6 Simple Ergonomics Tips to Prevent Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a serious injury that can affect your employees wrists and hands. Usually, carpal tunnel syndrome in the office is caused by improper mouse and keyboard use. It is important that your employees understand all the correct ways to use their keyboard and mouse to prevent injury.
6 Ergonomics Tips to Prevent Carpal Tunnel
These are some tips that your employees should know to keep their wrists pain-free.
1. Use Elbows for Mouse Movement
Instead of flicking your mouse with your wrist, you should be using your elbow to move the mouse instead. Always avoid making quick movements with your wrist as this could lead to injury. Using your elbow to move the mouse will help to prevent carpal tunnel and any other kind of injury to the wrist.
2. Don’t Grip Your Mouse
While you may need to have a steady hold on your mouse, it’s important that you do not have a strong grip on your mouse. Squeezing your mouse for extended periods of time can lead to carpal tunnel injury.
3. Keep Your Wrists Floating
Often times, employees tend to rest their wrists on their desks or even keep them static on their wrist rests. This puts pressure on the wrists and it does not give your elbows the freedom to properly move the way that they should. As mentioned in the previous tip, your elbows should really be doing all the work.
4. Move as Smoothly as Possible
When we are typing quickly, it can be especially tempting to do flicking or jerking motions. Repeated quick motions in your wrists are the leading cause of carpal tunnel. Whenever you are typing, try not to jerk your wrists or move your wrists too quickly.
5. Don’t Restrict Circulation
Often people have tight items on their wrists such as watches, bracelets, or hair ties. It’s important that they are not too tight. You should not be restricting circulation to your hands or wrists. This could cause your hands to “fall asleep” and can increase the risk of carpal tunnel.
6. Stretch Your Wrists Regularly
Have an ergonomics expert come into your office and teach your employees how to stretch their wrists. Regularly stretching your wrists can seriously help with any pain that your employees may be feeling, but it also prevents further injury.
Importance of Ergonomics in the Workplace
Ergonomics should be a priority in every workplace. While these tips are only referring to preventing carpal tunnel. Proper ergonomics can prevent other workplace-associated injuries such as tendonitis, rotator cuff injuries, or lower back pain. Having an ergonomics expert come in and evaluate your workplace can make a difference to lower the risk of injury. We even offer training programs to teach individuals in your office about proper ergonomics so that they may be able to implement them in your office. Making sure that your employees are doing everything that they can to prevent injury can keep them comfortable and create a positive effect that they will appreciate.
