What makes Carpio ergonomically designed?

Carpio is a truly ergonomic wrist rest that was designed together with physicians and physiotherapists. To better understand how different it is from other wrist rests and how it can actually help prevent wrist injuries, let’s explain some medical background first.

What is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median nerve in your wrist (carpal tunnel). It causes tingling, numbness, pain, and loss of strength in your hand and fingers. Left untreated, it can lead to permanent nerve damage.

Can computer usage cause carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)?

Besides anatomic and physiological causes, evidence is mounting that occupational factors (repetitive motions, vibrations, strenuous handwork) represent an important cause for CTS.

More than 2 hours of computer usage per day increases the risk for CTS. According to research, 4 hours of work with a computer mouse weakens the hand grip by 18-60%.

Computer mouse and keyboard usage presents a major risk for strain injuries, such as CTS, because of prolonged repetitive movements while the wrist is constantly extended upwards.

Source: Prim. prof. dr. Marjan Bilban, dr. med., spec.: Science supplement: Work and safety - LVI/2011/št. 2

How does Carpio prevent wrist injuries?

In general, wrist rests can help prevent wrist injuries by lifting your wrist and therefore decreasing the harmful extension. One of the studies that support this statement was conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, Kettering University and Northeastern University and showed that raised palm support was associated with less wrist extension and lower applied forces to the mouse pad. Participants also reported less musculoskeletal discomfort when using a support. You can read the full study here.

However, regular wrist rests such as gel wrist pads aren’t really ergonomic and can even increase the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome by:

• Applying pressure to the underside of the wrist (carpal tunnel) and compressing the tissues, therefore slowing down blood supply
• Fixing your wrist position, which causes additional stress for your wrist as you are forced to move the mouse by rotating your wrist instead of using your whole arm and shoulder (larger, stronger muscles)

That's why Carpio reinforces pressure from the wrist to the lower palm (thenar and hypothenar part), so actually, it's a palm rest rather than a wrist rest. Also, it glides together with your hand to decrease the wrist deviation and enables the arm and shoulder motion.

Were there any medical specialists involved?

Yes, since the very beginning. The main one was Marko Mikša, MD. He has experience in Plastic, Reconstructive, Aesthetic Surgery, and Burns (including Carpal Tunnel surgeries). You can check his LinkedIn profile here. Other consultants were several physicians trained in occupational medicine.

Also, we conducted multi-modal imaging of the wrist with a company LuxDoctrinae. Comparative X-ray and MRI examinations have shown that Carpio importantly contributes to relieving critical motor and sensory elements in the wrist when using a computer mouse.