181–190 of 398 posts
This story resonates. A few years back I was dealing with mild pain while coding. I stupidly ignored it for months as it got significantly worse, to the point where it became impossible to type for extended periods. I tried lots of things. My doctor did a nerve conduction study, which apparently ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome, but he wasn't much help beyond that. He gave me some straps that I slept in and wore arou…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The biggest change that helped when I developed temporary RSI when playing video games in my mid-teens was learning and switching to Colemak. Natural keyboards (Microsoft-style) helped a bit, but the curved Kinesis Advantage really taught me that you should try to never raise your keyboard angle, and instead keep the keyboard flat at a height where your fingers rest on the home row, wrists straight and naturally held…
I used to get RSI on my mouse hand. Switching to a thumb trackball https://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/wireless-trackball-m5... resolved it immediately. My wrist is in a natural position, and the only thing that moves is the thumb. It was surprisingly easy to get used to. I initially didn't think I'd use it for gaming, but that turned out to be not a problem - once you're used to it it's just as effective.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The biggest change that helped when I developed temporary RSI when playing video games in my mid-teens was learning and switching to Colemak. Natural keyboards (Microsoft-style) helped a bit, but the curved Kinesis Advantage really taught me that you should try to never raise your keyboard angle, and instead keep the keyboard flat at a height where your fingers rest on the home row, wrists straight and naturally held…
I used to get RSI on my mouse hand. Switching to a thumb trackball https://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/wireless-trackball-m5... resolved it immediately. My wrist is in a natural position, and the only thing that moves is the thumb. It was surprisingly easy to get used to. I initially didn't think I'd use it for gaming, but that turned out to be not a problem - once you're used to it it's just as effective.
My sister is a denturists and she has insurance for her hands. Curious if this is something people in our profession have considered to protect from incidents like this.
This won't help anyone who has lost the use of their hands, but I have some advice for touch typists who use a standard keyboard like a laptop or typical desktop keyboard: don't bend your wrists. Of course most people know about the ergonomic advice to have your keyboard at the right height so your wrists don't have to bend up or down. But I often see people typing with a horizontal bend in their wrists so that their…
I've found that most office desk & chair combinations I've had don't have enough flexibility for me to get in a completely ideal position for my wrists. In particular even with the chair maxed out, it's still an inch or two shorter of what I would need for my forearms and wrists to be parallel to the ground and at the keyboard height, so my wrists are always bent a little bit up. I've had occasional wrist and hand pa…
I've suggested getting a treaddesk (treadmill desk) at work more than once, with co-workers, direct managers and company execs, but presumably as no one else has tried one, everyone looks at me funny when I ask. So I tend to split my work programming time between workplace and home as a compromise...
Then there's the Vivo Barefoot shoes I've been recently trying for increased awareness when walking, and better walking ergonomics... at this point it seems like a safe assumption that most things humans habitually do aren't ergonomically optimal. ;-)
This won't help anyone who has lost the use of their hands, but I have some advice for touch typists who use a standard keyboard like a laptop or typical desktop keyboard: don't bend your wrists. Of course most people know about the ergonomic advice to have your keyboard at the right height so your wrists don't have to bend up or down. But I often see people typing with a horizontal bend in their wrists so that their…
Ergonomic keyboards with a split down the middle may help with this greatly.
The difficult part is remembering to take regular breaks. I use a piece of software call Workrave and have been very satisfied with it.
This won't help anyone who has lost the use of their hands, but I have some advice for touch typists who use a standard keyboard like a laptop or typical desktop keyboard: don't bend your wrists. Of course most people know about the ergonomic advice to have your keyboard at the right height so your wrists don't have to bend up or down. But I often see people typing with a horizontal bend in their wrists so that their…
Another RSI tip concerning mouse usage: try to learn using the mouse with your secondary hand. Initially it's very hard, but after few weeks you can do all but the most precise things with the secondary hand. Changing hands can significantly reduce the pain. I have two mice (that may look weird but I find it useful): an ergonomic one for the right hand, and a symmetric trackball for the left hand.