Your workday may happen behind a screen, but your hands, wrists, and elbows are doing more work than you think. Repetitive movements and poor workstation habits can leave their mark long after you log off.
Your Hands and Arms Work Harder Than You Think
A typical workday in the United States spans 8 to 9 hours and an approximate 45-minute commute. Many of us go through each workday in a mundane, clock-like manner without realizing how what we do affects our bodies. We become so tuned to our muscle memory that we go about everyday tasks as if we are programmed to do so, to the point where remembering completing them feels fuzzy afterward.
Whether it’s brushing your teeth or performing a quick mini-weather event in the shower, your joints are constantly in motion. This is especially true for the hands and arms of someone in a sedentary job. The same could be said of an elementary school child who is constantly holding a pencil. It is fair to say a major chunk of the day goes to doing performative tasks, working your body harder than you think.
Is Your Workstation Working Against You?
Here is a quick list of common workday hand and arm movements office and desk workers perform multiple times a day:
- Holding the mouse and phone, locking the thumb and index finger into a sustained isometric contraction
- Predominant use of thumb and index finger to swipe on the phone
- Repetitive typing, scrolling, index finger flicking, and clicking the mouse
- Constant Execution of Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V on the keyboard
- Forearm pronation, which keeps the palms facing downward
- Hovering over a keyboard without an armrest, depending on the usage.
- Frequent toggling between the mouse and keyboard
- Phone cradling between ear and shoulder
If you recognized all of these tasks as part of your everyday routine, your workstation habits may be a major contributor to hand, wrist, and elbow pain. Poor workstation habits can lead to long-term consequences:
Nerve Compression
You may have heard the phrase carpal tunnel mentioned in workplace awareness drives or by your chiropractor at your appointment. Keeping the wrists bent or placing sustained pressure on them may increase pressure on or irritate the median nerve within the carpal tunnel, a narrow, rigid passageway of bone and ligament in the wrist. So the next time you experience a myriad of funny sensations in your fingers and wrist, it could be your nerves asking for attention.
Tendon Overuse
Believe it or not, most of us perform just as many, if not more, mechanical tasks as brain work. From repetitively typing, clicking the mouse, scrolling, and swiping on phones, we are constantly causing the tendons in our wrists and forearms to glide back and forth, which may eventually leave them irritated and overworked, sometimes contributing to conditions like tendonitis.
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
An activity as simple as resting your elbow directly on a hard surface can cause more harm than you think. Direct, sustained pressure on the ulnar nerve as it passes through the cubital tunnel at the elbow causes dull to radiating pain from the elbow down to the pinky and ring fingers, with strain along the wrist.
Postural Strain
Your hands and arms are not affected merely by constant, repetitive use. Their strain is also fueled by improper posture such as slumped shoulders, raised arms when typing, and a droopy spine. This tension changes how your arms and hands move, forcing smaller muscles to overcompensate and leading to other issues.
Small Changes That Can Reduce Daily Strain
The biggest change you can make to reduce daily strain is creating a mindful workstation. When someone is deep in ideation, it becomes hard to remember to practice good workstation habits such as maintaining good posture or stretching every 30 minutes. While those habits are absolutely necessary, here are some subconscious setups to help protect your hands, wrists, and elbows.
Physical Desktop Layout
Proper placement of your laptop, keyboard, and mouse can reduce the strain on your elbow. Consider investing in a negative-tilt keyboard tray and place the mouse in an appropriate spot to avoid overreaching. Simple swaps like these can help prevent the body from defaulting to awkward slumps.
Stand-Up Reminders
While many active wearables and phones remind us to stand up every so often, those notifications can be tricky. You may want to install a reminder that interrupts your screen every 30-45 minutes to snap you out of the hypnotic focus.
Wireless Rule
Banish desk and mobile phones entirely when communicating with colleagues and friends. Taking calls via speaker or earbuds prevents phone cradling, reducing the impact created by ear-to-shoulder tension.
Visual Triggers
Some people respond well to visual triggers. Place brightly colored sticky notes or a distinct physical object that instructs you to drop your shoulders. A sudden pop of color in their peripheral vision can help snap them out of autopilot for a quick postural reset.
When Pain Follows You After You Log Off
Some pain, depending on the strain involved, may linger hours after the workday is done. But it is important to recognize what can be resolved with post-work at-home therapy and what is a red flag. If you experience pain that wakes you up at night or disrupts your sleep with a pins-and-needles sensation that won’t go away even after shaking out the hands, or you experience a sudden loss of sensation that does not wake up even after several minutes, it may be better to seek immediate professional help.
Here are some post-work therapy tips you can easily practice at home.
- There is nothing like a good stretch of relaxation. Curl up on the bed or cool down on your couch to allow your body a moment to release the cumulative tension of 8 hours.
- Apply ice packs or warm compresses to calm tendon inflammation and loosen tight muscles.
- Avoid heavy-duty activities like carrying heavy grocery bags or lifting water bottles to reload the water dispenser immediately after a long shift.
- A tennis ball or lacrosse ball can act as a great massage tool, helping the meat of your forearm relax. Use the ball to roll your forearm back and forth while resting your hand on a table.
- Practice hand-stretching and clenching-unclenching exercises to flex your fingers and release immediate tension or cramping after prolonged typing or clicking.
If your pain does not reduce even after rest and gentle therapy, consider visiting a medical professional such as a chiropractor to help address your desk-related injuries. Hands, wrist, and elbow pain rarely start in isolation. They’re often connected to other parts of your body, such as your spine, neck, shoulders, or upper back. The office equipment may not always be the cause of the discomfort.
How Wasserman Chiropractic Can Help
At Wasserman Chiropractic, we help identify the issues while building healthy workstation habits and corrective postural exercises to reduce strain and inflammation. We look at your entire kinetic chain rather than treating a stand-alone symptom, and we focus on building wellness into your routine long after you log off.
Ready to give your hands, wrist, and elbow the relief they deserve? Schedule a consultation with Wasserman Chiropractic today for a healthier, pain-free workstation routine.
