Sore Wrist From Typing

Typing for a long time used to cause pain and weakness in my wrists and forearms. Like many office workers, I suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s not uncommon to experience a sore wrist, both while typing plus when we leave our computer desks.

I’m dedicating this article to talk about why I used to get sore wrists from typing. I’ll also explain what to do about it, how I stopped it from hurting, and how I prevent it in the future.

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Getting a sore wrist from typing is very common. It feels like pain tingling, from pressure and inflammation built up inside the wrist.

Can Typing Cause Wrist Pain

In my opinion, the act of “typing” doesn’t cause the wrist pain. But the incorrect position my wrist was in, while “typing”, is what caused my wrist pain.

I’d make 1,000’s of keystrokes a day. But I don’t think that contributed to the pain in my wrists. I think it was the fact that my hand and wrist weren’t in a neutral position. I would use non ergonomic keyboards. They were tall, not flat. The tall height of the keyboard would cause me to extend my wrist muscles, to lift my hands up toward the ceiling, to place my fingers on the keys.

That was the cause, or the source of wrist pain for me. Holding them in that long term, compromised position. It would cause me pain, tingling or numbness.

How Should Wrists Be Positioned When Typing

I feel most comfortable when my wrists are placed flat on the desk when typing. I keep my wrists straight and relaxed as possible. It’s an important variable of how to improve posture while sitting at computer.

Should You Use A Wrist Support When Typing

In my opinion, this is a personal preference. I don’t think it makes much difference when it comes to experiencing wrist pain.

Personally, I’ve never used a wrist support. I did try it once. It just felt weird. If anything, I feel like it would’ve compromised my neutral wrist position, not helping me improve posture at computer.

I’m more in favor of the old fashioned way, just keeping my wrists straight and flat on the desk. Placing them directly on the desk has never caused me any wrist pain from typing.

How To Relieve Wrist Pain From Typing

These are my favorite ways to relieve wrist pain from typing.

I stopped using a tall, bulky, non-ergonomic keyboard.

This used to be the #1 cause of my computer wrist pain. I had no idea, until I finally figured it out by accident. I wanted a change of scenery from my home office. So, I worked on a public computer for a week. This public computer was an Apple Mac.

This Mac had a flat, low-profile keyboard and mouse. Using them for 4 days, instead of my tall, bulky keyboard and mouse, made my wrist pain go away completely. After that week, I went and bought my own flat keyboard and mouse. That was years ago. And my wrist pain hasn’t come back since.

bulky keyboard - Sore Wrist From Typing — Look at this tall, bulky keyboard. You can see the user has to extend his wrists, to lift his hands up onto the keyboard. You can tell by the upward angle of the blue line through his hand, compared to the red line through his forearm. Image by Miflippo via Megapixl.

I’m conscious of repetitive strain injuries.

Repetitive strain injuries could be 1,000 different issues. They happen when we constantly hold muscles activated for long periods of time. It creates an imbalance of energy. That overuse leads to muscle tension. Which leads to misalignment, or tendonitis. Repetitive strain could also cause cubital tunnel syndrome. Which is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, except the cubital tunnel is found in the elbow.

I don’t angle my wrists.

When it comes to computer posture, I try to do everything symmetrically. Except for using a mouse. Everything else needs to mirror the other side of my body. Because if it doesn’t, there’s overuse and an imbalance of energy somewhere. And it’s only a matter of time before that tension leads to pain.

I don’t extend my wrists and hands upwards.

This is a great way to compress the median nerve. Which runs from the hand, all the way up the arm, into the neck.

But typing is not known to cause rheumatoid arthritis. That’s a common misconception in the computer ergonomics field.

How To Avoid Wrist Pain From Typing

These are my favorite ways for preventing wrist pain from typing.

I only use flat, ergonomic keyboards.

This is a great solution if you have pain in your wrists. My wrist pain went away (in 4 days) after switching to a flat keyboard and mouse.

flat, ergonomic keyboard | Sore Wrist From Typing — Here’s a great example of a flat, ergonomic keyboard. This is the same kind that helped me fix my wrist pain. Not to mention, prevent it in the future. Image by Hugo Barbosa via Unsplash.

I keep my wrists relaxed.

Anytime muscles are activated for long periods, it could cause repetitive strain injuries. Especially when these muscles are close to a joint, like a wrist. That’s why it’s very important for me to keep my wrists relaxed when I’m typing.

I keep my wrists straight.

I don’t want one of my hands to take a right turn from my forearm. The wrist joint may be made to function that way. But it’s not made to be held in the position for long periods of time.

I keep my wrists in a flat, neutral position.

This is only possible with a flat keyboard and mouse. And it’s the most important ergonomic variable, when it comes to preventing wrist pain from typing.

I keep my elbow height slightly above keyboard and mouse level.

This reduces overuse of the biceps, which reduces the tendency to bend my wrists at my keyboard. It’s also an important ergonomic variable for how to relieve shoulder pain from typing.

Thanks for your interest in computer posture.