Here's the latest article from the Ergonomics site at BellaOnline.com.

DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis - Repetitive Strain Thumb Pain
Mouse use, keyboard activity, use of PDAs and cell-phone texting can all be causes of thumb pain. Here is a description of DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis and suggestions for preventing this common cause of thumb pain.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53923.asp


TIPS FOR PREVENTING THUMB PAIN WHILE AT THE COMPUTER

If you are having thumb pain while working at the computer, check your wrist angle on the keyboard. If your wrist is bent forward or back, or angled to one side or the other, you may be at high risk for repetitive strain pain. Using a vertical mouse, a cordless mouse, or a split keyboard may be helpful.

Also, make sure that you do not plant your wrist down on the wrist rest. Glide the wrist over the rest while typing. Let the movement be initiated from the shoulder. Planting the wrist down while typing causes the fingers and thumb to work harder than they should can can increase your risk of repetitive strain pain. Keep the fingers as relaxed as possible while typing.


Please visit ergonomics.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Ergonomics.


To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Ergonomics located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=316

Visit for further information on thumb pain injury prevention and recovery tips, a link to a related article on BlackBerry Thumb, and pictures of an ergonomic keyboard and mouse that can help improve positioning at the computer.


I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Marji Hajic, Ergonomics Editor
http://ergonomics.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com