Hazards of Self Employment
In 2005 I became a self-employed freelance writer. Although I had been freelancing on the side for about 6 months before quitting my full-time job, I still found that shortly after starting my own writing business, I was developing symptoms of carpal tunnel.
You don’t usually think of being self-employed or running your own business as being hazardous, but it is — primarily because there’s no one there to limit your work. People who work from home and/or work for themselves are much more likely to work long hours. So my wrists and forearms started aching from all the typing and mouse-work I was doing, and I started getting headaches from staring at the computer screen for too many hours every day.
Luckily there are some good methods for carpal tunnel treatment that don’t require going to the doctor… OR cutting back on work (which most of us probably can’t bear to do, if we’re working enough to make our wrists hurt in the first place). One of my methods of chronic pain management was heating pads — oh how I love heating pads! I got one of those thick microwave ones and put it in front of my keyboard like one of those bean-filled or foam wrist rests, and just kept my wrists and forearms on the warm support all day while I typed.
Another way to deal with achy arms is something called magnetic therapy. Basically, studies have found that when placed just right over an injured nerve, a magnetic field can actually stop the nerve from sending pain signals to the brain.
But really, the best method is prevention. Instead of waiting for carpal tunnel syndrome to sieze up your wrist, your head to start aching, or your eyes to start seeing double, take breaks often. There’s no need to kill yourself working! No business is worth that.
Comments
Leave a Reply