What you are referring to is a condition known as repetitive strain injury or repetitive stress injury (RSI), and also as cumulative trauma disorder (CDU). The causes, nature, and treatment of this condition are still being explored, but it is usually accepted that the characteristic pain of repetitive stress injuries is the result of chronic strain on a particular body part. Today, due to widespread computer use, computer related repetitive stress injuries are among the most common cases of this condition. Your case is probably one of these - regular use of the mouse and keyboard, particularly if the two are poorly designed, eventually ends up damaging the wrists and hands, causing pain and restricting movement. Very often, people worsen things themselves, by failing to maintain a proper work posture, by simply overusing their computers, and by failing to take frequent breaks when it is necessary to spend long hours at the computer. However, RSI is not limited to computer users - sportspeople and people in a variety of physical jobs are also prone to such pain.
Repetitive stress injury is actually an umbrella term that includes a variety of more specific disorders. In some cases there seems to be no physical reason why pain should be present, while in other cases, the muscles, joints, and other tissues in the affected area may be damaged. Some doctors are even of the opinion that repetitive stress injury is actually a psychosomatic disorder, in at least some cases. They feel that the cause of the pain is not any tissue damage, but mental stress. Therefore, to treat your wrist and hand, you will need to take all these factors into account.
First of all, try to eliminate stress from your life. You must in general try to stay calm, but in addition, do not allow work to monopolize your time and head space for hours on end. Take frequent breaks - this will not only give your body some rest, but it will rest your mind too. For this reason, taking a break from work just to play a computer game is almost useless. Instead, get up from your seat, take a walk, chat with a friend, and so on. Next, ensure that your entire work setup is ergonomic - your monitor, keyboard, mouse, and chair should all enable you to work with minimum strain. If activities other than computer use seem to be causing trouble, find out about ways to make them less of a strain; you can even come up with your own solutions - for example, some people use pipe insulation on the steering wheels of their cars to make them easier to grip.
answered by G M