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I guess most of heard about wrist pain, and so did I. Im having a problem and I think its not the typical wrist pain since its mostly caused by friction and it mostly happens on the side of the hand.
This is the problematic place:
So here is my story. Until this December I did my computing in two different ways. Either on my Desktop, in a glass desk with a plastic cover with some sponge behind and a nice soft mouse pad on its side, or on a small 12" netbook which was small enough for the problematic part of the hand to be out of it.
This December I got a 15" laptop, and while I don't game I got the best specs for the price, which happened to be a "gaming laptop". Since it was quite expensive I'm trying to make it last and as such whenever it isn't in its bag it is in a nice stand which tilts the laptop about 30º.
Here is my hands default position(problematic spots in blue):
The biggest problem so far seems to be that since it is a "gaming" laptop, the touchpad is on the left instead of being centered, which is good since I have to keep my hands close to "hjkl" because of vim and i3wm, but bad since it means that the left hand has to go around the touchpad too.
Yet the biggest problem isn't the left hand since it just stays in the same place for hours straight, the problem is the right hand which has to travel from "hjkl" to the numpad, to the mouse, and wherever it lands the problematic part drags for a few millimeters on the hard surface of the laptop, inertia I guess, and its very hard to use the computer at normal speed without having that part hurting really badly after few hours from dragging, rotating, and even from the pressure. Right now It even shines, a few days more and I will not need a mirror (but maybe a doctor, hope not).
I tried using gloves, sort of works to minimize the pain but at the same time its not the best writing experience, also its Winter right now in this hemisphere, and I will definitely not be using gloves in the Summer with 30+ Celsius around.
Has anyone the same problem? How can I get rid of it or at least minimize it? I've read about laptop pads, but they will not stay in place with the laptop tilted, and if the laptop isn't tilted then my wrists hit the laptop right in the edge.
I used to have that issue as well with my former 13-inch laptop (small hands you might say). The pain went away when I bought a MacBook only to come back as wrist pain. My investigation concluded that no laptop can be considered as truly ergonomic. I bought a cheap vertical mouse and a cheap but decent external keyboard and a raised laptop dock, and I use them whenever I have to use the computer for long stretches of time. All issues are gone. My doctor friend was right! – retrography – 2016-02-02T04:48:05.917
They even have ergo external keyboards if necessary. – cybernard – 2016-02-02T04:49:27.383
In the long term i might buy a decent external keyboard (I have one, but its so bad I think I prefer the pain), but the problem with that is the lost space. Also I use 8px font for my WM, that would also at need a bump to 12-14px if the laptop gets 30cm further away. Is there any cheap home made solution? Some kind of wrist cushion or anything like that? – SOMN – 2016-02-02T05:01:56.200
There is this kind of stuff: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027IBMQE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_1KeSwbD1DHEPT but I have never tried them. This is just an example, I don't know the product well enough to promote or dismiss it.
– retrography – 2016-02-02T06:15:06.483You might want to see a doctor. I doubt any tool for computers will truly solve it, and maybe some excercises or changing posture will actually help you strengthen the muscles stopping the pain altogether. – LPChip – 2016-02-02T08:11:17.803
If you don't want to use keyboard the you could just build up a callus. If you do extended periods using it you will just cause it to become inflamed but if you start with shorter periods of just an hour or two per day and do not let it get more than uncomfortable (AKA before its painful) before stopping you will build up an area of hard skin on the bottom of your hand that will then be able to withstand the friction. – Linef4ult – 2016-02-02T11:01:54.013
@retrography That wouldn't work for a laptop on a stand. It would fall, and besides that, the touchpad is way too big and pressuring the touchpad anywhere counts as a click. – SOMN – 2016-02-02T17:57:41.293
@LPChip It is just related with this particular setup. I have no problem on using a desktop, it is as comfortable as it can be. – SOMN – 2016-02-02T17:57:51.270
@Linef4ult That would be the extreme solution, and its aesthetically unpleasant to have. Besides that I already have half of my hand with such things from bicycle riding, but not that specific part and would prefer not to have it. – SOMN – 2016-02-02T17:58:17.140
Wear gloves with the fingers cut off. – Moab – 2016-02-02T18:26:25.673
@Moab Only have one pair, and somehow the touchpad has interference with them on top and sometimes reads double taps out of nowhere. It doesn't happen with cotton based gloves it seems, I'll try to get a pair of cotton gloves without fingers. Still that has the heat problem in the summer. – SOMN – 2016-02-02T21:35:51.660