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Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

symboliclogic.io

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Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#241

Post by glouwbug »

chillacy wrote: post #151
glouwbug wrote: post #130

It's not about the keyboard. It's about the lack of a strength building regime. Humans are not built to sit behind a desk. A strength training regime like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is what the average office worker needs to survive their career RSI free into old age

If you’ve done those programs then you know how important form is to doing physical activities safely. The way I see it, the standard keyboard is akin to encouraging lifting with bad form, 30-80 hours a week.

Heavy barbell movements demand proper nutrition, form checks, and a spotter in some circumstances. It's a low risk activity with a bit of careful planning in terms of linear progression and diet. Film yourself in the gym if you need to

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#243

Post by Separo »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #164
roganartu wrote: post #11

> I tried a few of those Kinesis split keyboards. Too squishy for me. Not far enough apart. The CherryMX Kinesis split keyboard was is too clickey for calls and screenshares. Muscle memory made it difficult to switch. This is a really cool hack, and I’m happy that the author found a solution for their pain that works for them, but this bit confused me. Kinesis are keyboards with separated key clusters, but not split…

This guy seems to have given up too soon. There are also normal spilt keyboards like the UHK. And even cheaper Chinese options like the Mistel Barocco. These Chinese keyboards are what most people should get if they need a split keyboard. Normal keyboard layout, just split. Connected by a coiled USBC to USBC cable that you could replace with a longer cable. I use the Mistel which fine for me. The layout never bothere…

Also on the UHK v1 and have since not been able to use anything else. Especially because of fast layer switching, home row arrows and mouse layer. Although checking out the Dygma Raise now :)

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#244

Post by Taniwha »

darthvoldemort wrote: post #34

There are probably multiple different causes for RSI in programmers, but for me, a regular keyboard is fine. Even my slouch is fine. I type with my elbows on the table and it's fine. It's the mouse that killed me. A handful of years after graduating from college, I thought my programming career was over because the pain in my neck and shoulders was so bad I couldn't type. I went to a bunch of doctors, neurologists, p…

I had a similar issue, wore a wrist brace for years - my solution was to switch to a laptop with a trackpad - the continual moving my hand to the right to a mouse or trackball was what was doing it - I haven't owned a desktop machine for over 20 years now

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#246

Post by afiori »

Taniwha wrote: post #244
darthvoldemort wrote: post #34

There are probably multiple different causes for RSI in programmers, but for me, a regular keyboard is fine. Even my slouch is fine. I type with my elbows on the table and it's fine. It's the mouse that killed me. A handful of years after graduating from college, I thought my programming career was over because the pain in my neck and shoulders was so bad I couldn't type. I went to a bunch of doctors, neurologists, p…

I had a similar issue, wore a wrist brace for years - my solution was to switch to a laptop with a trackpad - the continual moving my hand to the right to a mouse or trackball was what was doing it - I haven't owned a desktop machine for over 20 years now

I would like a ThinkPad shaped keyboard with mousepad and trackpoint included (the mousepad below the spacebar and mouse button both above and below it)

almost every mouse/keyboard combo has the mousepad on the side which I dislike

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#247

Post by cweill »

darthvoldemort wrote: post #34

There are probably multiple different causes for RSI in programmers, but for me, a regular keyboard is fine. Even my slouch is fine. I type with my elbows on the table and it's fine. It's the mouse that killed me. A handful of years after graduating from college, I thought my programming career was over because the pain in my neck and shoulders was so bad I couldn't type. I went to a bunch of doctors, neurologists, p…

I had the same issue and same realization. That's why I always use keyboards without the numpad; that extra 4 inches of space for the mouse relieved most of my computer posture pains.

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#248

Post by CptFribble »

I'd like to make an accessory recommendation: get one of those grip-strength things and use it all the time.

This did two things for me:

1. Extra strength in hands and forearms makes you more resistant to injury of all kinds there

2. More importantly I think, having extra muscles in your hands and forearms gives you more proprioception feedback to help know when you're putting your hands and wrists in an uncomfortable position.

I've read a lot of accounts over time of people who get to full RSI injury stage without realizing their hands were in an awkward position at their desk, but I've never had that problem because my forearms are meaty enough that any odd position pulls a bit on the muscles. I can literally feel when my hands are out of position, so every time I sit at a different desk setup, or change my chair position, I push my keyboard and mouse around until they're all kinds of angled and spaced away from each other and I feel no strain. I also regularly mix up hand/elbow position throughout the day because I can feel strain happening earlier in the muscles before it becomes a problem for my tendons.

IANAD, YMMV, etc - but I've been typing/gaming many hours most days for almost two decades and I've yet to experience RSI (knock on wood).

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#249

Post by ozbonus »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #164
roganartu wrote: post #11

> I tried a few of those Kinesis split keyboards. Too squishy for me. Not far enough apart. The CherryMX Kinesis split keyboard was is too clickey for calls and screenshares. Muscle memory made it difficult to switch. This is a really cool hack, and I’m happy that the author found a solution for their pain that works for them, but this bit confused me. Kinesis are keyboards with separated key clusters, but not split…

This guy seems to have given up too soon. There are also normal spilt keyboards like the UHK. And even cheaper Chinese options like the Mistel Barocco. These Chinese keyboards are what most people should get if they need a split keyboard. Normal keyboard layout, just split. Connected by a coiled USBC to USBC cable that you could replace with a longer cable. I use the Mistel which fine for me. The layout never bothere…

Mistel is a Taiwanese company and their keyboards (at least the ones I've seen and bought) are made in Taiwan.

Re: Using two keyboards at once for pain relief

#250

Post by catchmeifyoucan »

Odd, I guess this might only work if you have the proper typing form? I never learned to type "properly". I think over-time by brain memorized the key layout. I can type around 70-80WPM, but my typing my mostly index finger based.

I tried moving my laptop the side, and using one-hand, but my fingers wanted to reach across the entire keyboard.

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