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Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

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Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#61

Post by xarope »

nicholasjarnold wrote: post #46
maeln wrote: post #6

This does look very cool. But my advise for anyone suffering from pain to their arms, hands, backs, and any other body parts that usually hurt for people working on computer all day: Do modest, but regular mobility and strength exercises. While having an ergonomic (and cool looking at that) setup is important, it wont save you from muscle atrophy. A physical therapist might help you find the right kind of exercises f…

Full agree. My wife is a physical therapist (DPT, Northwestern) and the owner of a PT practice. I say this with some (very limited) authority, repeating things she has said to me: 1) Absolutely seek the advice of a good PT. It's not like going to a chiropractor where you'll get signed up for the "forever plan". You go, pay for a few visits or even just 1 and they will evaluate and give you things to do on your own. Y…

For those of you who don't have 2 minutes for some balance and proprioception work, I practise putting on pants and other stuff in the morning with one hand, usally my non-dominant, whilst brushing my teeth. It is hard at first, don't kill yourself with your toothbrush in case you fall over, but it gets easier after a few weeks.

Come to think of it, I should start practising brushing my teeth with my non-dominant hand, but it might take 30 mins instead of 2, and waste a lot of toothpaste.

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#62

Post by Cumpiler69 »

jbverschoor wrote: post #52
Cumpiler69 wrote: post #3

Same reason for me I only buy laptops who's displays can open nearly 180 degrees (so no MacBooks): it allows for a wider choice of more ergonomic postures looking straight ahead instead of down on the desk.

Any trackpad other than macbook gives me instant pain lol

I use a mouse though. Track pads give me pain

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#63

Post by nothrabannosir »

243423443 wrote: post #45
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, can confirm. Had forearm pain for years (started in the wrists when I started using a laptop at school), did the whole round of ergonomic keyboards, joystick-mouse, etc. Eventually went to a personal trainer who had me try pushups, couldn't do them because of wrist pain. He then made me do deadlifts, which were tricky at first because my grip strength wasn't great, but after just a few sessions it improved marke…

I had a similar experience. Until I started exercising, I had very bad pain in my shoulders and neck from too much desk work. Every couple of weeks I would develop a "stiff neck". I also had pain in my wrists occasionally. Lifting weights for one hour twice a week has alleviated my problems completely. I feel healthier than ever!

Word for word the same for me. Ergonomic interfaces helped a bit but their effectiveness was eclipsed by strength training. Lifting weights outperforms any ergonomic setup, no contest.

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#64

Post by therealdrag0 »

toasterlovin wrote: post #31
maeln wrote: post #6

This does look very cool. But my advise for anyone suffering from pain to their arms, hands, backs, and any other body parts that usually hurt for people working on computer all day: Do modest, but regular mobility and strength exercises. While having an ergonomic (and cool looking at that) setup is important, it wont save you from muscle atrophy. A physical therapist might help you find the right kind of exercises f…

Just jumping on this to say: I had chronic lower back and wrist pain for a long time. Had the whole ergonomic setup. Adjustable desk, Kinesis keyboard, vertical mice, etc. What fixed me was starting to squat. Took like 3 weeks of squatting and I haven't had back or wrist pain since (it's been 10+ years). Now I just use the standard (and very nonergonomic) Apple keyboard and mouse.

Any theory to why squatting would help wrists, isn’t the weight born by shoulders?

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#65

Post by therealdrag0 »

maeln wrote: post #6

This does look very cool. But my advise for anyone suffering from pain to their arms, hands, backs, and any other body parts that usually hurt for people working on computer all day: Do modest, but regular mobility and strength exercises. While having an ergonomic (and cool looking at that) setup is important, it wont save you from muscle atrophy. A physical therapist might help you find the right kind of exercises f…

I’ve had wrist pain from mouse use for about 15 years now. The first big win was a vertical mouse, but I still had pain when working excess hours or playing video games. I tried various workouts and hand exercises and they usually left me in pain

What I discovered this year is hitting golf balls is the right amount of gentle strengthening and accidental PT. I started going to the driving range regularly like 4 months ago and my wrist pain is almost entirely gone.

So mostly this is to say everyone should keep trying and not give up. Every body and injury is different. You just have to experiment and stay active.

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#66

Post by 8n4vidtmkvmk »

jmercouris wrote: post #56

I don't understand why one wouldn't just limit their time using the computer. If using a computer is giving you pain, stop using it. You can do most of your programming in your mind anyways.

I don't know what kind of genius mind you have, but I at least have to write down my ideas. Paper will suffice though.

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#68

Post by lawn »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #55

For those wondering about the tiny amount of keys, you definitely can get used to it. I have a similar sized keyboard, and the trade off is basically - I move my hands around the keyboard much less, and in return I have to to press more keys. IE, to make the ( symbol I have to press 3 keys, and on a regular keyboard it's 2 keys (shift + 9), but you have to move your hand up and right to a place in the keyboard I don'…

I even think the Corne have too many keys and for me it's enough with a 3x5 grid plus one or two thumb keys.

The big trade-off is layout complexity. My layout[0] is extremely complicated...

[0]: https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2024/11/26/the_current_cybe...

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#69

Post by swiftcoder »

worldsayshi wrote: post #36
elric wrote: post #7

I imagine we'll be seeing more personalized setups as time progresses. Custom keyboards have been pretty feasible and affordable for a good while now, with things like QMK and even custom PCB designers. It can still be a bit fiddly, so it's mostly keyboard nutters such as myself who go down that rabbit hole. Custom trackpads/mice/trackballs haven't gained as much traction, they're not quite as simple as keyboards, an…

How far are we with brain control interfaces though? I've seen some people playing games with off-the-shelf-ish non invasive eeg devices. Although there seemed to be some delay and crudeness to it. If the signal to noise level is acceptable it has to be doable to improve it until you can type with it right?

> If the signal to noise level is acceptable it has to be doable to improve it until you can type with it right?

Fairly sure the signal to noise level isn't acceptable, unless you are willing to have electrodes permanently implanted in your skull. External BCI is a very basic at the present time.

Re: Evolving my ergonomic setup (or, my laptop with extra steps)

#70

Post by swiftcoder »

maeln wrote: post #27
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll bite. Why does it take longer for you?

Not the commenter, but AFAIK, people with some condition might have to put significantly more effort, at least at the beginning, to get equivalent result. The typical case would be for overweight/obese people. While mobility and strength always help, it won't counter balance all the strain that the extra weight put on your body. It will be more efficient to focus on getting lean first, and then focusing on strength/m…

I don't think this is accurate.

Adjusting for equivalent level of activity, people carrying around a lot of extra weight tend to have commensurately more muscle from carrying that extra weight around (try wearing a 40kg weight vest day and night for a few weeks - you too will have to put on muscle just to get through the day).

It's generally considered to be a lot easier for an overweight person to get lean as a side-effect of getting strong, rather than the other way round.

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