Gel Wrist Rests: An Ergonomic Solution!

October 31, 2021

Written by GR0

October 31, 2021

Written by GR0

If you’re spending hours each day typing on your laptop or desktop computer, keep reading.

In the last few decades, typing has nearly rendered handwritten communication obsolete. Writing with a computer is faster, more convenient, and, if your handwriting isn’t great, easier to read than writing by hand. This makes typing the perfect option for communicating in all aspects of life.

Millions of workers in a wide array of industries spend the majority of their workdays typing. Writing using a keyboard saves them a collective millions of hours of work and effort per year.

However, there are pros and cons to the rise of computer-based communication. In this post, we’ll explore some of the issues with typing on a computer all day, how it can affect your body, and what to do about it. We’ll be primarily focusing on gel wrist rests, which we think are one of the best possible solutions for the wrist pain that frequent typing can cause.

How Typing For Hours Can Mess With You

There are a few key ways that typing can have a negative impact on your health.

Before we start exploring solutions, let’s cover the main problems that constant typing can cause.

Typing Puts Stress and Strain on Your Wrists

When you type all day, you’re putting the same kind of strain on your wrists and hands as a golfer or baseball player would. These athletes grip a club or a bat for hours at a time. They are clasping their hands in an unnatural position and putting significant stress and strain on their wrists.

The same goes for people who type for long periods of time. Both athletes and typing junkies seem to deal with some of the same chronic issues.

People who play golf or baseball professionally often end up with chronic hand and wrist pain from the positions that their hands are in for long periods of time. The same category of strain happens to people who type frequently.

Putting pressure (even gentle pressure) on your hands for hours at a time can leave the joints and tendons in your hands inflamed, which can lead to chronic pain.

Below are some of the chronic conditions that constant typing can cause:

Carpal Tunnel

Many people who spend their workdays typing end up developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This chronic condition typically causes symptoms like tingling in your hands, numbness, pain, and struggling to grip objects.

The best treatment for carpal tunnel is usually to rest and refrain from typing and other activities that engage your hands in similar ways. However, CTS is sometimes more severe, and more intense treatments are sometimes recommended to long-term sufferers of the condition.

Trigger Finger

This type of chronic hand pain develops when the tendons in the thumb and ring finger get strained through overuse. The hand motions that you use when typing can easily lead to the development of a trigger finger. This can cause symptoms like pain and soreness, as well as twitching.

Where Ergonomics Come Into Play

If you’re constantly feeling sore and struggling to type normally due to the overuse of your hands, it’s worth thinking about the ergonomics of your working environment. If you’re not sure what ergonomics means, don’t worry — we’ll explain it for you in the paragraphs that follow!

What Are Ergonomics, Anyway?

In essence, ergonomics is the science of creating a work environment that is as comfortable and efficient as possible. The science of ergonomics comes into play in the way that office equipment is designed, especially chairs, desks, computer mice, and other similar tools.

The ergonomics of your working environment can have a profound effect on how you feel while you work and how exhausted and drained you are after the workday is over.

How Wrist Pain Can Sabotage Your Productivity

If you’re not working in an ergonomic environment, you’re likely to have trouble concentrating, feel physically uncomfortable, and get less done over the course of each workday.

A non-ergonomic keyboard and desk can lead to chronic wrist pain, which can slow down your work, make you feel miserable each time you start a workday. It may make you feel frustrated and discouraged. Plus, that wrist pain often just keeps getting worse since you’re typing away for several hours most days of the week.

So, what can be done to beat wrist pain and get your working environment to work for you?

Gel Wrist Rests: The Solution For Typing-Related Pain?

If you’re suffering from pain and discomfort due to constant typing, you need to know about gel wrist rests. These ergonomic tools are designed to keep your hands and wrists comfortable throughout your workday, and they are perfectly compatible with the majority of desks and computers.

Gel wrist rests typically have a rectangular design that lets your wrists rest gently without putting strain on your back or neck. However, not all wrist rests are the same, and there might be one design that works better for you than the others.

Let’s briefly explore the different types of wrist rests to help you determine which one is best for you and your keyboard.

Rounded vs. Rectangular: What’s the Better Design for Gel Wrist Rests?

While it’s common to see gel wrist rests that have a more boxy, rectangular design, there are also rounded rests out there that some typing pros find more comfortable.

Below are some of the pros and cons of these two types of wrist rests:

Rounded wrist rests tend to give you less room to adjust your posture. If you choose to use a wrist rest with a rounded design, you may not have the wiggle room that you need to even out your posture and keep your back straight while you work.
This is because of the sloped design of a rounded rest: your wrists always sit at the peak of the rest, which means you can’t easily adjust the straightness of your back.

However, rectangular wrist rests tend to be more expensive. The most expensive wrist rest that we’ve found is also one of the most effective. This rest is a bit pricier than your other options, but it also provides you with plenty of adjustability options. It’s made from memory foam, which allows its shape to mold to your wrists as you work.

Rectangular wrist rests tend to be much bigger. The bulky design of a rectangular wrist rest might appeal to you, or you might think it looks clunky and awkward. Depending on the visual aesthetic that you’re going for, you might want to get a rounded wrist rest simply for its good looks.

The SkyFloat Solution

You can use either rounded or rectangular wrist rests with a ceiling-mounted stand. If you work using a ceiling-mounted device stand, you can still benefit from using a wrist rest to support your hands as you type.

Either of the wrist rest designs – both rounded and rectangular – is perfectly compatible with the SkyFloat ceiling-mounted device stand, so it’s up to you to figure out which design you like best!