Wrist pain... anyone else?

[marcblack30]

Lately my right wrist has been hurting, I had been kinda brushing it off but the other day it was really bothering me. My day job requires me to use a computer and of course making music requires that as well, so I'm pretty much on my computer all day long every day. I bought a ACE Rejuvenating Hand Support glove that has helped tremendously, and have been doing some general hand stretches, and I started using a ball instead of a chair to change up my usual sitting positioning, all of these things seem to be working. I'm thinking I should get an ergonomic mouse as well. Does anyone have a favorite Mouse for PC that is comfortable to use? Or any other tips to avoid/alleviate wrist pain caused by puters?

Best,

Marc

[Casey H]

I've struggled with all sorts of pains--- wrist, neck, and shoulder from being a software geek all day (not to mention, way too much other recreational cyber use).

If the pain continues, definitely see your doctor. You want to avoid ending up with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Get a keyboard gel rest so your not bending your hands as you type. Also, they sell wrist rests for the mouse--- little bean bag things. The idea is to keep your wrists and arms as straight and parallel to the desk as you can when keyboarding and mousing.

Good luck,
Casey

[jdhogg]

My wrist got a big whack playing football and has never recovered properly.

Solution...and this is good long term strategy to even out the wear, is to swap to your left hand for all mouse work.

Took a week or so but now its second nature....and costs nothing.

It will give your wrist some time to repair itself.

It may have slightly improved my left hand playing technique to boot.

[Kolstad]

Yeah, you need one of them things with a roller mouse..

[playagibson]

Yes to all the above.
Make sure your chair is also at the correct height.
You can probably find info on correct ergonomics. ( workplace safety , google etc.. )
And remember to take breaks !
All the little things make a difference.

[Len911]

If I remember correctly Marc, you use Cubase. There is a logickeyboard for Cubase that has many of the commands
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CubaseKeyPC/

Also Steinberg has the new CMC series external controller type thingies
http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/co ... y_cmc.html

I have the keyboard, I have to admit I mainly just use the function buttons, because I haven't taken the time to figure out the other functions because I just use the mouse mainly.

Anyway, maybe some of these alternate methods would at least give your hand a break from doing everything in a repetitive mouse type method.

[marcblack30]

Thanks for the tips all! Wrist is feeling pretty good today, after switching to a ball chair, it lowered me to where my arm is now parallel with my mouse/keyboard, that itself may have done the trick!

[Torch]

Whether you choose to sit in a chair a sit on that ball, I strongly advise you to TRY to maintain a proper posture. When we type, many of us tend to lean in a "hunched" position with our shoulders forward. To try practice sitting with your posture upright and shoulders in straight, in alignment with your neck. A good posture may play an effective role in helping to keep your wrists comfortable.

[coachdebra]

You may also think about wearing the wrist brace while you sleep. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused when you have inflamation on the tendon that runs through the carpal tunnel. Since your nerve also runs through that same small tunnel, the tendon inflammation puts pressure on the nerve = pain. When we sleep, our wrists tend to collapse into a 90 degree angle which also puts pressure on the nerve and can increase the pain. Wearing the brace while you sleep keeps the wrist in a neutral position.

[jeffgreenleaf]

Hey man,
Yeah I've been having wrist issues this year (after one too many years as a Massage Therapist). I had to cut back on my clients and stuff like lifting weights...the thing that really helps is getting a deep tissue massage on the wrist, hands, and most importantly (for me), the forearm. Makes a big difference....