Self Care for Wrist Pain

If you are having wrist pain or discomfort, consult a physician. You can also ask a massage therapist to help you assess if muscle tension is contributing to the pain. While many people are concerned about developing carpal tunnel syndrome, your pain may be caused by many other conditions, including tendonitis and ligament injuries.



If you work at a computer, you may want to look at your work set-up and use these suggestions to reduce wrist pain and avoid more serious injury. If your company has an ergonomics department, ask them to help you change your work station and body posture to work more safely.

• Make sure that your keyboard height is such that your wrists are straight and level, never bent back. If you can’t adjust your table height so your wrists are straight, you may want to move the keyboard into your lap.
• When typing or using a mouse, do NOT rest your wrists on anything, and do NOT bend them up, down, or to the sides. Keep your hands relaxed hovering slightly over the keyboard with the middle knuckle aligned with the center of the wrist.
• Move your hands using your whole arms, instead of resting your wrists on something and stretching your fingers to press the keys. Move your hand to use function keys instead of stretching to reach them. This may take some getting used to, but can help a great deal in preventing wrist pain and injury.
• When typing, keep all your fingers and your thumb softly curved. If you tend to keep your pinkie finger raised or stiff, begin trying to relax it to avoid injury.
• Don’t pound on the keys; use a light touch.
• Hold the mouse lightly as if you were cradling a small bird; don’t grip it hard.
• When you stop typing for awhile, rest your hands in your lap or let your arms hang to your sides. Take a moment to shake out your hands and enjoy the refreshed energy moving through them.
• Set up a reminder chime on your computer or some other reminder to take frequent stretching breaks. At a minimum, bend your wrists forward and backward and circle them in both directions. Make tight fists and then relax; repeat 10-20 times.

Heal Your Wrist Pain, Naturally