I've been using a mouse for a few hours at work. I've been trying to switch entirely to a tablet, but I still have to do stuff on my second monitor, so I need a mouse.
Is this something I should see a doctor about immediately? Does stretching help? I don't have a any pain during my weight lifting workouts, but should I stop them? Am I hurting myself somehow? Do wrist guards help?
Any advice from people who've gone through similar issues would be fantastic.
Replies
And try to take breaks. We all suffer from it eventually but it's all about age and how ergonomic your office space is.
I bought this mouse after demoing it at PAX East, and it's the most comfortable one I've ever used. Definitely worth the money.
Perhaps you're using the mouse in a way that's caused the pain. See ergonomic tips for proper ways of sitting/holding the mouse etc. This might be useful too;
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_3747_exercises-treating-carpal-tunnel-syndrome.html
I think this can get pretty serious though. A guy at my previous job that had to become a left handed mouse user because of damage to his wrist.
Oddly enough, the pain started when I switched my mouse at home from a crappy dell 5 dollar mouse, to a razer deathadder I got at work for free. Could have been a coincidence though
thanks for that link, I'll be going through all of those tonight.
cycling & rowing did the trick for me, btw. plus: zero back pain ever since and i still tend to slouch in cheap chairs.
everyone knows the mouse hand and the jerkin hand are never the same!
And one of these (will fix most problems)
Then adjust your sitting/chair/desk position so your arms have good support and are as horizontal as possible.
truer words were never spoken.
and this(MS natural 4000):
Help a lot with wrist pain. The ergo keyboard took some time to get used to, but its really much better. You can find the ergo keyboard for like $12 used on ebay, and the mx518 for like $40 or something from newegg.
I also noticed specific mice agrivate my hand more than others. The main offender is a very slim mouse that my hand wraps around more than wider mice. I'd be interested to know if yours is the same.
What's causing the pain is swelling of the wrist causing pressure on your nerves. As your body tries to compensate for the increased use of the wrist it gets pinched by swelling. Another great thing to do is simply put ice on the wrist, this reduces the swelling and reduces the pain to nothing. It really is all in your head most likely.
Not 100% sure this is the same thing but it's pretty likely.
Long story short, find a way to move your wrist less, really that simple, once you do it should go back to normal.
http://www.imakproducts.com/product.php?c=Wrist+/+Carpal+Tunnel&s=10
I've used these with great success, they REALLY help a HUGE amount. It slows me down a little, but its worth it for the reduction in pain if it gets bad. I tried a lot of difference brace type things, and these are by far the most comfortable, which is good, because you'll actually keep them on.
chinese baoding balls. They are an exercise tool that you use by putting both in your hand (shush i know this sounds dirty) and twirling them around using the palm of your hand. they are magnetic, so they strengthen and sooth your wrists.
I found they actually worked. Even if you don't believe in chinese medicine theories, they really strengthen your wrists, kinda like a stress ball would do.
also EarthQuake's suggestion is very good too, they are really handy.
Hope this helps
You shouldn't get wrist problems, but you can strain your hand if your pen isn't very ergonomic. I know I've had my hand hurt just from straining it doing precise things in photoshop.
http://daarken.com/blog/2010/04/04/tunnel-syndrome-x3/
I start getting mild wrist pains myself when I paint too long without doing breaks, and it scares me quite a lot already
it's still better than using mouse for the same prolonged periods of time, wacoms are at least more ergonomic.
Keep in mind that while this may be ergonomic in it self(for typing) it takes up a lot of space. Combined with other devices such as; a mouse, a wacom, a 3d device or any input device of your choice; it can become less ergonomic and hard to utilize correctly. In some cases it can even make your pain worse. Due to it´s size(width) your arm will reach out to the far right/left straining your wrist/arm.
This is of course different for every individual and may not be the case for you.
If you consult any rehab/ergonomic expert they will most likely tell you to keep your arms/hands as close to your torso as possible for a natural and relaxed posture.
What you can do is to have your mouse parallel to; and in front of the keyboard. This is not a perfect solution as your keyboard arm will now be extended instead.
If that doesn't work for you I suggest trying out a mini-keyboard without the numerical keypad. Right handed artists tend to keep their left hand resting at the far left side of the keyboard utilizing only a handful of hotkeys. Thus rendering up to 70% of the keyboard seldom used and in some cases even unused.
However if you type a lot and for extended periods of time I highly recommend the Microsoft Natural 4000.
Edit: Rewritten in a more formal way to remove any implicit messages/thoughts and or opinions for clarifications due to the requirements of the medium(internet) and it´s consumers(people).
There's ways to use your tablet on both screens, you can either tell it to map across both screens(better to have a wide format tablet for that) or assign one of the keys to switch between displays if that helps.
I have to disagree here, it's probably a personal preference, but still. At home and work I use the MS natural keyboard and whenever I try to use any other keyboard than this keyboard I instantly find myself forcing my hands into an uncomfortable position and they start aching within minutes.
And I tried to use a mini keyboard next to my wacom(space issues on my desk
@OP
I'd say, go to a store and test out some mouses and see which on feels comfortable to you. If you don't trust your "2 minute use judgement" look around the office and see what others use and see if they'll allow you to use it for a while. See how they work for you and if they relief the pain.
Also, if you don't trust it. Go see a doctor, you don't wanna destroy your wrists just because you wanted to see if a new mouse would fix it.
(read Zephiris' reply for a short version
Oh and wacom allows you to control both monitors by the way. You can either set it to cover both monitors, this will however distort your pen movement (since it's going to fit 2 monitors on to your effective wacom area). You can fix this by only using part of the effective wacom area, but the downside to this is that it will be like working on a smaller wacom tablet.
Another option is to set one of the 4 side buttons (sort of assuming you have an intous..) to "display toggle", this allows you to switch between monitors by pressing the button. (I do have to warn you that there is a bug that forces you to press it once to go to 1 screen and twice to go to the other screen. I use it and you do get used to it, but it can be sort of annoying from time to time.)
Just stick with the position you feel most comfortable with and you should be fine, if you start to feel pain think about it, what are you doing wrong, and maybe read a bit into the subject to help you clear things. Ergonomic stuff works for some people, but for others it has the opposite effect.
I've seen a lot of people having hand / wrist problems due to overusage of a Cintiq. Pain due to overusage of a mouse is not unheard of, but less regular.
I think the key here is try to find a good position to sit and work, and make regular pauses to rest your muscles.
+ obvious exercising as mentioned throughout the thread
I've been using a wacom for years now, threw my mouse out when it gave me a trigger finger and pain in my elbow. Switching was a great relief only problem i got here is that using a tablet can put alot of strain on the wrist. Unaware you can bend your wrist a bit more then needed, ect.
First thing i do when i sit behind my computer is wrap up my wrist. I can work an hour or so without, but i never get any problems when i use it. it is genius, and as side effect, your hand wont stick to the tablet/desk, it just slides over it easely.
Tip when looking for one,
-Make sure it is a flexiable band, it needs to support your wrist, not lock it in place.
-eventhough these bands shape to your hand, find one with a pre shaped area around the thumb. cheap ones just have a hole punched into them, and those sit less comfy.
For those that wonder, these things can be used to death, you can easely go half a year with one, even when you take them off ALOT of times a day. Only thing they will be is fluffy and lose grip in the area where you close it.
here's an img of the one i love, ( far as i know it is a european brand)
ps, don't forget to wash them now and then.
As you mentioned yourself, i have no complains in dayly life, and lift weights with no problem, it is just that damned computer. Even wearing them as a precausion is a good idea, we can use a bit of support when it comes to living behind the pc. You do not go downhill mountainbikeing without a helmet, and only start wearing one once you hit your face.
So get one of these, and make sure you relax your wrist once a while, do some rotations, open/close your hand and move it around.
In regards to placement of that keyboard above.
No matter what keyboard + mouse/wacom you will have space problems,
Though a reason why not to work above or infront of your keyboard is that you work in a twist. this may seem oke for a little while, but you grow into it, get stiff on one side of the torso and can even get serious problems like those from your wrist.
random advice,
my setup is keyboard + wacom,
the keyboard slightly rotated and a bit to the left, so when i put my arm down, it falls onto the ctrl shift area,
wacom to the right, and when i put my arm down, it falls onto the outer left side of it.
Now having your wacom on relative is a joke to me. Set it to mouse mode so you can use the wacom efficiently, and stay in that area. Set its speed so you can go across screen in one large wrist movement. this does not only work faster and better, it limits you from having to make silly movements all over the place.
(best joke is, i never use 60% of the right side of my a4 wacom, it is for dust or putting things on there) Though! i do get to sit straight and work comfy.
another tip for placement of the wacom would be. place something under it to keep your wacom in place. I remember mine running off and being somewhere else at the end of the day. So i had this formable erasor on my desk i stuck on the top of it. works perfect.
and for those that wonder, with a tablet you are not slower then a mouse user on the computer, and it works fine in every software package. Even for 3d i prefer the wacom.
if its too high or low i get problems in my wrist, too
http://www.powerballs.com/
Designed to strengthen the wrist area, and helps RSI when you use it at lower speeds. A lot of people who use computers all day every day swear by these.
I got one of these back when I used to get nasty wrist pain after working silly hours in the studio. Highly recommended if you're prone to carpal tunnel painage.
http://www.evoluent.com/vm4r.htm
Frequent breaks and stretching helps, as does ensuring your workspace is as ergonomic as possible (monitors right height, feet flat on floor with legs at 90 degree angle, chair high enough so your arms aren't too high or too low on your desk, good posture, etc). But slapping wrist guards on something that hurts isn't a permanent fix -- it's treating the symptom and not the problem. Whether many of us want to hear it, frequent physical exercise is one of the best possible ways to prevent stuff like this from happening. Running/biking, weight lifting, yoga, everything that strengthens and increases flexibility will do wonders for reversing the effects of long hours in a chair.
Oh, and I just read in the WSJ today that those who frequently work 10+ hours per day are at much higher risk of heart attack. This industry is brutal. Don't wait until it's too late.
Me and another guy back at an old job used these. They were quite awesome. It took a few days to readjust to the new position but after awhile you were just as proficient with it as a standard mouse...
My wrist never felt better! Always did want to buy one for home. I know the other guy liked it too as he recomended it to me. So +2 recomendations for the strange mouse!
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/trackballs
Seriously, I've even rehabilited my mother's wrist problems - which have been around for many years - in a couple of weeks with a Powerball.
About 30s using it once every two or three days and suddenly she never wears wrists braces anymore or even thinks about wrist pain or discomfort.
Wrist braces are like bandaids. Powerballs are a cure.
Seriously, 30s with a powerball at a low speed every few days. Not exaggerating. No other changes to your work or lifestyle required.
And completely 100% disagree with the (rather ridiculous) idea that the Natural 4000 keyboard is not ergonomic. If you had discomfort with it that's because your setup was poor. There is no strain whatsoever when you use it properly. I went from 24/7 shooting pain all the way up my arm to feeling fine in about two days, without reducing my computer usage at all.
It's true the width of it can make getting a good setup difficult but oh my god is it worth it.