I have seen studies that say, no, repetitive movement doesn’t cause pain in the carpal tunnel area. But there wasn’t enough information for me to know the position and posture of the subjects in the study.
If they were all using ergonomic equipment that fit them well, and if they were young, healthy and in good muscular balance, well, that’s one story.
However, if the subjects were regular, every day people–a little too short, too heavy, too tall with arms that are too short for their bodies or who have poor posture or poorly fitting work stations–well, that’s a whole different story!
Those things are likely to cause pain and dysfunction all by themselves but throw in repetitive motion for eight or ten hours and you have the makings of hand pain! Probably neck and head pain, too.
What’s the solution since you can’t quit your job?
1. Create the most ergonomic work station for yourself possible. Prop you, your feet, your monitor or keyboard into the positions that keep you in neutral postures and positions. Think 90 degree angles for your knees, hips and elbows. Use a lower back support behind your waist (a towel will do) to support your posture.
2. Stretching aggravates the nerves and muscles in your arm, upper body and neck. When they are aggravated, guess what they do? You got it. Pain in the carpal tunnel area! Keep your elbows as close as possible to your waist when you are at a keyboard or desk.
3. Do you use a mouse? You can center it in front of your keyboard or you can switch it to the other side of the keyboard. It really does take only a couple of days to adapt to the new mouse position. And mix it up–you don’t always have to use the mouse in the same place.
Remember to keep your wrist straight, neither bent nor tilted. And if you are carrying a few extra pounds, it’s probably a good idea to eat lots of crunchy snacks…as long as they are green or red and grew in the ground. 🙂
If you use good body positioning you will be lots less likely to have carpal tunnel pain regardless of your shape or size.
This is really informative! I just got a desk job and I have lower back problems and worry about getting carpal tunnel since most of my family members have it. This is really helpful and I’ll keep these in mind when I start work!