Ergonomic Devices for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

One of the most common computer posture mistakes caused me to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. The mistake: the type of keyboard and mouse I used caused a lot of pressure and overuse on my wrists. This overuse made my wrist muscles fatigue quickly, which led to excessive muscle tension.

person holding his wrist — Photo by Maska82 via Megapixl

There’s a common misconception about carpal tunnel syndrome. Many office workers think carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by typing. In my case, it was caused by engaging my wrist muscles to lift my hands onto a tall keyboard and mouse. I would hold my wrists in this compromised, poor posture position for long periods of time. Once I understood how carpal tunnel syndrome had to do with wrist position, and not typing, it was an easy computer posture fix for me.

Nothing in this article is medical advice. It’s for educational purposes only. I talk about my own personal experience of sitting at a computer for long periods of time. I share information that took me from poor posture to good posture. To improve your posture, do your research, make good decisions, and be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.

Worst Ergonomic Devices for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Before we can get the right keyboard and mouse to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, let’s look at the type I was using that caused my muscle tension and wrist pain at work.

Laptop keyboard and mouse

Laptops are incredibly convenient. The ability to work remotely is definitely beneficial for me. If I’m working remotely, that’s the only time I will type on my laptop keyboard. When I’m working in my home office, I always make sure to use an external keyboard. Using a laptop keyboard causes my arm’s reach to overextend. This leads to increased risk of carpel tunnel syndrome. I want my keyboard and mouse to be within easy reach. That’s why I use an external keyboard and mouse as much as possible. I’ll talk about which ones I use later in this article.

person using laptop and showing active write muscles - Ergonomic Devices for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome — Take a look at this user’s left wrist. Notice how her wrist muscles are activated to lift her hand in the air to use this laptop keyboard. This can cause increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome when holding this position for long periods of time. Photo by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels

Tall, bulky keyboard

I used to have a tall, bulky keyboard. This is the item that caused me the most carpal tunnel syndrome pain at work. I wasn’t able to hold my wrists straight in a neutral position when using it. I had to engage the muscles in my wrists to lift my hands onto this tall keyboard. That is the action that caused my carpal tunnel syndrome, not the action of typing.

bulky keyboard - Ergonomic Devices for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome — Here is a great example of a tall, bulky keyboard like the one I used to have. Look how this user does not have his wrists straight. He’s activating his wrist muscles to lift his hands onto his high keyboard. This is the exact poor posture mistake I used to make which caused my carpal tunnel syndrome. Photo by Joerf3 via Megapixl

Tall, bulky mouse

A tall, bulky mouse caused the same issue for me as the tall keyboard did. I had to engage my wrist muscles in order to place my hand on top of the mouse. I held this poor posture position for 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 2000 hours a year. This caused muscle tension in my wrists and decreased blood flow throughout my hands and fingers.

person touching her back — Here is a great example of both keyboard and mouse that are tall and bulky. These are exactly like the ones I used to have, which caused my carpal tunnel syndrome. Photo by Andreypopov via Megapixl

Best Ergonomic Devices for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Once I finally realized that wrist overuse was the cause of my carpal tunnel syndrome, not typing, this poor posture problem was super easy to fix. I simply bought a new external keyboard and mouse. My wrist pain at work completely went away within a couple of days. It was pretty eye opening. I simply made 2 good posture changes and practiced them consistently every day.

Slim, low profile keyboard

I’ll start with a quick, full disclosure. The external keyboard and mouse I use to fix carpal tunnel syndrome is made by Apple. I’m not compensated by Apple in any way. I paid for them with my own money. I like sharing info on products that have improved my sitting posture and decreased my pain at work. Both of these products played a key role in that.

The main variable is to keep your wrists straight in a neutral position. In order to do that, we need a keyboard that is flat, slim, and low profile.

Here is an example of a flat, low profile keyboard similar to the one I use now. It has helped me type with my wrists straight in a neutral position. Photo by Pixabay via Pexels

Apple's slim keyboard - Ergonomic Devices for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome — Here is another example of Apple’s slim keyboard. Look how close the keys are to the desk. This helped me decrease wrist muscle tension and pain at work. Photo by Hugo Barbosa via Unsplash

Slim, low profile mouse

Using a mouse has the same important variable as a keyboard. I need to be able to keep my wrists straight in a neutral position for long periods of time. This will allow good blood flow through my wrist, hand, and fingers. In order to work in this good posture, neutral position. I use a mouse that is low to the desk, not tall and bulky.

Here’s an example of Apple’s flat mouse. Using a mouse like this has allowed me to relax my wrist muscles, while still using a computer for long periods of time. Photo by Jan Vlacuha via Unsplash

Photo by Michal Kubalcyzk via Unsplash

Thanks for your interest in computer posture.

If this article was helpful, check out my book titled “45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.” It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.

>>> Click here to pick up your copy

This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.

Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.

Take care,

Todd Bowen

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