[consulting] OT: Keyboards and RSI

Mon Aug 14 06:55:58 UTC 2006

Sarah Pullman wrote:
> A little yoga plug for all the geeks...
>
> I was doing some research to find out things I could incorporate into 
> my teaching for people with RSI and other preliminary pains, and I 
> came across this, which might be of some interest to those of you with 
> an interest in alternative therapies and means of prevention and 
> treatment.
>
> http://www.rxyoga.com/about.html
>
> "R.S.I.? Rx: Yoga! Yoga video/DVD program is created specifically for 
> RSI (repetitive strain injury), promoting healing and injury 
> prevention. This yoga program is helpful for carpal tunnel syndrome, 
> tendonitis, and mild to moderate thoracic outlet syndrome. Treat your 
> overuse injury to some gentle yoga therapy, or simply learn how to 
> prevent future problems."
>
> My $0.02.
>
> Sarah
Don't forget "hot"/"cold" baths. The idea is to have one bucket that is 
full of ICED water, the other is full of HOT water, but not so HOT that 
you injure yourself (you crazy bastard....). Stick your hnads in  the  
cold water for 30 seconds, and then the hot water for 30 seconds.  If 
you're doing it right, both  buckets shoulds feel  nearly  unbearable by 
second  20.  Repeat  3 times  before you begin work.

Also, there are stretches where you pull your wrist out away from your 
body with your other hand, and wiggle it. You'll feel crunching from 
buildup. Its pretty disgusting. However, I can proudly say that I've had 
carpal tunnel, type nearly 4000 words to this day, and am learning a 
Rachmaninoff etude in my off time. Carpal tunnel isn't what those who 
want you to be dependent on them would like it to be.

My soapbox is over.

Thank you

Onward,
Nick Lewis
http://www.nicklewis.org

>
>
> On 12-Aug-06, at 7:50 PM, Laura Scott wrote:
>
>> In a previous life, I did legal wordprocessing to pay the rent. 
>> Believe me, when you type 40 hours a week for a living, you find 
>> stress points fast. Then, with video editing, again spending long 
>> hours in front of the computer, more learning the hard way. Here's 
>> what I do. YMMV....
>>
>> -Monitor just below eyeline. Too high and you get neck and shoulder 
>> pain.
>>
>> -Chair where you can sit upright, leaning back slightly. (If you need 
>> glasses to make this work, do it. It reduces eye strain anyway.) Too 
>> upright and you put unnecessary stress on your lower back. (My back 
>> doctor last year confirmed that sitting bolt upright may work for 
>> meditating monks, but the rest of us need a little angle on the lower 
>> back to reduce stress in the lumbar area.)
>>
>> -Arm rests. I also push the keyboard back from the edge of the desk, 
>> so that I can rest my wrists on the desk itself.
>>
>> -Wrist position. Basically you want a straight line from your forearm 
>> down your pinky finger. Twisting your hands outwards can cause carpal 
>> tunnel syndrome. That's why the ergonomic keyboards angle the way 
>> they do. I use the stock iMac keyboard now, but cheat my hand 
>> positions a bit to keep this angle. It's not ideal, but I like the 
>> light touch of the keyboard.
>>
>> -Keyboard position. I see so many people who prop up those props at 
>> the back of the keyboard. I try to work that way and I'm in pain 
>> within minutes. I prefer a flat keyboard. Having to arch your fingers 
>> upwards to reach the keys causes stress.
>>
>> -Mighty mouse. I've had no mouse-related problems since using that 
>> tiny little trackball. I love it! Those Big Wheel mice all went in 
>> the garbage.
>>
>> -Breaks. +1 on that! Stop, flex your hands, make fists and stretch 
>> your fingers out. Shake your hands like you're trying to shake a bug 
>> off of them. Get the blood flowing.
>>
>> This thread was way off topic, but a great one, considering how much 
>> computer time we all must put in every day.
>>
>> Best,
>> Laura
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Aug 12, 2006, at 4:41 PM, Bèr Kessels wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Op vrijdag 11 augustus 2006 17:41, schreef Andrew Cohill:
>>>> --Finally, few doctors know a darn thing about any of this stuff, and
>>>> are often too eager to recommend surgery.  The stats on RSI surgery
>>>> are very grim--surgery often makes the problem MUCH WORSE.  There is
>>>> a huge bundle of nerves passing through the muscle sheath on your
>>>> wrist, and going in their and hacking away is extremely risky.
>>>> Surgery should be a last resort only after spending as much as needed
>>>> on better furniture and giving your body time to repair itself.
>>>
>>> As I have been on the brim of getting serious RSI too, my doctor 
>>> gave me but
>>> one real advice. Off course she recommended me to get a proper 
>>> environment,
>>> but since I had everything set up balanced already that is not a lot 
>>> of work.
>>>
>>> Breaks. Get a break of ten seconds every 6 minutes and a 2 minute 
>>> break every
>>> 40minutes. This is very annoying to get used to. I use some special 
>>> software
>>> that simply locks my environment for the required minutes 
>>> completely. Sure,
>>> its annoying. But once your are used to the rithm, its something to
>>> anticipate on (my RSI helper notifies me for about one minute that I 
>>> need to
>>> break, before forcing me to break). And during the break it shows me 
>>> nice
>>> pics of my holidays :)
>>>
>>>  * RSI break, KDE http://www.rsibreak.org/index.php/Main_Page
>>>  * Workrave, KDE, Gnome, Windows: http://www.workrave.org/welcome/ 
>>> (features
>>> very good animated excercises to do while forcing the break)
>>>
>>> Again: most people are turned off by the forced break (damn, I was just
>>> finishing that Jabber conversation...) But its something to simply 
>>> get used
>>> to. After a few months you will notice the difference in your 
>>> wrists, while
>>> the breaks feel like something natural by then.
>>>
>>> Bèr
>>>
>>> PS only danger is a coffee overdose: Don't grab every 6 min break to 
>>> get a new
>>> cup :)
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