It may not seem like it but our hands are actually very fragile. The human body is made up of 206 bones, and there are 27 bones in each hand. That means nearly 25% of the bones in the human body are just in your hands! That’s a lot of potential for strains, fractures and breaks… And the craziest thing, is that activities that don’t seem that strenuous on your hands are probably the most stressing.
We’re talking about typing.
You may be thinking, “What? How could your hands hurt from typing?” But it’s actually one of the more common culprits of hand injuries.
There’s no need to freak out. Typing isn’t actually dangerous, it’s the way we type that makes it straining on our hands, wrists, and forearms. And it’s not just typing – texting and playing video games can lead to hand pain later on in life too.
The Reason Why Your Hands Hurt from Typing
The reason your hands hurt from typing is because you’re likely using incorrect posture, and you spend too much time at the keyboard without taking adequate breaks. If that sounds like you, there are ways to correct these issues. Below we’ve listed a few tips that will prevent your hands from hurting when you type.
- Sit tall in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor to prevent slouching
- Adjust your keyboard so that when your hands are resting on it, your arms are creating 90 degree angles at the elbow. If this is uncomfortable, make the angle wider by straightening your arms a little
- Don’t press too hard with your fingers – this can cause unnecessary strain
- Try to keep your wrists slightly elevated as opposed to resting them on your desk or keyboard
- Take breaks every 30 minutes to do some quick hand and wrist stretches before getting back to work
When you spend eight hours a day in front of a computer, it’s important to take precautions to prevent hand injuries. Remember these tips and try to make them habits!
Even if your hands hurt from typing, don’t jump to conclusions! Although many people believe that typing all day can lead to conditions like carpal tunnel, that’s not always the case. Wrist pain isn’t always carpal tunnel, find out what else it could be!
