I finally hit a wall a few weeks ago.
The pain in my wrists had been getting worse for months. My pinkies started going numb if I was at the computer too long. I was already sleeping in wrist braces and chomping on ibuprofen probably a bit too much. I needed to get help, but I wasn’t doing anything to fix it.
Why was I doing this to myself, you might ask?
Because I knew when I went to the chiropractor it wasn’t going to be good news (I mean, numb pinkies can’t be a great sign).
And it wasn’t. When I finally got my crap together and went to the chiropractor last week, X-rays revealed severe degeneration in my neck as well as cubital tunnel syndrome—so at least we know now why I’ve been in chronic pain for years. It was actually really weird to find that although I have a lot of pain in my wrists, in my particular case, it was actually my elbows that needed the most work on stretching muscles and easing the ulnar nerve.
So I’m in PT three times a week for the next month. Fun, fun!
So what are some tips you can do if you—like me—suffer from writer’s wrist pain?
- Go to the chiropractor or physical therapy before going to a regular doctor. The chiropractor or PT can actually start you on a path to healing versus just giving you pain meds (though pain meds can be nice, ammarite?)
- Sleep in wrist braces. They are pretty uncomfortable at first, but you get used to it.
- Rub Biofreeze on your forearms and wrists. An unexpected side effect is the clearing out of your sinuses because man does that stuff stink!
- Do some stretches (you can find some here). My chiropractor does these stretches with me and I have to admit, it hurts like SOOOOO much! But it’s worth it… I think. Maybe the jury is still out there.
- Don’t sleep on your stomach (this helps more for your neck, but a lot of wrist pain actually originates in your neck).
- Set up an ergonomic friendly workspace. This is really important as if we don’t fix how we work, the pain will just get worse.
- Ice, ice, baby! Putting ice on it (wrapped in a towel) a few times a day helps with the inflammation.
- Pop some pills. I take ibuprofen when the pain gets too much that’s getting distracting.
Hopefully some of things things that help me can help you as well! Happy writing 🙂
Destiny Cole 