How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

by Elle Ray | Aug 18, 2014 | Office

Carpal Tunnel Can Strike All of Us… Even You

For nearly 20 years, I owned a business that relied heavily on my two hands. I cleaned and reconditioned boats. Waxing and scrubbing, holding vibrating sanders, mops, buckets and rags and climbing all over 25-to-65-foot motor yachts and sailboats. It was exhausting. Eventually, I could barely open my hands. If I didn’t stop, carpal tunnel and arthritis would leave me with constant pain and little use in my hands.

I had to quit that business. I wasn’t going to become crippled for any amount of money.

Carpal tunnel developing? Not if you follow this advice.

Advice from a Keyboard Junkie

Now I sit at a computer for hours on end, hands poised on the keyboard and fingers moving very little as they fly over the keys. Some days, my hands ache. But I’m doing everything I can to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome from developing. Because of the research I’ve done and the steps I follow, the pain never lingers. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, take my advice and take these steps, which are based on thorough, reliable research:

I set up my desk and work station to conform to my body’s needs. My chair is adjustable, with movable arm rests so I can change the angle at which my hands reach the keyboard and change up the pressure points. Some days my elbows rest on the armrests, other days they hang free and I rest my wrists on the wrist-rest attached to my keyboard.

I use an ergonomic keyboard that’s split so that my fingers hit the keys in a very natural position. The keyboard tray is low because I’m short. It pulls out from below my desk. Everything about my arms and hands feels natural, even when I’m working the mouse, which I use constantly while researching. My mouse pad has a nice, cushy wrist support too.

I type with easy taps. I make sure my keys are loose and respond instantly to a light touch. The Mayo Clinic reports that striking keys with force creates additional, unnecessary pressure that, over time, can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

I take a lot of breaks. At least once every hour, I get up from my desk and get a glass of water, walk around the office, check the mail or go to the bathroom. While up, I stretch my fingers and my wrists. I move them to work out any kinks. Making a fist and opening my hands wide four or five times does wonders. When short breaks don’t relieve any beginning signs of pain, I do something different, like make phone calls, read or write to-do lists with pen and paper.

I pay attention to my posture and straighten my spine when I start hunching over. When your neck and shoulders slump forward, that cuts off the nerves that feed fresh blood down your arms to your hands. It helps that we have a spine specialist and a pain management practice as clients, because I’m constantly reminded of the importance of proper posture.

About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Be careful when typing The main cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that causes hand and arm numbness and tingling, is pinched nerves. Weakness and the inability to hold objects is another symptom that could signal the onset of the condition. Treatment may consist of:

Wrist splints
NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), like ibuprofen
Steroid injections
Ultrasound therapy
Physical or occupational therapy
Endoscopic or open surgery

But the best treatment for carpal tunnel is prevention. After a lifetime, my favorite jobs — those that I’m good at and give me the most pleasure — involve my hands. So I want to take care of them. As a professional writer, it behooves me to follow my own advice, something I’m not always ready to do. As one of the partners at Ray Access, I both want and need to take care of my hands. They are the tools from which my creativity and my soul flow through.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.

5 Tips to a Better Sitting Posture

by Mark Bloom | Jul 26, 2014 | Office

Improve Your Posture: Advice for Your Office

keep your back straight when sitting

Here at Ray Access, we are writers and editors who work long hours at our computers. Don’t get us wrong: we love what we do. But we’ve also learned a few things along the way to help us avoid back injury, unnatural curvature of the spine and other deformities as a result of spending untold hours at a keyboard.

So we present five ways to improve your posture and strengthen your back:

1. Buy a Good Chair

The best thing you can do for your back is to sit in a good quality desk chair, one that supports your lower back properly, has a height adjustment to keep your feet flat on the floor and is padded enough to be comfortable. These chairs aren’t inexpensive, we know, but we heartily endorse the investment. What you save in pain and suffering — and doctor’s bills — will make the chair seem like the bargain it is.

2. Don’t Be a Potato

Couch potatoes don’t move once they settle in. If you want to protect your spine and back muscles, you have to stay active. Shift your position every half hour or so. Lean back for a bit. Lean forward for a spell. It’s all about keeping your blood from pooling in the same spot for hours. Even if you’re sitting, you can still be active.

3. Save Your Neck

A stiff neck is an occupational hazard for computer jockeys like us. But we know how to beat it: neck stretches. Your neck moves in 360 degrees; use them. Pull your chin to your chest and hold it there. Raise your chin to the ceiling and hold it. Try to touch your shoulder with your ear, one side at a time. Do these stretches several times a day.

4. Be Aware of Your Posture

This one seems self-evident, but it’s easy to forget how you’re sitting when you’re in the midst of a project. But you can train yourself to remember. The first thing to do is find the correct posture. Don’t slouch; keep your shoulders back. When seated, your knees should be just above your hips. Your arms should fall to the keyboard without having to reach. Be comfortable. Once you know how it feels to sit right, you’ll realize it when you float out of alignment.

5. Rise to the Occasion

If you know you have a long day at the desk ahead of you, plan to get up and walk around, even if it’s just around the office, every hour. Five minutes will do, while you’re thinking. Two minutes an hour is still better than feeling chained to your computer. That little bit of movement will keep you pain-free for years.

Linda and Mark are both past age 50. Both have been doing this work for (dare we say it?) over two decades. Both of us, however, are still active. We can both garden or swing a golf club in a pinch. You can do it too. Start today, and your back will thank you for the rest of your life.

If you have any of your own posture tips, send them our way.