Using ergonomic furniture to minimize back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome

The way you are sitting and typing can be causing carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the blood vessel to the wrist is constricted. People will feel numbness and tingling in the fingers. This often leads to a loss of sensation in the fingers. You will also experience wrist pain. If you find that your wrists and hands ache after you have been typing for awhile, you probably have poor office ergonomics.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can stay under control if you maintain a proper weight level, exercise, and control other health conditions. Smoking and doing repetitive tasks will increase your risk for carpal tunnel syndrome. There are other things that can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.  Women that are pregnant or have recently given birth are at an increased risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. This is because their wrists tend to swell in the last few months of pregnancy and this places extra pressure on the median nerve. The median nerve is responsible for providing feeling to the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. Most pregnant women will feel numbness in their pinkie and ring finger when they are in the final months of pregnancy. For some women, this numbness never goes away and they are forced to deal with carpal tunnel syndrome for the rest of their lives.

Before you start working or engaging in the repetitive tasks, spend 5 minutes warming up your hands and wrists. Hold their hands straight out in front of you, and then hold your fingers acutely. This should look like you are getting ready to do a push-up. Hold this for about 5 seconds. Now, straighten the wrists and relax the fingers. The next exercise involves making a fist with both hands, hold this for 5 seconds. Bend the wrists down and hold for another 5 seconds. Straighten the wrists and relax the fingers. Once you have done both exercises, shake loose of your arms and wrists. Repeat the exercises 10 times.

Start wearing compression gloves when you type. You might even find that the pain ceases when you wear the gloves to sleep with and periodically throughout the day. The carpal tunnel gloves are also beneficial to wear when you are typing and you will feel instant relief in the fingers when you wear them.

One of the best things you can do is make sure you are practicing proper office ergonomics. Take a look at the way you are sitting. Are you upright with your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle? The elbows should rest gently on the armrests. The wrists should be straight. Purchase a wrist pad to rest them on when you are typing, this will also help to improve carpal tunnel syndrome. Make some simple adjustments to your desk like moving the keyboard, monitor, and mouse. If the mouse is too big for your hand, it will cause problems with carpal tunnel syndrome. You should also get a mouse pad that has a wrist rest. This will reduce the pressure on your veins and nerves in the writs that can cause carpal tunnel.

Always give your wrists some time to rest. You need to take periodic breaks throughout the workday to stretch out your wrists and your fingers. Use the above stretching tips at least 3-5 times a day to keep your fingers and wrists limber. You will find that the more you are able to stretch; the pain of carpal tunnel will significantly reduce in a matter of minutes. For an intense stretch, hold it longer or have a co-worker grab your fingers and pull backwards and hold this for about 15 seconds.