You feel it as an acute pain that seems to radiate from the center of the wrist going to the fingers. For the first few times, you attribute your wrist pain to hand fatigue due to pecking away at the computer for hours at a time. And indeed it is one of the primary reasons for your wrist pain. Then slowly but surely, your mild wrist pain escalates to something else that demands for a doctor’s appointment. And the bomb drops – your simple wrist pain is a symptom of something far more troubling, of which a simple, inexpensive and low-tech wrist pillow would have done wonders to stop in its tracks.
What Do I Need to Know About Wrist Pain?
Unfortunately, your wrist pain can and will affect your quality of life especially where the use of your hands are concerned. You will not be able to type as quickly, manipulate the mouse as dexterously, write as smoothly and use your fingers as nimbly as you previously did before wrist pain became a part of your life.
When you speak with a doctor, they should be able to help you figure out where the pain is coming from. Remember that the pain is just a symptom; it might point to conditions like arthritis, tendonitis, ganglion cysts, muscle sprains or carpal tunnel syndrome. There are many things that can cause wrist pain and some of them are more severe while others are comparatively quite mild.
While there is little that you can do to guard against arthritis and ganglion cysts since these are often beyond your control, physiologically-speaking, you do have something to say about the onset of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. As for bone fractures and muscle sprains, you just have to be careful in the performance of your daily activities especially where sports are concerned.
How Can I Protect My Wrists?
Why do we say you can do something to guard against carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis? Well, for one thing, you can significantly avoid the repetitive and stressful activities that contribute to both medical conditions. These include racquet sports, heavy shop work and weight lifting without proper training as well as working at the computer for hours at a time.
Another thing that can help you shore up the muscles of your wrist is the a wrist brace. A wrist brace will wrap around your hand and your wrist, giving you the ability to keep your wrist straight when you type as well as allowing your tendons to be supported. The issue is that you do not want wear a wrist brace for too long a stretch of time because it can also cause damage in the form of muscular atrophy.
You might also want to look into using a wrist pillow, which will cradle your wrists as you type or as you use your mouse. These delightful options can be made quite easily simply at home on your own and they can also make a huge difference.
Wrist pain can be prevented with the right approach to using wrist supports. The important thing is that you are well aware of the need to do so and everything else will almost always follow in its wake.
Tom Nicholson spends his time helping sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome. Please follow this link to learn more about having asore wrist.
