If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive stress injury or tendinitis, or if you're trying to avoid it before it starts, the best thing you can do is get yourself an ergonomic workstation. I've been struggling with tendinitis for several years now, and every doctor I've spoken to has said that the best treatment is ergonomics. They even recommended ergonomics over rest, saying that the most important thing is to keep you arms in the correct posture to avoid further wrist strain.
If you can avoid typing, I would still recommend it. But when you do work, make sure you have the best products out there. Here are some of the things that worked for me:
Step number one: Get yourself some excellent voice recognition software.
Voice recognition software types as you speak. This will take a huge part of the burden off of your hands. Keep in mind, however, that you won't be able to use it for everything. Things like proper nouns (names, addresses, etc.) will be hard for it to recognize, as will some numerical data. So even if you have great software, you'll want an ergonomic keyboard and mouse to back it up. Also, I'd suggest spending at least $30 on a good microphone.
Best voice-recognition software:
... for Mac users: MacSpeech
... for PC users: Dragon NaturallySpeaking
These two programs are essentially the same, since Mac ended up buying the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Basically it was the best thing out there, and still is. Don't bother with any other voice recognition program. These are the only ones that really work.
Best ergonomic mouse: Evoluent Ergonomic Vertical Mouse 3
As someone whose problems began from using a mouse rather than typing, I can say with authority that a good mouse is crucial to reducing carpel tunnel and wrist pain. The Evoluent mouse is also referred to as "the handshake mouse," because it allows your wrist to
remain in the natural, handshake position, as illustrated below. The twisting of the wrist bones when you use a regular mouse puts extra strain on every muscle and ligament in your wrist, and is likely to be the primary cause of repetitive strain injuries associated with typing.
Best ergonomic keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000
This is what I use, and it's by far the most popular ergonomic keyboard out there. It works on a similar principle as the mouse, allowing your wrists to maintain their natural, un- twisted position. It's also called a split keyboard, because it's split in the middle with each side sloping downwards. Once I started using this I was able to type at least five times as much without pain. It's a very, very worth it. Read more about it here.
