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Wrist Pain at Work
Published about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Is it REALLY Carpal Tunnel? Might it be Tendonitis?
F If you work at a computer all day you may, like so many of us, you may fear the dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome. But carpal tunnel syndrome is only one of several possible causes of work-related wrist pain. Learn the differences in this post. First Published: February 22, 2020. Last Update: March 17, 2025
Clarifying Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome can happen when pressure is put on a nerve in your wrist. This nerve is called the median nerve.
Along with nine tendons that start in the forearm, the median nerve traverses under a band of strong connective tissue. This band runs across the numerous wrist bones and bridges across them; the area under the "bridge" is the carpal tunnel.
The median nerve is located on and affects the thumb and most of the fingers on the palm side of your wrist.
What does the median nerve do?
As with all nerves in the human body, the median nerve communicates feelings and movement impulses from the brain to, in this case, the hand.
The median nerve sends movement messages to muscles of the wrist, thumb and first three fingers, on the palm side.
Movement messages from median nerve to the hand help turn the forearm in, as well as spread the thumb out (away from the palm.) They also initiate bending of the wrist, thumb, index and middle fingers.
The carpal tunnel band (which has a fancy name I won’t burden you with here) runs perpendicular to the nerves and tendons underneath it.
When the carpal tunnel band puts pressure on the median nerve, you might experience numbness, tingling and/or weakness in the palm area and/or the thumb side of your hand, plus the first two fingers. Wrist or forearm muscles may be affected, too. The location of the symptoms caused by this pressure is specific because the median nerve serves only the area discussed above.
The other two wrist nerves, i.e., the ulnar and radial, supply signals to different areas of the wrist and hand.
Regardless of location, numbness, tingling and weakness are classical signs of nerve disruption. In the wrist, carpal tunnel syndrome is one of a number of possible causes for these symptoms.
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Carpal tunnel syndrome is often mistaken for other wrist pain diagnoses. Perhaps the most common of these is tendinitis of the wrist.
But the two conditions are not the same. Although their symptoms both affect the wrist area, their physiologies differ.
With carpal tunnel, you’ll likely get the nerve symptoms mentioned above.
In the case of tendinitis of the wrist, symptoms tend to be linked to inflammation. So you might experience things like redness in the area, swelling or pain.
Either way, if the symptoms really bother you, get them checked by an orthopedic M.D. Generally speaking, getting symptoms checked early can only help you reduce or eliminate related long term pain and dysfunction.
The doc might give you a nerve conduction test, especially if you’ve got those tingling, numbness and weakness type symptoms. A nerve conduction test is the best way to figure out if carpal tunnel syndrome is what is causing your pain.
Having a nerve conduction test as soon as possible after you start noticing the nerve symptoms is generally the best idea.
Inside the Tunnel is a Delicate Balance of Structures
The carpal tunnel (area under that band of connective tissue) is quite narrow. This means that the ten structures located in the tunnel have to fit together snugly, but not too snugly.
If their fit is too snug, the median nerve may fire, and/or one or more of the tendons may become irritated. This may lead to pain and other symptoms.
Staying close to the carpal tunnel band without touching it is a delicate balance for the median nerve and the tendons. On the other hand, when the structures inside the tunnel fit well and don’t bump into each other or the band above them, you likely will not experience wrist pain or other symptoms.
For More Comfortable Wrists, Change the Following Computing Habits
Often, it's our day in and day out movement and posture habits that lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
If you repeatedly do any of the following, you may want to reconsider how your hands and forearms interact with your desk, mouse and/or keyboard.
Contact Stress
Resting your wrist on the edge of your desk, especially when the edge of the desk is sharp and especially if you do concentrated mousing work for the better part of the day, is associated with a carpal tunnel syndrome risk factor known as contact stress.
Consider using a wrist rest to help prevent excessive contact stress. (Disclosure: affiliate link.)
Do you type with misaligned wrists? (Think “clawed” position of hands or fingers, or wrists that are bent backwards, towards you.) If so, this is another way you may be upping your carpal tunnel risk.
Generally, posture experts and ergo consultants like to see wrists in “neutral.”
You’ve achieved neutral wrist posture when your hands and fingers are like extensions of the forearm. In this position, your wrist will be bent neither forward or back.
Depending on what you're currently doing in terms of wrist position, you might experiment with your keyboard in “negative tilt,” where the numbers on your keyboard are higher than the space bar. Many people report supports their wrists nicely and relieves pain in the area.
You can purchase a keyboard tray with a negative tilt adjustment feature, like this one from VIVO, on Amazon. (Disclosure: affiliate link.)
Some keyboards have added bells and whistles, but at the very least, get the height adjustment option, which allows for positioning the space bar higher than the numbers.
As for mousing, vertical mice place hands in a handshake position, which experts say is the wrist posture with the least amount of risk for damage. Here's one from Logitech. (Disclosure: affiliate link.)
When buying a vertical mouse, be sure to pick the one corresponding to your dominant hand.
Studies show that a combination of a vertical mouse and a wrist rest works best for preventing wrist pain.
Limited Shoulder Motion
When you’re stuck in a “hunchback” position all day, it’s really easy to forget that certain body parts – like shoulder blades – can actually move.
Chances are, if your shoulder blades are misaligned, you’re also working with way too much tension in the forearm, wrist, hand and fingers.
This extra tension is a compensation, because your shoulder blades are stuck. As a result, your forearms and wrists don’t get the support they need for free and easy movement. This makes shoulder, arm, hand and finger muscles work harder, which can lead to chronic tension and long term poor posture.
All-Day, Uninterrupted Repetitive Motion
Another carpal tunnel risk factor is repetitive motion. Repetitive motion comes about with constant keying and/or mousing.
Be sure to take breaks from typing and mousing when you can. This gives the muscles a chance to relax, which is good from them. Also, stretch.
Take Action Now
Research suggests that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to preventing wrist pain at work.
Even if you don't have carpal tunnel or tendonitis symptoms, consider implementing better habits now. Also consider purchasing the workstation accessories mentioned above.
Both habit change and ergonomic items will likely help you avoid pressure at the wrists. The reason is, if you wait until you get the nerves symptoms it may be too late.
Once these, show up, there’s less you can do to relieve the pressure on the wrist that started the whole thing in the first place.
Anne Asher is certified by American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer and health coach, and certified at the 200 hour level as a yoga instructor. She has 25+ years experience using movement and body alignment techniques to help people feel better both physically and mentally.
For over a decade, Anne was also an award winning health journalist for a large website owned and operated by the New York Times Company. Her "beat" was spine and chronic pain management.
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