Do any of you guys know whether it’s even possible to have an office job and be a PC gamer without developing carpal tunnel?
Playing on keyboard and mouse feels a lot more fun than controller. So I don’t really want to switch back to controller.
Do you guys have tips to avoid developing carpal tunnel when you spend most of your day in front of a computer anyway?
Yup ergo mouse is a good idea, and a wrist support/brace might also help.
Ergo thumb trackball ftw
So glad Logitech brought that product back from the graveyard
I was going to say this but add keyboard too
One hand for mouse while working. Other hand for mouse while gaming.
A good portion of medical literature finds keyboard and mouse use does not cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Wrist positions and comorbidities such as smoking and obesity do have a positive link though. So ergonomics and general health is key .
Foot pedals
support your forearms either on your table desk, or on your armchair, or both.
i tried vertical mice, couldn't get used to it at all, not using anymore. ymmv.
Apart from the advice about proper support and wrist angle, take some vitamin B6 daily. Trust me. Helps reduce inflammation, and won't cure anything, but it does help. It was enough to stop my hands going numb once or twice a week.
Getting an ergonomic mouse has really helped me with reducing the pain from my carpal tunnel. I don't know how much of a difference it would make in preventing it altogether, but I imagine that it would help. It looks stupid and it takes some time to get used to it, but once you do, it works well enough. Personally I haven't noticed any difference in performance compared to a regular mouse, but then I already suck at pvp, so maybe it's just a case of "can't get any worse"...
Macros and grip training.
Start with an adjustable grip trainer you can buy for like $10 on amazon.
Buy like a $3 pack of hair ties with it to use for extensor exercises.
Keep it simple at 3x20 reps, once a week. Keep the reps really slow and controlled.
Go up when it becomes too easy.
Use macros for any game where you have to left click excessively.
Man when I used to work a lot with my hands, chopping high power copper cable, I built a bit of muscle mass and I guess got a bit stronger in the wrists, playing dota 2 got so bad, both my hands would become fully numb after just a few minutes on the keyboard and would take a good 5 minutes to come back to normal. Thank god it came back to normal when I quit doing that work. Perhaps i'm dumb but I think it's something to do with your wrists and bones compressing nerves or something. was no bueno :(
That's why the volume I suggested is extremely low.
Forearms are a muscle that respond very well to high volume. We aren't really looking for them to get bigger so much as strengthen them against repetitive strain.
I see, maybe I will look into this. Thank you for the explanation.
ergo mouse and keyboard, and spend some serious time thinking about posture. Stretch your hands and fingers, lots of good short exercises you can do that you can do once-twice per session in between loading or cutscenes. Once you make a habit of it it can help. On start and end of a session you can stretch.
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>Do any of you guys know whether it’s even possible to have an office job and be a PC gamer without developing carpal tunnel?
Yes. I've been PC-gaming since late 90s and have an office job for 7 years now. Never had any issues with carpal tunnel or Tenosynovitis.
Work less and take more breaks, days off and holidays. Screw your boss!
Or maybe switch it up with other equipment, like a Wacom tablet thingy.
Keep your wrists straight. Bent wrists = problems. Straight wrists = you're fine.
Ergonomic keyboard and mouse (ms sculpt is what I use and made a big difference i noticed instantly)
Ergonomics, exercise, protein, sleep.
The answer to this is easily google-able. The short answer is you need to keep your wrists up. Your knuckles should be lower than your wrist, and your fingers below that. Adjustable arms rests, adjustable keyboard trays, mouse pads with wrist rests. Whatever it takes to have you comfortably supported in a position where your knuckles are lower than your wrist. Like the way a trained pianist holds their hands up while they play. You'll always see their wrists up in the air, never down low so their fingers need to reach up to the keys. Wrists in the air.
CaptainKamina t1_je8jrss wrote
Get an ergo mouse for work. I have a vertical one from Logitech and it helps immensely