Carpal tunnel

I did a search for carpal tunnel but found only old posts. I'm having a time with it. I've heard about a vertical mouse. Any feedback on this or any other recommendations? Does anyone else struggle with it?

I have had lots of wrist pain in the past. I use a PC all day at work and all night at home including poker. What I did to help get rid of the pain is to use different types of pointing devices at each place. I have a standard mouse at work, a trackball on my laptop, and an upright mouse on the desktop where I play my poker. Wrist problems gone.

I did find they wearing a wrist wrap to bed for a week or 2 helped a lot as well when I was having the pain.

gl with it.

I have heard to use a magnet wrist band. It is supposed to help take the hurt away. infra red mouse can be use anyways so that should help too.

That's encouraging, Hillbilly...that it's gone?

I do shift around between touch pad and mouse. I use a laptop so I'm trying to shift it's location and height, too...so that my wrist isn't in the same posture everytime. Not shaking it completely, though. It's only eased it somewhat.

I'm looking at the upright mouse but it's kinda pricey. Wrist wrap is something I'll definitely try but I thought that would need to be constant. Just for a couple of weeks, huh?

kybcat, I've never heard of either of those suggestions. Didn't know there was such a thing as an infra red mouse.

Yeah, once I moved to several different types of "mice" I was able to stop wearing the wrist straps to bed after just a couple of weeks. I really think the key is doing different things rather than just moving to one new device.

Oh yeah and the upright mouse is "expensive" but well worth it imo. I also like my trackball (Amazon.com: Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver): Electronics) a lot as well. Both take some getting used to but after a few days they're very natural.

I've used a computer for years and carpal tunnel is just a part of it :P I take Vitamin B12 twice a day ( Doctor recommended ). I can't say that it really bothers me any more

I work at home editing and writing for a living, so I have been pretty much glued to my computer for years. I never had any problems with carpal tunnel or symptons thereof until I started playing poker online in 2004. After a number of months my right wrist started killing me. I did exercises and tried specially made gloves and all sorts of other things that were not fully effective.

I finally realized that I was gripping the mouse the whole time I was playing. I trained myself to take my hand off the mouse when I wasn’t using it and the pain went away in a few weeks. To this day I have to remind myself to do that, especially when the action gets really hot.

Like some of the others who posted my job is computer related. Switched about 8 years ago at work to using the mouse with the left hand. It allowed me to use the num keys with the right hand. Play a lot of cards, all point and click, so being able to use the mouse with either hand can give a sore wrist a break.

used to have that problem. its funny cuz i worked in a office for yrs and never got it and i used to type and type stuff up forever. it wasnt til i started playing online poker moronathon sessions, i mean like days at a time yrs ago that i got that problem. lololololololol.

tried the pads that elevate ur wrists, didnt really help.

then i switched the way i sat and used the other hand. that helped but was awkward for awhile.

then i did the best thing -just limit my hrs to when id be in that position that was messing me up. like if i played during the week id definitely take the weekend off from playing. or if id play during the week id put a set limit on how many hrs i played each day.

but overall i find that limiting how much u play or how much typing u do will help u out big time.

The best for me is a trackball.
You don't have to move the hand so much and mine has a scroll wheel that lets me scroll through a page when needed.

For me it's a few different things. As others here, I'm also in IT. I do deskside support so I'm constantly using a mouse/keyboard. I ended up going to an ergonomic keyboard both at home and work. That solved the issue when I'm typing.

As for poker on the computer, I have both a mouse and a trackpad hooked up to my desktop computer here at home. When I just need to click the fold button for example, I just do a slight tap the trackpad. Far easier that doing a full click on the mouse. That's helped for me.

I honestly believe you have to find what works for you. Just keep mixing up the way you move the cursor and how you click it.

I've got it for life. Unlike others I got it from playing guitar, not from computer work, but it's obviously made long computer sessions difficult as well.

I switched to a vertical mouse just recently and so far I think it's helping.

I think I'm gettin it from turning screwrivers for almost 20 years. When I play poker I just rest my arm up to my elbow on the desk and it seems to help. My ex GF went through the surgery and I don't want that.

I had this problem. also, at the same time I had tennis elbow. the lieast little
touch would set it off. the problem was tendon imflamation.
a friend is into herbal cures and told me about 'bromalean'. got a bottle and
4 days latter the pian in both wrist and elbow subsided to be able to get back to work.
I took 500mg 3 times day. aleave also helped along with the wrist wraps.
also, wearing them to bed is a great idea. because you bend your wrists while sleeping.
http://boingboing.net/2009/03/31/car...el-syndro.html

btw, too many people say thay would never have surgery if they knew the
out come. and some people need it redone several years later.

Those wrist bands are a joke...a common myth that CTS responds to copper or magnets:
http://www.carpaltunnelrelief.net/cts_myths.shtml

Here is some info from the amazing website WebMD.com
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management...topic-overview

Hope it helps, good luck.

get a computer that follows your eyes, like stephen hawking.

try a mouse pad that your wrist can lay on,they sell them everywhere, i had it, got it operated on and alls good now,, they can inject you with Cortizone in your wrist too, it lasts maybe 4 to 5 months, i cant have that ( cortizone ) so i got the operation, buck

one thing that helps me is to stretch my hand, by holding it palm side up, and then pulling my fingers back till i can feel the stretching in the palm of my hand...do this about 3 times a day and it should help to alleveiate your carpal tunnel issue... this has helped keep me from having too much trouble.....i was told to do this a few years ago when i went to a chiropractor and he had me do that in additon to using some weird machine that did the same thing for me... it didnt take long for me to figure out that i could skip seeing him and just stretch my own hands out. i work on a computer all day as well, and then after work too when im home, so i get my share of carpal tunnel issues, but im able to keep it under control by doing this.

Get a mini mouse. You use your fingertips basically.

Same for me. There's a couple exercises I do that seems to take away most if not all pain. I do the one described in ythelongface's post (it can also be done by playing your plan on a wall, fingers pointed downwards), and one I saw on youtube a while back (called something like the floss?). In that one you stand with your arms outward at shoulder level, your palms facing forward. You turn your head to the right, right palm back, left palm forward; repeat left with the opposite motions.

Ya gripping the mouse... poker tensions... I keep some nice weighted poker chips nearby and play with them sometimes between decisions or moves... keeps me focused and helps with the chip tricks! Yes remember to let go the mouse sometimes...

Mickey would be furious!!

The best thing to do is to never keep your wrist cupped around the mouse when you are not using it. Release it and stretch your fingers and move your wrist around in circles as often as possible. It is the repetitive motion of your hand on the mouse and your finger ready to left click that causes stress and discomfort in your wrist. If possible, use your other hand for a while, or if you have a lap top use the built-in mouse, and alternate between them. Staring at the computer screen for long periods is also bad on the eyes. One should look at distant objects for a while after staring at the screen. The eyes need to adjust often from near to far to keep them healthy...Sendittoken

I get very bad pain in my shoulder, so bad that I have had to learn to work the mouse left handed to give my right shoulder a break. Surprisingly, never any wrist or elbow pain, which I would have expected. And I can attribute the pain directly to each click of the mouse, when its bad.

I had this in the past from playing computer games too much, look up physio exercises for the wrist and forearm

the touch pad doesnt seem to bother me but I think any video gaming makes it real bad

Thanks for the suggestions! Sorry to be so long giving a response but I had to take myself off of the computer for the past several days.

I'm doing the exercises recommended and do feel relief. I tried out a trackball at Best Buy last weekend. It felt awkward but I'll probably give it a go and let myself get used to it. When I have a bit saved to buy a vertical mouse, I'll try that, too.

I'm thinking that I'll probably work most of these ideas into my routine. It's incredibly frustrating to have to stay away from my laptop for an extended period of time.

I'm surprised to see that so many have this problem. Didn't expect to see so many recommendations. I really appreciate it and know I'll be incorporating most of these into my routine.

Get an xbox controller, Or use a hotkeys program, to stop so much use of the mouse.

FWIW I got my vertical mouse pretty cheap on E-Bay

I did like MrPokerVerse and became a switch hitter and use the mouse with both hands. When one wrist gets tired I just swap hands. Cutting your actual usage of your wrist in half works wonders!

Switching hands is helping. Not clinching is, too. Typing is still very difficult but I'm able to play, at least.

Wizzim, I've dug out my xbox controller and have installed a driver. (Actually, my husband has. I don't understand this stuff.) Can't get my laptop to read it, though. The xbox turns on whenever I try to use the controller.

It looks like a good technique because that control uses very different hand and wrist movement than the mouse or touch pad requires.

I used to have terrible wrist pain from holding my wrists wrong on the keyboard and mouse playing MMORPGS all day.

I found a couple of things that really helped. You can buy the wrist brace (kind of like a sleeve ankle brace except for the wrist). And what I also do is have either a piece of cloth or just a small wristband available to place underneath my left and right wrist whenever I am typing or using the mouse. I found this incredibly helpful.

I think once you mess the wrists up the weakness won't go completely away, but I did find that I no longer have the constant pain I once went through without the wristbands. Best of luck friend! - there's nothing like pain free wrists.