Been using your right hand too much?
A common issue with programmers. Reduce your hand pain.
Imagine you’re working with your computer every day, coding, writing, designing… Then imagine your grandma stabbing you in the wrist with her sewing needle. You’d tell her to stop, except there is no grandma and no needle. Yet you still can’t work, your livelihood is at stake, because the pain remains.
Sounds like a nightmare… But for many, this is the reality.
What to do about it? First and foremost, seek professional medical advice. Pain is usually a symptom of a more overarching issue which needs to be seen by someone who know what they’re doing.
Prevention is the best remedy though and there’s always something you can do right now.
We asked 12 Panaxeans with more than 300,000 hours of coding in total. Here are some field tested best practices they have perfected over the years:
01.
Get a vertical mouse.
Being one of the most suggested tips, vertical mice seem to be popular for extended periods of work. They get your hand into a more natural position, so that you stop pinching the nerves in your wrists. If you’re looking for a specific one, our colleague Adam swears by this Anker.
02.
Cushioning!
Mice are nice, but what if you’ve got problems with your non-mousey hand too? Cushioning can be the answer. Think about getting a full-desk mouse pad, so that you stop pressing your wrists against sharp edges. For example, Dano, our Fullstack Engineer, recommends this Corsair. Or a tennis wristband might just do the trick.
03.
Strengthen your hands/forearms.
Going into the more meta suggestions, exercise seems to be the best to both cure and prevent hand and wrist pain. Anything that engages your forearms helps (weight training), even working with a hammer does the trick! It doesn’t have to get complicated, though, simply squeezing a rubber grip ring whenever your hands are free can be all you need.
04.
Use more keyboard shortcuts.
Are you using keyboard shortcuts enough? This simple yet effective solution will keep your hands off the mouse and on the keyboard more.
05.
Ditch the mouse and use your trackpad.
As strange as it may sound at first, several Panaxeans reported getting rid of 100% pain by ditching the mouse and external keyboard and simply using the default Macbook keyboard and trackpad. Yes, we admit, this tip is relevant almost exclusively for Apple users, as the system provides trackpad gestures you wouldn’t find on any Windows machine. But still, kudos to Apple for designing tools that many actually report to be more comfortable for professional use than dedicated mice and keyboards.
In summary, sitting 8 hours a day at a computer desk was never going to be healthy nor ergonomic. But if it’s your daily bread, you might as well make the most of it.
Exercise is your friend, so mash that grip ring hard or think about picking up smithing as a new hobby.
If you have to use a mouse, consider getting a vertical mouse and cushion it up with a full-desk pad.
And finally, learn some keyboard shortcuts. If you own a Macbook, why not give the trackpad a try. You might end up liking it a lot!
Remember, before trying anything, seeing a professional might just be the best solution to any pain.
At Panaxeo, we want our colleagues to feel as well as possible at work, so we’d been handing out custom ergonomics packages for the past two years.
Additionally, everyone uses the hardware they feel most comfortable with. Nothing is prescribed, you choose what you like.
Want to explore that kind of environment a little better? Check out our culture or see if there are any open positions fitting your needs available!
Stay healthy and see you soon!