What should I do to stop my hands from getting numb when typing?
Make sure you take breaks after long hours of typing. Also try to stretch during breaks.
If the numbness persists then consider changing your keyboard
Hi,
Numbness can occur in your hands, fingers, and wrists while you’re typing for any number of reasons. Most commonly, it’s due to muscle fatigue or tension. While typing, you use more muscles than those found in your hands or even your arms. You also use your back, leg, and neck muscles, along with some others. But the ones getting the most use are definitely those in your fingers, hands, and wrists, and as a result, they can fatigue after long hours typing away at the keys of your keyboard.
The best preventative solution is to take frequent breaks. Usually, taking a five minute break every half-hour or a fifteen-minute break every hour is enough to stretch, rest, or massage your hands so that they are ready to continue working. It also helps to stretch your legs during these breaks to help keep proper airflow and blood circulation throughout your body.
Best Regards,
Lyka Remeticado
Community Associate at Typesy
Hello, @lukasdavis!
Safety is important! Pain and/or numbness is definitely your body warning you, so make sure to listen!
As with any physical movement, too much can cause strain. You should never be typing long enough to cause issues, but there are ways to reduce risk. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Shoulders should be relaxed and elbows bent no tighter than 90°. Always check that you are holding your wrists in a neutral position, with the thumb running parallel to the forearm, the wrist bending only slightly upwards. If your wrists are hitting the keyboard or desk, reposition. Wrist pads may come in handy when it’s time to rest, but their presence may entice you to develop bad posture when typing. Many detached keyboards have extendable legs, too, but it actually makes more ergonomic sense to keep keyboards flat against the surface of the desk. Having the keyboard tipped up or having a wrist pad may cause you to angle your wrists too harshly.
Repeated misuse of the keyboard with any typing method may lead to discomfort and should be avoided. Always practice healthy habits like taking typing breaks and stretching hands and fingers.
Regards,
Kerry
My best friend has that. Though the shaking has started to become uncontrollable
Hello, everyone!
I hope you’re all using good habits while typing! Numb or painful fingers is no good!
I personally suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my right wrist. When it flares up, due to over activity, typing can certainly become uncomfortable. CTS is a relatively common condition that presents as pain, tingling, or full numbness in the hands and arms caused by the nerves running along the arm being squeezed.
Luckily CTS is as manageable as it is common. Whenever I can start to feel a flare up coming on, I simply wear a wrist brace for a few days. A metal bar in the brace keeps my wrist in a neutral position. Giving my wrist a break from movement for a couple of days always seems to take care of the problem. I’ll sometimes wear the brace preemptively as well, if I know I will be moving my hands and arms a lot, like, if I know I’m in for a long day of typing.
Regards,
Alex (The Reimagined Classroom Teacher)