In the day and age where typing and texting are essential to daily living, our wrists seem to take most of the damage. This is especially the case when work requires you to type endlessly. Essentially, our wrists go through a lot. When we don’t rest our wrists enough from physically draining tasks, the chances of developing long term damage increases. Long term damage can be anything from carpal tunnel to ganglion cysts. However, you can take steps to lower the chances of a computer injury!
Computer Injury: Prevention is the Best Medicine
Posture
Do you remember your mom telling you to sit up straight? Well, she was right-but she knew that already. Poor posture can throw off the balance of your whole body. In turn, this imbalance can lead to uneven weight distribution that can cause pain in your wrists. To keep from slouching, try to take a walk every 30 minutes. This helps with correcting your posture, preventing computer injury and gives you a break!
Stretches
On top of walks, it’s helpful to stretch every now and then when you’re at the computer. Not only does it help to prevent a computer injury, your body doesn’t stay in the same position. It also gives it a chance to relax and to get some blood flowing. You’ll also find that these stretches can be pretty relaxing. Therefore, try to do some stretches before and after you take your walks. You’ll be able to feel a major difference.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is an interesting word you might hear in passing. You may have heard of it, however, you may still not be sure what it is. Plainly, ergonomics is the study of how efficient a person’s working space is. Still, you may not totally understand how uncomfortable your desk set up is “ergonomic”. Ergonomics are design that cater to the needs of the workers to provide safe conditions. Examples are available in everyday items you see around the office.
For example, your keyboard with pads for your wrists to rest comfortably. The design is helps your resting hands, mimicking a natural position while typing. Consider what is already provided for your at your workspace. Then, try to come up with other things in your workspace that could help prevent a computer injury.
With the increase of technology, life has been made so much easier. However, our bodies can take a serious hit with a computer . Therefore, it’s important for us to take care of ourselves. To help with that, try to stretch, be aware of posture and make your workplace better!