The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in the workforce staying at home and completing their job from a place of comfort. While working from home is nearly always seen as a good thing, it does present its challenges. It’s just a fact that throughout your entire career, a majority of people will experience pain or discomfort in their hands, wrists, and arms.

Unfortunately, working from home and completing your normal tasks can increase the likelihood this pain can come sooner rather than later. A lot of us do not have the perfect office desk set up compared to an office. The main goal is to be as ergonomic as possible when it comes to your workspace setup. The more you can avoid overuse patterns, the better chance you have at avoiding certain injuries that come with working from home.

The biggest issue today is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Carpal Tunnel is a relative syndrome that can cause a numbing tingling or even painful sensation in your hands, wrists, and arms. The biggest cause of this is typing. Because many people are working from home and do not have the traditional office setup, it opens up the risk of experiencing this issue.

Many people that experience pain and discomfort don’t take it seriously when it comes to working on the computer. It is vital that when you start experiencing any symptoms of Carpal Tunnel, you look into it and seek help immediately. You should take the following steps to treat any work sustained injury to improve your chances of recovering faster.

Wrist Brace: Wearing a wrist brace will dramatically help your hands and wrist recover from any pain related to working from home. Always make sure to wear a wrist brace when you are not working. When you aren’t working, it can be very easy to put on the brace and go about your day without noticing it. If you are able to, wear your brace while you work. This may slow down your work slightly, but if you need to have it without being in pain, then work slowly with a brace on as this will relieve a lot of pressure.

Stretching: There are countless stretches and exercises you can do to help with any pain or discomfort you have. Just by googling wrist stretches, you will see hundreds of different exercises that can dramatically improve your recovery from an injury. Before you start working, take 10 minutes and do at least five different stretching techniques to warm your bones and joints up to prepare them for the workday.

Breaks: We’ve all been to a point in a workday where there is too much to do with not enough time in the day to get it all done. Days like this can do serious damage to your hands and wrists because of all the stress they are put under. Always make sure to take a break every hour to get up, walk around, and do some simple stretches to stretch out all the stress in the joints and muscles in your hand.

Just by taking a few steps every day, you are putting yourself in a much better position to help yourself recover and work smartly without injury. Some of these steps can be seen as inconvenient and annoying, but at the end of the day, you will be a lot more efficient when you can slow down the work and get everything done safely for yourself, then further injure yourself where you can no longer work.

Speak with an Orthopedic Specialist Today

Are you suffering from hand pain? Make an appointment with one of our orthopedic specialists today to start your healing journey.  OrthoArizona has nearly two dozen offices throughout the Valley, each focused on quality care, compassion, and excellent customer service. Since 1994, OrthoArizona has been dedicated to compassionate care of the highest quality.

The advice and information contained in this article are for educational purposes only and are not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational, medical material.