Exact same age and symptoms as me - 3M ergonomic mouse fixed it right up. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=h...
Also using my left hand for touchpads and wearing a brace helped get through the worst of it.
Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
21–30 of 44 posts
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#22Things I've done: -switched the mouse to my left hand -installed WorkRave, actually did what it said -switched the caps-lock and ctrl key -switched to dvorak -use the ergo microsoft keyboard -avoid laptops -learned to sit up straight and not cross my legs -stopped using the mouse scroll wheel These days I'm trying to pay attention to my keystrokes. For example, using the right shift to make (){} results in some stres…
By the way, sitting up straight is actually worse for your back than leaning back comfortably. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=185187
Dang.
You're right though, this is much more comfortable :)
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#23Exercise.
You will probably ignore that, so let me say it differently.
Every day, at least 15 minutes, cycle, run, I don't care. Move.
Every week at least once, do something (I like Climbing) that gets your whole body, but especially your ARMS dead tired.
You don't need any kind of special keyboard layout, just something with good key response. It is far more important what you are doing with your body when you aren't sitting.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#24hi there,
i am 27, and just have had the worst tendonitis ever. adding to the already brought up advices, my doctor provided the following important insight: if your blood contains too high values for uric acid, or you are a candidate for urarthritis, then you also might take some concern for minimizing purines in your diet. so in the long run, you should be interested in keeping your uric acid values low.
ps: usual stuff here too: kensington expert mouse trackball, kinesis freestyle keyboard, xwrits, cycling, using stairs, checking posture, etc. -- switching to dvorak soon...
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#25For me, I was starting to get wrist pain with my mousing. I purchased 12 different mice, tried them all out, keeping note of how I felt in my hand. I eventually found out that really large mice is what work for me. The M$ intellimouse explorer specifically. The MX revolution, and all the other fancy mice weren't as good as the huge honking intellimouse explorer. The huge thumball mice were also good, but I didn't have the patience to learn them.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#26Yoga (in a workout variant) seems to help the most. A lot of exercises stretch the wrists.
Also, I had a cyst in my index finger and had to get surgery to remove it. The doctor almost didn't discover it, because he wasn't sure if the "common RSI" symptoms would even warrant taking an x-ray. Luckily he decided for it.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
How did Dvorak solve this for you? And, how was it permanent?
The difference between Dvorak and Qwerty, in a nutshell, is that Dvorak was designed scientifically while Qwerty was designed in a mostly arbitrary way to avoid jamming in the early designs of typewriters. Dvorak optimizes alternating hands (ever felt dumb typing "street" or "states" in Qwerty?), useful keys on the home row (aoeuidhtns VS asdfghjkl;), typing inwards (try tapping your fingers in rapid succession inwar…
However, I think Dvorak actually puts some fingers to even more use than QWERTY? I had pain in my index finger, and it seemed to me with DVORAK I would use it even more, as the most common keys would be put on the index finger. I haven't actually tried Dvorak, though, only looked into it.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#28Get religion about ergonomics. I've spend close to $1k on my workstation's ergonomics at home (decent desk, chair, keyboard, tried a bunch of different mice, adjustible monitor arms, etc...) I probably need to invest another $500-1000 just to get it tuned even further. A small price to pay, to not have to quit coding.
Is the pain in your R hand on your wrist (palmar side?) or is it in the back of your hand? It' makes a difference. A doctor can help you sort things out. All the tendons and nerves that control your hand flow through a narrow band in your wrist. If you rest your arm's weight on your wrist for extended periods of time (i.e. mousing on your R hand), you can put pressure on that bundle of nerves and tendons. Do it too long, and you can end up like a friend did and not be able to button a shirt for 4 months.
So, may I suggest a trackball, trackpad or vertical mouse. I actually have a track ball and a mouse connected to my computer, and I switch back and forth between them every so often. I'm probably going to purchase a vertical mouse soon, because my wrist is aching a little bit.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#29This won't help with the current symptoms you have, but when you've recovered:
The best thing you can do is to switch hands frequently through the day. The second best thing you can do is work out in the gym regularly. This will strengthen your fingers, wrists and arms.
Re: Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
#30"hitting keys"
Stop hitting them then. Only use a laptop, and touch them lightly. Don't use a mouse, use a trackpad.