Our wrists are constantly in motion when we’re working or gaming at our desks. If you have poor desk ergonomics and posture, this can easily lead to wrist pain.
Wrist pain can easily lead to long-term issues if you are poorly positioned at your desk day after day. In this article, we’re giving you 5 ways you can make your wrists extra comfy at your desk.
Correct Your Desk & Seat Height
Having your hands approach your desk from too high or too low of an angle is bad for your wrists. Your hands, wrists, and forearms should be level with your desk, like this:
This keeps your wrist at a neutral and natural angle, which keeps them at ease. Make sure your wrist is not forced to bend much at all when at your desk.
To achieve this neutral position, you will have to adjust your chair height. For those who use standing desks, you have the luxury of either changing your desk height or your chair height.
Posture and positioning are the first adjustments you need to correct before turning to any accessories. This is critical for those working long hours at their desk.
Use A Thicker Desk Mat
We have a dedicated article on why thick desk mats are just better than the average desk mat. The main benefit? Wrist comfort.
Thicker desk mats can compress more which in turn supports a larger surface of your palm and wrist. I highly recommend our very own thick desk mats.
This applies to both using your mouse and using your keyboard. Your wrists are always making contact with your desk pad.
A thick desk mat means you have wrist support over the entire surface, which beats any wrist rest. A wrist rest only protects your wrist in certain positions.
Also, desk mats are a great desk accessory to boost your workspace aesthetics as well.
Use A Slim Keyboard
When using a chunky keyboard, your wrists are forced upward if you want to rest them on your desk or desk mat. This is bad for ergonomics and can easily result in wrist pain.
I love mechanical keyboards as much as the next person, but if you don’t use a wrist rest, you have to hover your wrists if you don’t want them to hurt.
One keyboard that has never caused me wrist pain was the Logitech MX Keys. This is a very popular keyboard that I’ve been using for a few years now.
The keyboard angle and thin profile make it very natural for your hands to type. There is little to no difficulty on the wrists with a slim keyboard like this!
This keyboard has perfect stroke keys for satisfying feedback, smart illumination, and hand proximity detection. It's comfortable, stable, and customizable. It stays powered up to 10 days on a full charge, or up to 5 months with backlighting turned off. Flow cross-computer control allows for typing on multiple computers in one workflow.
Invest in a Wristrest
If you do use a chonky keyboard, a wrist rest is pretty critical. You place a wrist rest directly behind your keyboard and it supports your wrists so you don’t have to angle your hands.
Another reason to use a wrist rest is to cushion your wrists so you can work at your desk more comfortably.
The exact type of wrist rest you go for will vary, there are a ton to choose from.
Some people will be fine with solid wood wrist supports because they are more focused on elevating their wrists. Others like a nice and soft cushion under their wrists, like the one included with the HEXCAL desk mat.
Check out The Delta Hub Carpio
When we are using our mouse and keyboard at our desks, our wrists are constantly moving around. Wristrests usually stay in one place which makes them a little more awkward than we’d like.
If you want a wrist rest that actually moves with your hand, you need to check out the Carpio by Delta Hub. This is a little sliding wrist support that gives you that elevated comfort while moving with your mouse.
Crafted by medical experts, the Carpio 2.0's contoured shape reduces wrist strain. Featuring high-quality materials for comfort and stability, it's versatile (right/left-handed) and supports various computer activities, promoting comfortable usage for everyone.
They even have a model that comes with a hand strap. The strap ensures that you can move between your keyboard and mouse without needing to leave the Carpio.
It’s a pretty neat design that has a lot of great reviews.
