Thursday, December 10, 2009

Common Mistakes When Using a Wrist Pillow for wrist Pain

By Tom Nicholson

Wrist pain happens to nearly everyone at some point in their life. It may be because of typing, playing too much tennis or golf, or practicing martial arts. It may start as nothing more than a twinge that goes away, or it may degenerate into an acute pain or numbness that wakes you in the night.

Here is the part where you must consult your doctor for proper treatment of your wrist pain, which can range from the RICE protocol to surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Did you know, however, that you can avoid the psychological and physical pain, not to mention the financial strain, which wrist pain can bring with a simple pillow for the wrist?

What It Is

Simply put, a wrist pillow is any soft, molded material that acts as pillow for your wrist to rest on while you are maneuvering your computer mouse. It can be bought in online sites and offline stores offering computer accessories, often at very low prices and as an attachment to the common mouse pad. Well, of course, you will often be made to choose between three boring colors - black, blue and gray - although you may have it personalized with your company logo.

You can also put your do-it-yourself talent to the test. A simple test, really, if you come to think of it. You will find numerous online video tutorials that will take you on a step-by-step process of making your very own personalized wrist pillow. And don't worry about cost as even your discarded yarn and socks will do just as long as you know how to put thread to needle and needle to cloth. You can make it as colorful as you wish just to get away from the staid black and dark blue mouse pads with wrist supports in the market.

What It Can Do for You

As inexpensive, easy to purchase/easy to make, and innocuous as a wrist support in the form of a small pillow is, you will enjoy many benefits from it. For one thing, your wrist will be protected from the repetitive stress injury brought by hours of pecking and clicking away on your computer. Since your wrist rests on soft gel, or other soft materials like cotton, it is angled in such a way as to minimize stress. In fact, a properly-made wrist pillow can relieve tension in this most important of body parts.

For wrist pillows tied to a mouse, they also make using the mouse more ergonomic and efficient; they keep the mouse pad from slipping all over the place. For ones under the keyboard's lip, they do a great job of adjusting your typing posture.

Above and beyond the benefits to your typing and mousing, wrist pillows will also help in warding off medical conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. They can also help reduce the pain from arthritis, tendonitis and sprains. If you make your living typing at a keyboard, pain is a direct cost to you, in lost productivity and other factors, and is definitely something to be avoided.

Even more than the pain to your wrists, physical therapy is also expensive, and time consuming - it's a real pain in the wallet to get wrist pain fixed when it's gone too far - and that's the best reason to get a wrist pillow.

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