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How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

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Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#231

Post by paublyrne »

andrewvc wrote: post #145
ktRolster wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exercise is the perfect cure if the problem is lack of exercise. In this guy's case, he tried exercise. Various types. He biked to work. It still didn't fix things. His problem was cold. There's probably not much else that could fix that.

FWIW I found biking terribly aggravating for RSI. It really is not an ergonomic position. I'd recommend nearly anything other than biking. Swimming, weight lifting, basketball, etc. Anything where you aren't still sitting.

I adore cycling but I've had to stop as I started to develop RSI, first in one wrist, and then in the other. I actually think it was cycling that was the proximate cause.

General gym workouts help, so long as I use weights and machines with care. But I have gone back biking after forgetting about the wrist pain, only for it all to come back and become chronic again.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#232

Post by scottlu2 »

I had a similar experience: keeping my hands warm while keyboarding made all the difference.

Before this I was at 20% use for 3 years, tried multiple things, went to multiple doctors, etc.

I also: wear a pil-o-splint while sleeping so that area of my wrist can relax at night, make sure my hands are warm and that I've stretched before starting for the day, and changed my typing posture so that my hands are mostly flat and wrists don't touch the desk/keyboard while typing.

Finally, I stopped using emacs and the like because of the control key induced hand/finger stretching. Vim is more RSI friendly in my experience because there is less stretching required to use it.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#233

Post by Rallerbabs »

cncneieidlslap wrote: post #205
Rallerbabs wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this from first hand experience. I started working out with machines. It helped. I started working out with barbells. It helped more. I started working out with free weights. It helped even more. I started boxing. It fixed my RSI right up. The pattern: the most intensive and freeest exercises have the greatest effect.

Boxing is not a particularly wise choice for an engineer or any other particularly cerebral occupation.

That's why my sparring partner is always a punching bag.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#234

Post by insertnickname »

insertnickname wrote: post #136
westoncb wrote: post #115

I had to quit programming for six years because of an RSI. In attempt to get around it, I even spent a year and half (painfully) writing a new kind of 'higher level' text editor better for use with motion sensors [1]. Now it's been ten years, and I still don't exactly know what the cause was/is, though I've got it to a point now where it's at least tolerable. I think the most confusing factor here is the (potential)…

Another Sarno cure checking in. I had debilitating "RSI" for two years. Read The Mindbody Connection by Sarno and within just a few days I was feeling much better. Within a couple of weeks I was virtually back to normal. It's been almost two years now since my recovery and I am doing great. I would highly recommend Dr. Sarno's books to anyone with "RSI".

That should be The Mindbody Prescription, not The Mindbody Connection.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#236

Post by fillskills »

Ok, this home remedy has worked for me and my family - Dip your hands in Hot water + Mustard oil + salt. A few times and the paid is gone for 1-3 months based on how frequently you keep up with bad posture (working with laptop in bed etc).

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#237

Post by wingworks »

msluyter wrote: post #227

I've found that there are a number of different prescriptions for RSI pain, and that you have to experiment until you find what works for you. But that's complicated by the fact that it's hard to run experiments on yourself because there are so many confounding variables. In any event, to add to the anecdata, someone below recommends not resting your arms/wrists on anything and letting your hands float above the keyb…

Agreed, this is what works best for me too, the high desk and high chair.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#238

Post by wingworks »

fapjacks wrote: post #45

Weightlifting and exercise are the only surefire ways I've found of combating the kinds of pain I experience as a programmer. I was able to utilize my doc's recommended steroid injections (and Kratom from Indonesia) in order to get myself to a point where I was working out every day. Years later, I haven't had to deal with any of those issues any longer. I am also a much better programmer for being a generally much h…

Agreed, I have friend who works over 8 hour days often, and is heavily into gyms too, and he never gets any RSI issues.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#239

Post by WWLink »

Retric wrote: post #31
cableshaft wrote: post #22

My pain started coming back this year. One thing that always helps my mouse hand, is to rest my arm on a raised surface (currently a portfolio), but I've used a textbook before. This caused my hand to drop down to touch the mouse, instead of being pushed up, and changed the body part that gets anchored and pivots when moving the mouse from my wrist to my elbow. That really helped a lot. I still had issues with my lef…

One useful approach is to use dramatically different mice on different PC's. I find focusing on the one true way, sets you up for RSI in your new setup.

This works for me. Although my favorite mousees are the low profile ones.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#240

Post by dkersten »

I'll add my own anecdote:

I had an RSI "scare" about ten years ago while I was a student and similar things worked for me. I started to wear fingerless gloves or other things to keep my joints warm while typing and I took steps to reduce non-physical stress. I also took more breaks and made an effort to keep my hands aligned better. I did the latter two first and by themselves didn't notice any change but all together, my pain went away.

Now I try to not type with cold hands when possible, try to keep my joints neutrally positioned and not type for too long at a time. I also used a mechanical keyboard for a long time (which requires very little pressure to activate the keys) and learned the Colemak keyboard layout. I haven't had any relapses although on busy days I can sometimes feel pressure building in my hands (I then take a break and do some stretches).

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