I type, though. A lot. That got me wondering. Is tennis elbow—or “computer elbow”—another painful consequence of the writing life? Muscle pain: If you have a dull ache up and down the arm from the hand to the elbow, that’s your muscles talking to you. The position of your arms is less usually examined, yet it is just as significant. Ergonomics considers the position of your elbows, forearms, wrists, and hands. A shelf extension that tilts slightly to give a negative slant is one option. These are ideally used on a keyboard shelf, but they can also be used on a desktop.

Apart from this, your mouse should not be too small or big for your hands. Get a size that fits your hand without placing strain on your fingers and wrist muscles. Otherwise, your hand will remain tensed when your grip your mouse. Subsequently, this position affects your elbow muscles and tendons too. Have you observed a tingling feeling in your elbow? Or maybe you experience continuous elbow pain when you move your arm? Using tools and assistive gadgets like a posture-correcting elastic band, a negative tilt keyboard adjustment, or a standing desk, you may change every aspect of your posture. Your best bet is to act as soon as you observe the first signs of computer elbow. Seeking immediate medical help or changing your routine can restore joint health.

If you need a helping hand supporting your arms in virtually any position possible, a pivoting wrist and elbow pad works better than an armrest. The most crucial part of ergonomic posture is the angle of your wrists to your forearms. In general, your forearms should be flat or slightly angled downwards toward your workstation.

Relax your shoulders: Do you ever notice that your shoulders are up around your ears while you’re working? Remind yourself to relax. Muscle tension in the shoulders can radiate down into the arms. The Pretty See is ambidextrous and can be positioned to support either your left or right arm. It also has an adjustable 180° ball joint that enables the armrests to swivel and get out of the way or cater to a different working posture easily. This is a great feature missing in many other desk armrests on the market.Having a desk drawer means the clutter stays inside. It minimizes muscle work required to reach the keyboard and mouse.

Just like the Pretty See, the Vivo has a 180° rotation feature which allows you to find the right angle for support. One user especially liked this, saying that it helped alleviate the stress on his wrist and shoulder. The Vivo Desk Armrests can be thought of as a beefed up version of the Pretty See product above, combining a mouse pad, palm cushion, and extended armrest all rolled into one. It is also mountable to either your chair or desk, providing two ways to augment your current workstation. Fortunately, investing in a standing desk setup will save you from medical bills. Other ergonomic upgrades and home remedies are equally beneficial for treatment. Computer elbow can have many debilitating effects on your daily life. These do not last long if you self-manage physical symptoms in the early stages. The right treatment and altered routine can cause elbow pain to subside within three-six weeks. It all depends on the severity of your condition, age, and previous elbow injuries.Get a split keyboard: These help your hands stay in a more natural line. I have one on my desktop computer, but of course my laptop, which I use just as much, doesn’t come with this convenience. I wish it did! I have found that propping my wrists up a bit so that they can move with my fingers has helped, though. (See wrist pads above.) Resting my wrists on the computer actually makes the pain worse because my fingers are held up and must move without the help of my arms—resulting in strain. To make resting your arms on the Skyzonal more comfortable and to help maintain neutral wrists, you can slope the entire tray up to 10° downwards. Your elbows should be level with or slightly above your desktop. This makes it easier for you to keep your wrists straight. This usually entails raising your chair higher than usual. Performance-wise, there’s nothing to complain about the Skyzonal. However, the quality of the sewing is on the sloppy side. The best thing that we liked about the Jelbows is its durability. Some palm rests split open and spill the gel after a few months of use. Since the Jelbows is solid gel, you won’t have to worry about that happening.