Sorry to hear about your wrists. I've known many who have suffered from carpal tunnel or tendonitis. I started using an ergonomic keyboard many years ago and I can tell you that I've had no wrist pain whatsoever. So hopefully, your pain should subside over time.
Austin
· 1 year ago
If you don't use it already, may I suggest changing your keyboard layout to Dvorak?
Once upon a time, I was developing carpal tunnel syndrome and my wrists would ache/burn after too much typing. After switching my keyboard layout, this pain has gone away completely.
Of course, the change is difficult to make as you'll typing speed will likely drop to 14-20 wpm during the change over... and for the first year or so QWERTY will occasionally creep back in. After 2 years or so, I can actually type on either QWERTY or Dvorak, though Dvorak is my default at this point.
cperciva
· 1 year ago
Switching to Dvorak would probably fix my wrist problems simply by slowing me down dramatically. :-)
But at this point I think it's some form of tendonitis rather than carpal tunnel -- I find that lifting anything heavy has the same effect as too much typing.
Anon
· 1 year ago
I second this approach. Maybe switching to something else, e.g., "colemak", is easier and provides 99% of the benefit.
past
· 1 year ago
I had a similar problem last summer, albeit only in the right arm. I began using the mouse with my left hand and after a month the pain was gone. If you're not a keyboard-only person you might give that a try, too.
cperciva
· 1 year ago
Ok, now I'm up to 4 people who have suggested left-handed mousing.
Most of the time I only use a keyboard, but when I do need to point at something I'm using a touchpad -- so I don't think the traditional "mouse arm" is an issue here.
Jacob Kline
· 1 year ago
Have you considered glucosamine/chondroitin, or taking flax-seed oil? Also, it may help to eliminate unclean foods such as pork, shellfish, etc. Pig meat, for one, contains the so-called 'death enzymes' (putrescine, cadavrine) that cause inflammation, along with leaky-gut syndrome and many other ills.
cperciva
· 1 year ago
Find me some placebo-controlled double-blind trials which support the use of glucosamine / flax-seed oil / avoiding certain foods / etc. as an intervention, and I'll consider it.
Tony
· 1 year ago
From Wikipedia...
In this respect, a 6-month double-blind, multicenter trial has been recently performed to assess the efficacy of glucosamine sulfate 1500 mg once daily compared to placebo and acetaminophen in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (GUIDE study). The results showed that glucosamine sulfate improved the Lequesne algofunctional index significantly compared to placebo and the positive control. Secondary analyses, including the OARSI responder indices, were also significantly favorable for glucosamine sulfate.[1]
[1] Herrero-Beaumont G et al. Glucosamine Sulfate in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Using Acetaminophen as a Side Comparator. Arthritis & rheumatism, 2007; 56 (2): 555–567
cperciva
· 1 year ago
Ok, I'll consider glucosamine. :-)
That said -- the fact that a 55-75 year old overweight mostly-female population with osteoarthritic knee pain benefits from glucosamine doesn't provide a great amount of confidence that a 27 year old non-overweight male with tendonitic wrist pain would see the same benefit.
All Comments
Once upon a time, I was developing carpal tunnel syndrome and my wrists would ache/burn after too much typing. After switching my keyboard layout, this pain has gone away completely.
Of course, the change is difficult to make as you'll typing speed will likely drop to 14-20 wpm during the change over... and for the first year or so QWERTY will occasionally creep back in. After 2 years or so, I can actually type on either QWERTY or Dvorak, though Dvorak is my default at this point.
But at this point I think it's some form of tendonitis rather than carpal tunnel -- I find that lifting anything heavy has the same effect as too much typing.
Most of the time I only use a keyboard, but when I do need to point at something I'm using a touchpad -- so I don't think the traditional "mouse arm" is an issue here.
Also, it may help to eliminate unclean foods such as pork, shellfish, etc. Pig meat, for one, contains the so-called 'death enzymes' (putrescine, cadavrine) that cause inflammation, along with leaky-gut syndrome and many other ills.
In this respect, a 6-month double-blind, multicenter trial has been recently performed to assess the efficacy of glucosamine sulfate 1500 mg once daily compared to placebo and acetaminophen in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (GUIDE study). The results showed that glucosamine sulfate improved the Lequesne algofunctional index significantly compared to placebo and the positive control. Secondary analyses, including the OARSI responder indices, were also significantly favorable for glucosamine sulfate.[1]
[1] Herrero-Beaumont G et al. Glucosamine Sulfate in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Using Acetaminophen as a Side Comparator. Arthritis & rheumatism, 2007; 56 (2): 555–567
That said -- the fact that a 55-75 year old overweight mostly-female population with osteoarthritic knee pain benefits from glucosamine doesn't provide a great amount of confidence that a 27 year old non-overweight male with tendonitic wrist pain would see the same benefit.