Working from home has become an ever-increasing feasible option for many companies since the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s jobs have allowed employees to work in the comfort of their homes, from professors and teachers to accountants who were arranged to do distance work without any requirement to commute to their respective central place of work. There’s very little to no concern for many to worry about thumb arthritis or a few other health risks when working from home. There seem to be more practical benefits to it at first glance. But is remote work hurting our health?

Your ad hoc workplace is not devoid of any dangers. There’s a good chance you’re spending more than 5 hours of your time sitting in front of your computer. Most homeowners of today’s home workplace prioritise maximising the space than investing in ergonomic design. Many are unaware that they are putting themselves at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome or various repetitive stress injuries on the hand and wrist.

Understanding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (or CTS for short) is often a chronic-type condition that can affect one or both hands. CTS is painful and causes weakness in the affected hand. It may get worse over time enough to lead to nerve damage, causing permanent dysfunction on the affected hand. While CTS is not associated with mummy’s wrist condition despite sharing the same symptoms, CTS is triggered and caused by repetitive motions without proper posture that overuses the wrist. Trauma to the wrist, fluid retention or diabetes can also cause CTS.

A simple wrong way of typing on your keyboard, scrolling a mouse, or improper hand grip can trigger CTS if you keep repeating these motions for an extended period of time if there is enough pressure on the median nerve. Some patients with CTS may opt for a hand surgeon in Singapore if the symptoms don’t go away, return regularly or the painful symptoms increase over time.

However, many can quickly brush it away as nothing more than a nuisance for those who experience it for the first time. Over time, patients with CTS can experience a loss of sensation in their fingers, which can be enough for them to be unable to hold items without dropping them. While the condition is not as visible and obvious as those patients looking to treat ganglion cyst in Singapore, it can still be debilitating that can affect your daily life and how you perform your routine task.

Monitoring your hand health and visiting a hand specialist will help lessen your chance of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. CTS is a common problem that both young and adults can experience at any time. However, women tend more likely to develop the disorder than men due to hormonal changes that affect fluid retention, especially during the menopausal period or pregnancy.

Visiting a hand surgeon or specialist clinic can be helpful to provide relief if CTS is interfering with your normal day-to-day activities. Likewise, tentative muscle and nerve damage can happen without proper treatment.

Preventing The Chance Of Developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Here Are Things You Need To Do

Your ad hoc workplace is not devoid of any dangers. There’s a good chance you’re spending more than 5 hours of your time sitting in front of your computer. Most homeowners of today’s home workplace prioritise maximising the space than investing in ergonomic design. Many are unaware that they are putting themselves at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome or various repetitive stress injuries on the hand and wrist.Read up more about carpal tunnel syndrome in this article by Ray of Health, on what you can do to prevent further pain in your wrist.

Without further ado, here are helpful ways to reduce the risk of developing CTS over time:

Have a break every now and then

If you’re working for a number of hours to render your daily shift, consider taking a 10-15 minutes break for every hour. Stepping away from what you’re doing will give your hands the rest it needs to prevent, reduce or relieve strains in the median nerve.

Give your hand and wrist a few minutes of exercise

Hand and wrist exercises can help relieve mummy’s wrist symptoms and prevent carpal tunnel irritation and median nerve strain. Stretches such as spider pushups, wrist flexors and handshakes are a few examples of hand and wrist stretching exercises that you can do during your break time for at least a few minutes before resuming work.

Relaxing your grip

Reducing your hand force and grip can help reduce median nerve strain, whether you’re writing with a pen, typing on a keyboard or holding tools. Almost every hand surgeon and specialist often recommends relaxing your grip and monitoring your hand tense while doing prolonged tasks that involve your hand to prevent unnecessary pressure.

Invest in functional ergonomic

To reduce the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, maintaining your forearm and wrist in straight lines allows the tendons and median nerve to work in a relaxed manner without pressure and strain. Also, posture plays a pivotal role since incorrect posture can cause compress the nerve in the neck, which affects the fingers, wrists and hands. Investing in functional ergonomic equipment can help position the hand and wrist in a relaxed and neutral position and enhance posture without causing any strain on the nerve and wrist.

If you are looking for a male or female hand surgeon for various hand and wrist conditions, visit Advanced Hand, Wrist & Nerve Centre for a one-stop centre for all hand and nerve conditions surgery and consultation services.