H and L Office Furniture on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and injury prevention
H and L Office Furniture on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and injury prevention:
You have heard Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. You know that having ergonomically correct seating and typing posture can prevent it, but what really causes it and what are the ideal ways to make sure you are using the correct typing posture?
Carpal Tunnel defined
Medically speaking, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is damage done to the median nerve that runs down your arm and into your hand. The damage happens with prolonged pressure on that nerve in the area of the wrist. The pressure cuts off the nerve's ability to send messages through a tunnel of bone and ligaments in the wrist. This injury is common with office workers because they spend so much time with their wrists in a bended position while they constantly type and use the computer mouse.
Carpal Tunnel Symptoms
It may start with a little bit of a numb feeling in one or both hands. You may also feel little spurts of pain off and on in between the numbness. Eventually the pain will become more intense. You may start to notice pain going through a larger area in your arm. This pain will start to affect your ability to do your work. If the conditions causing Carpal Tunnel are unchanged, and the condition is not treated, it could become severe enough that you have a tough time tightly gripping or holding on to items.
Treating Carpal Tunnel
Many people believe they can treat the problem themselves by massaging the sore hands and arms.
If the condition doesn't go away after the first few instances, you need to see a doctor, who can prescribe a treatment method.
Preventing Carpal Tunnel
The best way to treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is never to get it. There are some simple preventative measures to avoid the injury. The main cause of Carpal Tunnel is bad posture at the office desk. You should always sit up straight in an ergonomic chair.
When setting up your office space the keyboard on your desktop should sit at the same height as your elbow. Many keyboards also have a wrist rest at the bottom that can keep your wrist from having to make the tight bend to type, if yours does not, they can be purchased at an office store for a few dollars.
Another computer device that may be causing a problem is your mouse or tracker ball. Some people have this device in a different place than their keyboard. This means you are going to move your hand back and forth, bending and unbending the wrist trying to use the mouse or tracker ball and then they keyboard.
Instead put this device right beside your keyboard, and if there is not a wrist pad leading up to it, you may want to invest in a wrist rest or wrist brace to keep your wrist more stationary and prevent damage.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can bring a painful stop to your ability to get the job done at your office desk, but preventing it is not hard, and just takes a little forethought and preparation of your workspace.
2-Jul-2007