Innovative call center jobs in Tijuana may be notorious for break room bingo and piñata showdowns, but learning how to prevent carpal tunnel will make you the true MVP of the call center environment. A modern call center will have the latest software, technology, and ergonomic work equipment, but ensuring a pain-free work life starts in the palm of your hand.
Understanding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The job of a customer service representative can sometimes feel like a dance, with all the repetitive movements involved. However, this dance can cause pain in your wrists, hands, and even shoulders. You may have gotten used to certain typing positions that could increase your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Let’s make sure we take care of ourselves and prevent any discomfort from affecting our work, shall we?
What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
To avoid a flashback to your high school science class, think of the carpal tunnel as an actual tunnel. It houses the median nerve and nine tendons. Your forearm, palm of your hand, fingers, and thumb connect to the median nerve, excluding your pinkie.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the narrow passageway with the median nerve feels pressure and is inflamed. It is a hand condition that affects the motor function of the thumb and causes an uncomfortable sensation in the palms of the hands and fingers.
Identifying the Early Signs and Risk Factors
You might be working on unlocking your career path, exploring what to look for in a job, and planning for a gratifying call center career, and are oblivious to the possibility of carpal tunnel syndrome. Imagine taking your fifth call and feeling like you are conquering the world. Then it happened! Your hand is throbbing and tingling, and ultimately, your median nerve is not only having a tantrum but is also irritated.
These early signs or symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can come and go in the beginning. Besides throbbing and tingling, early signs can include:
- Stiffness in the fingers..
- Soreness in the hands and arms.
- Numbness in the wrist or hand when you wake up in the morning.
- Consistent itching in the hand area.
If you’re experiencing any of the above, it’s time to act and notify your manager to help prevent ongoing or severe symptoms. The risk factors in neglecting these symptoms could result in severe inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, nerve damage, and other complications.
Proactive Strategies to Promote Wrist Health
Taking a scenic route to your call center job and enjoying the benefits of office yoga doesn’t prevent carpal tunnel. Ensuring frequent happy dances after successfully helping a difficult customer or winning the company Jeopardy game is possible with a healthy wrist. Working your call center shift with a sore or weak wrist is difficult. Implementing a carpal tunnel syndrome prevention strategy is important because a strong wrist is the unsung hero of your celebration moves.
Ergonomics: Crafting Your Workspace for Wrist Wellness
The great news is that an ergonomic workspace is not completely on you. Working with a modern call center in Mexico has you covered. Your employer may supply you with ergonomic work equipment, such as a desk, keyboard, and chair. It is important, however, to ensure the following:
- Have a clutter-free desk.
- Have documents and files easy to reach.
- Switch up your movement pattern.
- Embrace a soft-touch approach.
Organizing your desk for an easy reach to files and manuals can do wonders. Does it sound like your tap dancing on your keyboard? Soften your touch, this will allow your hands and wrists not to be overworked. Gripping your pens and other tools too firmly will irritate the median nerve in the carpal tunnel.
Breaks and Exercises: The Dynamic Duo for Wrist Care
Strengthening your hands, wrists, and arms with exercises is like giving them a power-up for the ultimate battle against carpal tunnel. But when your median nerve throws in the towel, it’s more like a stubborn puppy doing its best “belly drag” protest.
Coffee breaks and lunch with your team members are important ways to decompress from the rewards and challenges of a call center environment. But taking several impromptu breaks just for your hands, wrists, and forearms is also how to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
With a simple Google search, you can find many wrist and hand exercises to prevent wrist pain at work. Your hand exercise routine should begin with wrist flexing and hand squeeze exercises.
Wrist Flexion Exercise
We often hear that taking walks for your breaks in the call center environment does amazing things for stress relief and your whole body. But adding a stretching exercise for work, such as wrist flexion exercises, can be a great way to take things a step further while you’re taking a stroll. Do the following:
- Stretch one arm out.
- Point your fingers and palm of your hand down toward the floor.
- Take your free hand and gently massage your other hand.
- Massage your hand in a downward motion.
Be sure not to lock your elbow with your arm straight out. You can loosen your carpal tunnel tendons and nerves by gently massaging each hand in a downward motion for 10–15 seconds.
Hand Squeeze Exercise
A rubber ball, stress ball, or balled-up socks can help strengthen your hand grip. A stronger hand grip will lessen the chance of carpal tunnel syndrome. Squeezing the ball in the middle of your palm for 10–15 seconds is a great start to avoid weak hand muscles.
How to prevent carpel tunnel starts with taking several small breaks in between calls and other call center job duties. Hand, arm, and finger stretching exercises for work purposes are the key to a pain-free workday.
Posture Matters: Align Yourself Against Carpal Tunnel
If you’re still wondering how to prevent carpal tunnel, start with your posture. Being posture-focused is not easy. What if you reminded yourself two to three times a day? These reminders can be sticky notes at your desk or a mobile phone alarm notification. Carpal tunnel syndrome thrives in a poor posture body. It’s all a domino effect when a pinched median nerve in your wrist can radiate through your arm, shoulders, and neck.
Keeping an eye on your posture and incorporating wrist and hand exercises, maybe with a touch of yoga, is the secret hot sauce to staying in tip-top shape. Seriously, maybe your hands and fingers should avoid direct hot sauce contact. But warming your hands and wrists is helpful for carpal tunnel syndrome prevention.
When Lifestyle Adjustments Aren’t Enough
Standing and walking breaks to rest your hands are great for prevention and early signs of carpal tunnel irritation. But if you start to have prolonged symptoms of tingling, numbness, or pain, it’s time to wave the white flag. Seeking medical help should be your next move to ensure healthy wrist and hand motions.
Recognizing When to Seek Professional Help
Take notice if you feel pain and weakness in your hands and wrists. If the pain will not allow you to physically hold the winning trophy of the key performance indicator (KPI) Hangman challenges, it’s time to get professional help. Sure, hitting those productivity targets is sweet, but feeling fantastic while doing it? That’s the ultimate power-up.
Treatment Options Beyond Prevention
Always notify your supervisor or management team about any pain and weakness you may be experiencing. Being re-trained about the best way to preserve your hands and how to work in your ergonomic workspace may be necessary. However, seeking professional help will be encouraged.
A medical professional may prescribe medications and recommend cold packs, wrist splints, and other less invasive treatments. If things get worse, you’ll need to have cortisone injections and surgery to relieve pressure in your wrist and hand. So, paying attention to warnings and applying preventive training is crucial to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome.
Looking for a Pain-Free Work Experience?
Now you know that carpal tunnel syndrome is preventable with an ergonomic workspace and a work environment that empowers you to prioritize your well-being. Seguros Confie invites you to join our call center team, where wrist stretches, fun breaks, and productivity go hand in hand.
Located in the desirable walkable downtown Tijuana area, with gyms and coffee shops to add to your work-life balance routine, Seguros Confie offers not just career growth but also wellness benefits, paid vacation, and a supportive work environment. Apply to work with us today, check our open positions or contact Seguros Confie online.