3 ergonomic upgrades for your workspace that'll take stress off your fingers and wrists

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Wrist brace carpal tunnel
zyang/Wikimedia Commons

Desk jobs come with relatively few direct health risks, but repetitive stress injury (RSI) is one of them that you'll want to avoid.

As its name suggests, RSI occurs when you strain a part of your body in a particular way for an extended period of time; your wrists and fingers are particularly susceptible to RSI if you type on a keyboard and use a mouse for 40-plus hours a week.

Besides taking regular breaks from your desk, switching to an ergonomic keyboard and mouse can help stave off RSI by reducing stress on your wrists and fingers. We have a few recommendations for what to buy below.

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The Logitech K350 Keyboard

Logitech K350
Amazon

The K350 is part of Logitech's "wave" line of keyboards. It has a large wrist rest to support your palms, and the keys curve upward in the middle so your fingers don't have to travel as far to reach them. 

In addition to being good for your hands, this keyboard also makes operating your computer a little easier by including a set of media and function keys at the top. If your current one doesn't have those features, it's worth getting this keyboard for them alone.

The final cool feature is that that the K350 is full-sized, which means it includes a number pad. For some people (myself included) that isn't a big deal, but I know several people who could never live without one.

Logitech K350 Wireless Keyboard, $36, available at Amazon

The Anker Wireless Ergonomic Mouse

Anker Mouse
Amazon

This recommendation comes from Insider Picks reporter Mara Leighton, who reviewed Anker's ergonomic mouse last summer. She still uses it every day since its unique shape allows you to move it around with your forearm rather than just your wrist. Mara's full review is full of tips she learned over the course of her testing, some of which are actually pretty surprising. Spoiler: You won't want to use it with a mouse pad to reap all of its ergonomic benefits.

Anker Wireless Ergonomic Mouse, $19.99, available at Amazon

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A keyboard wrist rest

Keyboard rest
Amazon

If you're already happy with the keyboard you use every day — or are stuck with it, in the case of a laptop — you can still reap some ergonomic benefits by getting a wrist rest. Like the one built into the Logitech keyboard I recommended earlier, Gimar's wrist rest will keep your fingers elevated. Instead of reaching up and pressing down on the keys, you'll be able to push them from a higher angle. 

This wrist rest is made out of memory foam instead of hard plastic, so you'll be able to use it comfortably for longer periods of time, too.

Gimars Memory Foam Set Keyboard Wrist Rest , $10.99, available at Amazon

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