Related topics: •  Arthritis Center •  Arthritis Tips, Part I •  Arthritis Tips, Part II

Surfing the Net is no fun when every click of the mouse brings pain. Just sitting at a computer for a long time can cause knee and hip joints to stiffen and ache. But whether you use a computer for work or fun, there are ways to make the job less painful.

Chantal Tanaka, who has rheumatoid arthritis, finds that it helps to change positions in her chair. "My arthritis was much, much worse when I wasn't careful to keep moving," says Tanaka. "But now I rarely have to remind myself to stretch or move my joints." She says that her joints feel rough and gritty when she doesn't exercise regularly, and during severe bouts of arthritis, she experiences a radiating, pulsating pain in her fingers and toes. But by rotating her neck, hands, wrists, and feet frequently, she can stay more limber and relatively pain-free.

Here are some more tips:

•Exterminate your mouse. Use a trackball instead to reduce the amount of repetitive clicking motions your fingers will need to do. With the right equipment, you can even connect your computer to a footpad that operates like a mouse so your toes do the clicking.

•Soak your hands in warm water before sitting down to type -- this can soothe and loosen joints.

•If stiff fingers make typing too difficult, use the eraser ends of two unsharpened pencils to tap the keys.

•Some software applications let you make "macros" to store frequently typed words, like your address or company name. Once you've created a macro, a simple keystroke or two adds the words automatically, saving you some typing and reducing stress on your fingers.

•Find the right keyboard. Flat, rectangular keyboards were once the norm, but now you can find small keyboards that reduce the area your fingers have to cover. There are also split keyboards that ease the strain on wrists.

Arthritis can make many tasks more difficult, but it's important to continue doing the activities you enjoy as long as you know when to quit -- which many people don't.

"It's a cycle -- they do too much, then they become over-fatigued or cause a flare-up. Once their energy is back and the pain is gone, they try to make up for lost time. Then they get fatigued again and have another flare-up," according to Olga Anderson, an occupational therapist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. By pacing yourself and using shortcuts and tools to make tasks less painful, you can remain active and involved in the daily tasks of your life.

-- Nancy Montgomery is an associate editor at Consumer Health Interactive.

Further Resources

Arthritis Foundaton http://www.arthritis.org

References

First published September 26, 2002
Last updated May 27, 2008
Copyright © 2002 Consumer Health Interactive

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