Most people who spend a lot of time in front of a keyboard and mouse eventually experience some sort of wrist pain, though it's not limited to just computer people - sometimes, it'll show up from overuse injuries from golf, or tennis. While wrist pain is usually a twinge that goes away on its own, they can degenerate to acute pain or numbness that can interfere with your life.
If you've got wrist pain that's persistent, talk to your doctor about it. They may need to do physical therapy along the RICE protocols, or surgery to correct carpal tunnel syndrome. You can also avoid a lot of physical pain by taping appropriate orthopedic measures, like having a small pillow under your wrists when you type or use the mouse.
What It Is
A wrist pillow is exactly what it sounds like; it's some form of soft pillow that you can put under your wrist to cushion the pressure on the joint, tendon sheathes and nerve sheathes. Most can be bought in computer stores, and there are ones that sit in front of your keyboard or are integrated into mouse pads. Many of these can be had in choices of colors, though they're usually neutral for blending into offices - they're gray, blue and black. If you buy them online, they can be customized with company logos.
Other ways to get this kind of wrist support can be had around the house; rolling up a towel and putting it under your wrists at the keyboard can work, or you can find online videos that will walk you through the steps of a more elaborate craft project; stuffing them can be done with old socks, discarded bits of yarn or other soft pliant materials. Doing it yourself also lets you make it as colorful as you like.
What It Can Do for You
As inexpensive, easy to purchase/easy to make, and innocuous as a wrist support in the form of a small pillow is, you will enjoy many benefits from it. For one thing, your wrist will be protected from the repetitive stress injury brought by hours of pecking and clicking away on your computer. Since your wrist rests on soft gel, or other soft materials like cotton, it is angled in such a way as to minimize stress. In fact, a properly-made wrist pillow can relieve tension in this most important of body parts.
Other benefits of wrist pillows is that the commercial varieties usually have nonslip basis, which keep the keyboard or mouse pad from sliding around too much. This can also boost typing speed and accuracy with the mouse, since it's not zipping all over the screen.
In addition to these immediate benefits, your wrist pillow will help ward off medical conditions. Carpal tunnel syndrome is becoming ever more prevalent, and more common in younger people, many of whom have been typing with poor form since grade school. Prevention is much less expensive and painful than physical therapy, and wrist pillows are a great (and affordable) method of preventing injury.
And did we mention the fact that treating these medical conditions involves a great deal of your time and money? Now, that is one good reason why you need a wrist pillow today.
If you've got wrist pain that's persistent, talk to your doctor about it. They may need to do physical therapy along the RICE protocols, or surgery to correct carpal tunnel syndrome. You can also avoid a lot of physical pain by taping appropriate orthopedic measures, like having a small pillow under your wrists when you type or use the mouse.
What It Is
A wrist pillow is exactly what it sounds like; it's some form of soft pillow that you can put under your wrist to cushion the pressure on the joint, tendon sheathes and nerve sheathes. Most can be bought in computer stores, and there are ones that sit in front of your keyboard or are integrated into mouse pads. Many of these can be had in choices of colors, though they're usually neutral for blending into offices - they're gray, blue and black. If you buy them online, they can be customized with company logos.
Other ways to get this kind of wrist support can be had around the house; rolling up a towel and putting it under your wrists at the keyboard can work, or you can find online videos that will walk you through the steps of a more elaborate craft project; stuffing them can be done with old socks, discarded bits of yarn or other soft pliant materials. Doing it yourself also lets you make it as colorful as you like.
What It Can Do for You
As inexpensive, easy to purchase/easy to make, and innocuous as a wrist support in the form of a small pillow is, you will enjoy many benefits from it. For one thing, your wrist will be protected from the repetitive stress injury brought by hours of pecking and clicking away on your computer. Since your wrist rests on soft gel, or other soft materials like cotton, it is angled in such a way as to minimize stress. In fact, a properly-made wrist pillow can relieve tension in this most important of body parts.
Other benefits of wrist pillows is that the commercial varieties usually have nonslip basis, which keep the keyboard or mouse pad from sliding around too much. This can also boost typing speed and accuracy with the mouse, since it's not zipping all over the screen.
In addition to these immediate benefits, your wrist pillow will help ward off medical conditions. Carpal tunnel syndrome is becoming ever more prevalent, and more common in younger people, many of whom have been typing with poor form since grade school. Prevention is much less expensive and painful than physical therapy, and wrist pillows are a great (and affordable) method of preventing injury.
And did we mention the fact that treating these medical conditions involves a great deal of your time and money? Now, that is one good reason why you need a wrist pillow today.
About the Author:
Tom Nicholson spends his time helping sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. Please click here to learn more about having asore wrist.
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