They become "journalists"
What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
271–280 of 398 posts
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ergonomic keyboard and mouse. A split keyboard is a huge win. When you sit with your hands in front of you, they don't naturally want to go in towards the center. They want to be offset a bit. Below the desk keyboard tray -- Look up an ergonomics diagram. You aren't supposed to have your hands going up to get to your desk. It's supposed to be a 90 degree angle. Going mechanical. I run Kailh Silvers, which are incredi…
I should mention my issues have mainly been with wrist and neck pain. This has completely gotten rid of the wrist pain. The split keyboard opened up my posture and helped a bit with the neck pain. Since I got a new job that didn't have standing desks, the neck pain has started to come back a little bit. It's mostly because your neck gets weak when you sit for so many hours a day. Getting a standing desk converter can…
Tip. A peptide known as BPC-157 is healing of tendons.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely interested. I’ll check it out. Same boat, software engineer, my index and middle finger main knuckles on both hands inflame from the slightest use even after years of therapy, doctors visits, etc. Also tendinitis in both elbows/arms. Note to those who are pushing off fixing your ergonomics, don’t. If you feel pain, numbing, tingling; do not ignore it. Listen to your body, don’t be like me.
I'm 23 and have been using computers very heavily for the last 10 or so years - probably an average of 6 hours a day. During a particularly intensive day of typing last week I started getting pain in my right hand. I had to resort to hunt-and-peck index finger typing to get the feature I was working on finished. I'm horrified, it feels like I'm way too early in my career for something like this to happen, but I guess…
You can count yourself as one of the lucky ones as I had many classmates in college who lost the ability to type before they graduated because of RSI.
While I’m no medical professional, I’ve thus far avoided serious RSI by 1. Not typing very much. I spend most of my time thinking and a minority of time typing. 2. Periodically change work area. I have the luxury of having the option of typing in an office, a laboratory or outside under a tree and frequently move around. Even if you don’t have this much flexibility, try adjusting your chair up and down, move your monitor around, etc.
EDIT: I make no guarantees these things have any correlation with my avoidance of serious RSI symptoms.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely interested. I’ll check it out. Same boat, software engineer, my index and middle finger main knuckles on both hands inflame from the slightest use even after years of therapy, doctors visits, etc. Also tendinitis in both elbows/arms. Note to those who are pushing off fixing your ergonomics, don’t. If you feel pain, numbing, tingling; do not ignore it. Listen to your body, don’t be like me.
Can you elaborate on somethings you wish you had done. I get a bit of pain after half a day of coding, mostly my right pinky after hitting enter multiple times. Also get pain after certain activities like rolling food into a ball for my toddlers. I’ve joint pains here and there and the doctors have not yet found the cause and think it’s early onset of arthritis and have been told to take pain killers. I’m 39 by the w…
Lots of good advice here. Ergo keyboards (I like the kinesis advantage, and they last decades) and breaks worked for me. Dvorak is mostly useful because you have to relearn it, and might learn it without whatever broken ideas your body has about QWERTY.
Chair adjustments are huge. Get a steelcase chair—I like the leap. Have it adjusted by a pro, whose biggest advantages are being able to see what you really do as you type and knowing all the dials in advance.
And get stronger. A stronger back, shoulders, arms, grip will help you stay working in safe positions longer. Anything from tennis to deadlifts will work here.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
For those in this thread, try mechanical keyboards without much actuation force, like Cherry MX clear. Also try programmable keyboards or custom keymap layouts, which will allow you to map Return to the caps lock key to balance RSI a bit. I have issues with my right index which I almost completely blame on Diablo 1/2, swapping left + right click helps a lot. I’ve also tried and wouldn’t recommend: Dvorak (no noticeab…
I’ll also mention that cherry mx blue are much to heavy for me, and brown hurt after a week of furious typing. My problem with clears is that if I rest my hands too much I press keys because they’re so light
Clears require more force than Browns?
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
There must be some miscommunication here. Gabapentin and Pregabalin are both used successfully for SFN and are first line treatment options. For severe cases, things like mexiletine can be used if you're willing to tolerate the side effects. Sodium-channel blockers like lidocaine + epinephrine can be used for localized treatment during sever pain. It's a fuzzy distinction because SFN is almost always a sign of an und…
Apologies, I meant "treatment" to mean "treat the condition", as in "make it better". Gabapentin, Pregabalin etc can help with the pain, but not the underlying cause. I haven't come across mexiletine before, but after a quick glance if looks like it's unlikely to be prescribed in the UK (I'm in the UK :). I must have tried dozens of medications over the past 4 years or so, but it seems I have some dodgy genetics, as…
Just curious, have you tried any kind of autoimmune diet? It seems a bit strange to me that RSI never seemed to be a thing before the past few decades.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely interested. I’ll check it out. Same boat, software engineer, my index and middle finger main knuckles on both hands inflame from the slightest use even after years of therapy, doctors visits, etc. Also tendinitis in both elbows/arms. Note to those who are pushing off fixing your ergonomics, don’t. If you feel pain, numbing, tingling; do not ignore it. Listen to your body, don’t be like me.
Can you elaborate on somethings you wish you had done. I get a bit of pain after half a day of coding, mostly my right pinky after hitting enter multiple times. Also get pain after certain activities like rolling food into a ball for my toddlers. I’ve joint pains here and there and the doctors have not yet found the cause and think it’s early onset of arthritis and have been told to take pain killers. I’m 39 by the w…
When I was trying to learn 10 finger my wrists started to have pain. I immediately stopped and to this day still do my made up three finger touch typing on each hand. I'm still paranoid, my right elbow and lower arm still feel sensitive. I switched to an ergo mouse that's vertical there. It's crazy to think I could go from XK/year to 0K/year over something so "simple".
Staying strong is a good idea - I will start more core / physical fitness.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely interested. I’ll check it out. Same boat, software engineer, my index and middle finger main knuckles on both hands inflame from the slightest use even after years of therapy, doctors visits, etc. Also tendinitis in both elbows/arms. Note to those who are pushing off fixing your ergonomics, don’t. If you feel pain, numbing, tingling; do not ignore it. Listen to your body, don’t be like me.
I'm 23 and have been using computers very heavily for the last 10 or so years - probably an average of 6 hours a day. During a particularly intensive day of typing last week I started getting pain in my right hand. I had to resort to hunt-and-peck index finger typing to get the feature I was working on finished. I'm horrified, it feels like I'm way too early in my career for something like this to happen, but I guess…
Don't discount resting. I limit my typing to 35 WPM and I try to be as even as I possibly can in my typing. I think while I type. Even then, I type for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. In my rest period I'll read what I typed and think a bit more. I find that I am actually more productive this way because I don't rush.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ll also mention that cherry mx blue are much to heavy for me, and brown hurt after a week of furious typing. My problem with clears is that if I rest my hands too much I press keys because they’re so light
Clears require more force than Browns? https://ergodox-ez.com/pages/keyswitches
Grantparent poster here. Hrm, you're right, I remember purchasing keys 'lighter' than browns, possibly silvers. They're very light, but I'd probably prefer 'too light' over 'too heavy'.
Re: What Does a Coder Do If They Can't Type?
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my case too much bouldering caused forearm pain that lasted for two years. Didn't stop me from typing, but it did have a significant impact on my daily life :/
Same position here - going on 2 years now. Did you ever get a diagnosis? The current theory of my doctor is that it’s a brachial plexus injury - just waiting on some MRI results to confirm.
No diagnosis, but I did receive some exercises from a physical-therapist which helped significantly.
On a bad day I could barely hold a cup of tea with the affected arm. Now I just have a tense muscle now and again.