CUBICLE - *click click*, *type….*, *click click*… this is what we’re doing in the cubicle everyday, whether working on a report, doing research on some circuit design, replying to an Email, or looking things up on the server. We cannot be away from our computer (PDA, smart phone included) for more than a day because we would feel disconnected from the whole world.
“What? You didn’t see the latest management changes in the Email?”
“Did you see John’s update on Twitter?”
“You should have FB’ed it yesterday~!”
And the side product of all these mouse and keyboard clicking and typing away is the famous carpal tunnel. When you notice that your wrist doesn’t feel right, you’re already 6 months too late and 6 months away from recovering; when you feel your shoulders numb or unable to move normally, you should be a few days away from seeing a doctor and another 6 – 12 months away from being normal. It’s not just the rehab, but also the whole re-adjustment back to the normal amount and position of using the mouse and keyboard.
My sister was just saying that she’s been using her left hand to use the mouse, and I am just saddened by how people just continue to work because they “have to”. I think we still have a choice somehow, to change the posture or devices we use to minimize the damage. Of course, regular massage and stretching on the arms and wrists are always good to do.
I saw some pretty good exercises us cubicle people can do, so check them out here at: http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/blofficeworkout.htm
Don’t give yourself excuses to continue to damage your arms and wrists! And yes, that’s to you, too, sister :)
thanks for the suggestion and comment, Bryan ~! your site has some good stuff on exercise, too! :)
I clicked over to look at the exercises and most of them were okay. I wouldn’t recommend doing some of them from a wheeled chair tho’.
The one thing that you wrote about being 6 months into an injury is pretty much hitting the nail on the head. I am not sure if the time frame is accurate, but, let’s face it, we all put off taking care of ourselves when we should. One of my patients (I’m a PT) told me that she had had carpal tunnel like symptoms for years and never went to get it looked at or addressed. This just makes it that much harder to treat.
The one thing that I could tell people is this: If you are starting to notice some numbness or pain, especially at night, just go out and do some exercise or activity. You don’t have to join a gym or anything like that. Just go out and throw a frisbee or football. Go bowling.
Many times, people think that going out and doing something like this will “make it worse”. That’s nonsense. The thing that brought it on in the first place is the typing and data entry, not playing basketball or horseshoes.
Many times that how I have successfully treated my patients. I get them doing some large ROM activities that they have fun doing. This works wonders.