When keyboard work becomes a pain

In this day and age where nearly every employee in a company has access to a computer or uses it for prolonged periods of time, wrist strain from typing on a keyboard can become a frustrating obstacle to productivity. However, making it a habit to practice proper ways of using the keyboard can sometimes prevent and manage wrist pain.

The following helfpul tips can serve as countermeasures against the daily agony of joint pain:

• Keep the forearm and wrist in alignment, which keeps them in a neutral position.

• Keep the wrists from resting on the desktop. Resting wrists on the desktop contributes to ulnar deviation, which occurs when the wrist is twisted outward (towards the little finger). This wrist position requires the tendons to work harder to perform a task. As a result, they become easily injured.

• Keep the wrists approximately at 1/2" above the wrist rest. Resting the wrists on the wrist rest places excessive pressure on the median nerve in the wrist.

• Adjust your chair height to position the forearms parallel to the floor. Hint: Keyboard positioned near elbow height to avoid wrist extension.

• Adjust the workstation to fit the person using it. For example, if an office chair is not suitable for person‘s frame and height because it is not high enough or it is too high, employers and employees should feel free to discuss these seemingly trivial matters. The workplace should be a comfortable environment that invests in the well-being of staff members, which will only encourage greater levels of productivity and output.

• If all else fails, see a doctor who can prescribe a painkiller if the pain persists.

Among the newer generation Of painkillers is Celebrex (Celecoxib), the first member of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) specific enzyme inhibitor class of anti-inflammatory drugs. Specific COX-2 enzyme inhibition has been associated with less gastrointestinal and platelet adverse effects in clinical studies, compared with older generation anti-inflammatory medications. Celecoxib, which is manufactured by U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies Searle-Pharmacia and Pfizer, has been approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) for reliving the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, dental and post-operative pain.