111–120 of 245 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's awesome! I can't be bothered to go to the gym, so all of my body weight exercises + rowing machine, are done in house.
I bought a power cage and a barbell so I could lift in my basement. Wasn't a huge fan of the gym either. Never enough squat racks, and I felt bad locking one down for an hour.
I was a bit paranoid about this in my mid 20's, so I learned touch-typing the Dvorak layout (well supported on all major OS's, so no problem using it everywhere), got myself a decent mechanical keyboard a few years later and I use vim for editing since forever (fewer key-combos is good against RSI, so modal wins out here). Most recently I have switched the Ctrl and Caps keys on my layout, which reduces a lot of stres…
While I feel no pain at all I'm pretty paranoid about getting any pain/RSI in the coming years (recent graduate now working full time)
I've been a software engineer for nearly 30 years and I was diagnosed with tendonitis in my first 5 years but I have managed to hold RSI at bay. I pay attention and if any pain surfaces I take action that day. I do not ever, ever wait. This is what I do: 1. short regularly enforced breaks. I use WorkRave to take a break every 10 minutes for a minute and 6 minutes every hour. I skip these breaks if I'm fine but use th…
I think the most confusing factor here is the (potential) mental component to these injuries. I personally ruled that out as a possibility for the first five years or so just because it didn't really fit into my understanding of things that I could experience physical pain via something mental. The idea was tantamount to calling the pain artificial, which I knew was very much not the case.
The article (and others here) mention Dr. Sarno. I also read a couple of his books, and a couple more from others who think in the same basic framework. It helped. I'm certain there is/was a mental component—but I don't think Sarno et al's framework is good enough yet (don't get me wrong though—it does work for some people). Aside from results being imperfect, the fact that much of it is grounded in Freudian psychology is an obvious defect. I think they've hit on some techniques that can help, but the theory is bad (which prevents them from effectively refining the techniques).
My latest idea on what has caused all of this: I had some kind of physical injury early on (maybe tendonitis), and it eventually resolved itself. However, I developed this habit of very anxiously monitoring/testing the wrist/hand pain whenever using mouse and keyboard, which would cause the muscles to tense to the point of being painful. Unfortunately, my mind failed to distinguish between the original pain and that caused by tensing, so I continued operating under the assumption that I had some RSI, and continued vigorously worrying about it and attempting to solve it.
The only thing I can think of doing now (and which I am actively doing), is getting better at meditation so I can hopefully one day let go and not worry and tense up while using mouse/keyboard :/
I'll put in my constant plug for the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: https://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-T... It was recommended to me by my PT when I had hand pain, and it's helped me not only with that but back pain, headaches, and plantar fasciitis. Probably a few more, too. If you ask me, it's the best $16 investment you can imagine.
Within 2 days of using the techniques in this book my pain started to improve significantly. Once you address the trigger points, tools such as the Powerball, captains of crush grippers, and thick rubber bands can be used to strengthen the flexors and extensor muscles of the forearms.
Balt split level desk + Kinesis Advantage + Kensington Slim Blade.
Go vertical, kids. For keyboard, I have used a Kinesis Freestyle w/ the Ascent explicitly designed for this purpose but now I just use the Matias Ergo Pro with some tripod parts to keep it vertical https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=79810.0 (since the pic I have changed a bit but nothing significant, I have these four parts now forming an adjustible, 12" long column: 1/4" to 3/8" male-male spigot, Manfrotto adjusti…
My experience is that vertical keyboards only alleviate some problems and even cause new ones. They do relieve pressure from the ulna and radius being in a twisted position and they obviously relieve pressure from the side of the hands. On the downside, they put strain on the shoulders and neck since the arm is held freely in the air for prolonged time. Vertical keyboards also don't help with issues due to spreading…
This article is totally missing the basics. Exercise. I promise it will make ALL the difference. Get yourself a pull-up bar, and if you're feeling extra fancy, a dip bar. Push-ups, pull-ups, dips, and sit-ups. Every day. You'll be a coding machine. At the VERY least, push-ups. Every hour or two, take a break, knock off ten push-ups, walk around a bit, get some water, get back to work. I'll do this right at the office…
Thought I had RSI. Got x-rays etc. Started lifting heavy weights. No more RSI.
You can't do nothing but code, or your body will rot. Go swim, run, lift some heavy stuff. Body works better.
I once got a terrible pain in my right arm, couldn't click with my fingers, couldn't move my mouse. After a week I saw a doctor and he said I was tense in my shoulder, which wasn't causing any pain, and showed me a stretch.
Stretching for 2 days cured me, and I've never had the problem again.
The take-home message isn't that you should stretch, but that the cure for these things can be almost anything.