my wrists and hands are dying: keyboarding: help

[ruthless29]

The nature of my work demands that i send lots and lots of emails. plus, i use excel for a lot of analysis of financial data.

hence, the typing is killing my wrists and fingers and my bones are aching. i take frequent bbreaks but that is not helping. any idea how to solve this? Is their something i can buy to stop it? or change my method of typing? thid is a fairly recent occurence (a week at most)

[najibs]

excercise your wrists more frequently...

[haowong]

Don't need to exercise your wrist more if you had a gf (or secretary) to do the job for you...

[najibs]

Don't need to exercise your wrist more if you had a gf (or secretary) to do the job for you...

are you offering your services?

[Becks]

Are you typing with all your fingers? If not, learn to type with all your fingers and without looking at the keys.

Also, make sure your chair is positioned at the correct height with the table.

Also, they sell little cushion things for your wrist to make it more comfortable typing.

[MkmBandit]

Also, they sell little cushion things for your wrist to make it more comfortable typing.

+1

Not only are those pads comfortable, they offer much needed support.

[chococrazy]

The nature of my work demands that i send lots and lots of emails. plus, i use excel for a lot of analysis of financial data.

hence, the typing is killing my wrists and fingers and my bones are aching. i take frequent bbreaks but that is not helping. any idea how to solve this? Is their something i can buy to stop it? or change my method of typing? thid is a fairly recent occurence (a week at most)

Your work should pay for your wrist support!

From http://www.princeton.edu/uhs/hi_ergonomics.html:

Keyboard and Mouse Position
When positioning your keyboard and mouse, you should keep in mind that you want to reduce unnecessary strain in your fingers, wrists, arms, and shoulders, keeping them in as neutral and relaxing a position as possible. While you’re typing, your wrists should not be resting, but held up in line with the backs of your hands. This reduces strain to your wrist that may result from holding it at an unnatural angle, and allows you to move your arms to reach the keys, rather than stretching your fingers to reach them. Use a foam pad or towel in front of your keyboard to rest your wrists and forearms while you’re not typing. Because you want your arms free to move your hands around the keyboard while typing, you should only use armrests on your chair when you’re not typing. Holding your wrists up is not very tiring because most people are not actually typing continuously for long periods, so you’ll have plenty of time to rest your arms while you think about what to type next.

Your fingers should be in a straight line with your forearm. This is made easier by tilting the back edge of the keyboard down (the reverse of typical keyboard tilts). The keyboard should ideally be just above your lap so your elbows are bent at least 90°. If you can’t move your keyboard, try adjusting the height of your chair, though this may cause problems if you can’t adjust your monitor accordingly. If your wrists ache or tire, look into buying an ergonomic keyboard that angles out from the center, making it easier for you to keep your hand and forearm in a straight line. Aching and strain caused by typing may be reduced by typing more gently – avoid banging the keys.

Hold the mouse lightly, don’t grip hard or squeeze it, and position it close to the keyboard so you don’t have to reach. If you’re troubled by pain in your wrist and forearm, use an ergonomic mouse that’s moved with a finger instead of the wrist. Keep your arms and hands warm – cold muscles and tendons are at greater risk of injury.

[ragin_pyro]

www.ironmind.com

Get some good quality grippers.
Seriously..those should help, if they don't..you'll at least devop a great grip.

[nouse8]

Practice your left hand to use the mouse if you are using
right hand. Make sure your positions are good. You can
try Speech Recognition
http://www.nuance.com/

[t3359]

I had that problem at work - got a MS Natural Keyboard (or equivalent) and it solved my problem.

bjl