Hands are important for doing many jobs. Preparing food in the kitchen, serving meals, cleaning a room, laundry, moving luggage, manufacture, or working at a computer are just a few.
If you use proper hand technique, work is easier and you protect your hands from stress. These simple guidelines will eliminate hand tension and fatigue, making work easier & more productive.
Avoid using a pinch grip. Grasp objects with as much of your hand as possible. A pinch grip using only your fingers increases stress in the hand and wrist.
Keep the wrist in a straight or neutral position when working. You may have to move your equipment, or alter your shoulder or foot position.
Position your feet so the legs assist with the movement when a task involves pushing, pulling or moving items sideways while grasping.
Find more than one way to grasp when a task requires prolonged or repetitive grasping. The muscles that work while grasping with one type of grip will be resting when you use a different type of grip. For example, use 2 or more ways to grasp a plate or grasp linen while fluffing or pulling.
Avoid looking down too often. If you must look down a lot, take 3 second stretch breaks 2-4 times per hour. Looking down frequently reduces blood flow to your arm and makes the hand and arm weak and tense. Try to work without looking down.
Take stretch breaks 2-4 times per hour, if you have hand, wrist, elbow or forearm tension, fatigue, or cramps. Do the stretch that makes you feel better after you do it. Some choices are: Hand stretch - Shoulder stretch - Fist Rolls. For complete stretches, see Work Pain Free.
Do strengthening exercises outside of work that simulates your job if grasping is difficult for you. This can be done with weights or rubber tubing. The proper resistance is enough to cause mild muscle fatigue after the 3rd set of 8 repetitions, done 3 times per week.
Question From Letitia: After years of heavy computer usage, I developed hand, wrist, and arm pain. Despite quitting my job, seeking various forms of therapy and minimizing time on the computer, I still experience pain three years later. Is there hope for me to recover, or is it too late?
Dear Letitia,
First of all, every musculoskeletal problem can be cured. The problem is, once hand-wrist-arm [tag]pain from computer work[/tag] is an advanced condition, such as yours obviously is, it is hard to fix, there are several possible components of the cure that works for you, and it takes a long time. You must be patient and continue with the treatment path even though there is little improvement in the beginning.
You mentioned you have tried various forms of therapy. A common problem is someone in your condition may try physical therapy for a while, then a chiropractor, then an MD for medication and rest, then an acupuncturist, etc. The problem here is your condition probably has several components, and you need to see several different practitioners at the same time. They must be in contact with each other and all be contributing to your cure. It is worth it because as you have discovered, it affects your entire life.
Treatment is difficult, and prevention is simple. That prevention is what the work pain free program is about. You will need to learn the lessons of work pain free because you mentioned that you still do some computer work, so you must stop the stress from that activity in order to get better.
There are several issues that you must explore.
You need to find health care providers that are secure enough and have relationships with other health care providers to refer you to if they cannot cure you.
Despite pain location, is the problem caused by hand, wrist, arm or neck dysfunction?
Other conditions to explore as possible contributory causes of the condition are: Pinched nerve in Neck, Brachial Plexus, Thoracic Outlet, Elbow, or Wrist; Muscular imbalance and spasm in forearm, Muscular trigger Point, Chronic Dehydration from not drinking enough water, True Carpel Tunnel, A bony distortion (Subluxation) in the hand, wrist or elbow, Neck Disc Pathology, TMJ Dysfunction,
Have you truly customized your computer workstation and technique to eliminate physical stress? (these are the lessons of “Work Pain Free”)
You will need to be evaluated for imbalances in your posture due to muscular strength imbalances. These will need to be corrected through a customized stretching and strengthening Rehabilitative exercise program.
Please feel free to contact me with what city you are in. I will help you find you a quality health care referral to help solve your problem.
Get the trial version of Work Pain Free covering the correct use of the Keyboard. This short movie shows you how to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome using one simple correction to your workstation.
