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Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

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Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#21

Post by AlanEdge »

Surprisingly, lot of RSI problems originate from poor back posture, which distends the discs through which nerves run down to your wrists.

Wrist exercises may provide short-term relief without actually solving the root of the problem.

>>Try tweaking how you sit and sleep (90% of your waking hours).

1) Get a used Aeron chair off of Craigslist with lumbar and wrist support (a $300 chair will lave thousands of dollars in Chiropractor bills).

2) Sleep lying straight with your head resting in the curve of a single foam pillow (http://tinyurl.com/87exg3).

3) Learn and properly practice the McKenzie Tecnique (http://tinyurl.com/a8hr2g), a 30 second means of straightening your entire spine using just your pointer finger on your chin.

#1-3 are life-changers.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#22

Post by silentbicycle »

curej wrote: post #16
silentbicycle wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will probably have to change your work environment (in either sense).

Yes. I'm constantly making adjustments but still have not hit on a comfortable setup. I think I need someone to monitor me while I'm working some day - or maybe videotape myself typing for a few hours.

No, I meant, "If you cannot take breaks periodically (at least once every few hours), you will have to change your work environment (to be able to take breaks) or change your work environment (by changing jobs)."

Not being able to take a break for hours at a time means that if your RSI continues getting worse, you will not be able to work there anymore. The RSI stuff I have read has suggested breaks every 20-45 minutes in order to not make things rapidly worse and end one's career.

I'm most definitely not a doctor, of course, but your body is already overly stressed and breaking down. It needs more time to recover, at the very least.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#23

Post by curej »

AlanEdge wrote: post #21

Surprisingly, lot of RSI problems originate from poor back posture, which distends the discs through which nerves run down to your wrists. Wrist exercises may provide short-term relief without actually solving the root of the problem. >>Try tweaking how you sit and sleep (90% of your waking hours). 1) Get a used Aeron chair off of Craigslist with lumbar and wrist support (a $300 chair will lave thousands of dollars i…

At my initial evaluation for my RSI problem, the physical therapist said she thought my typing/mousing was relatively inconsequential in light of my head-forward position, forward-sloping shoulders and asymmetrical back muscle development. She believed this had developed from poor posture and slouching while seated at the computer. I tried to pay attention to it but couldn't seem to translate my posture-in-my-head to my posture-in-reality. I considered using some kind of brace to try to hold my posture in check until I get used to a more upright posture but couldn't find anything that would be inconspicuous at work. The McKenzie book sounds very promising for my problem because it seems to address some of these undesirable physical developments that I have grown into from my computer lifestyle. I have already tried #2 although a lifetime habit of sleeping on my side is hard to kick - even on a low pillow I manage to turn onto my side. As for #3, I doubt I could manage to get permission to have one at work which is a pity because I have no problem paying for one and would like to try it out because so many people have recommended it. Thank you for pointing me to this book which I assume has helped you. I look forward to reading it.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#24

Post by AlanEdge »

curej wrote: post #23
AlanEdge wrote: post #21

Surprisingly, lot of RSI problems originate from poor back posture, which distends the discs through which nerves run down to your wrists. Wrist exercises may provide short-term relief without actually solving the root of the problem. >>Try tweaking how you sit and sleep (90% of your waking hours). 1) Get a used Aeron chair off of Craigslist with lumbar and wrist support (a $300 chair will lave thousands of dollars i…

At my initial evaluation for my RSI problem, the physical therapist said she thought my typing/mousing was relatively inconsequential in light of my head-forward position, forward-sloping shoulders and asymmetrical back muscle development. She believed this had developed from poor posture and slouching while seated at the computer. I tried to pay attention to it but couldn't seem to translate my posture-in-my-head to…

Interesting. A few thoughts come to mind:

1) You should be covered by worker's comp (by law), in which case a brief to-the-point conversation with a key decision maker in your company over the trade-off between them covering thousands of dollars of WC coverage vs. allowing you to bring your own chair to work is in order.

2) Habits are formed and habits are broken. If you believe you can't change your sleeping posture, than you're absolutely right. The opposite is also true.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#25

Post by johngunderman »

There are three things that really helped me when I began developing RSI

1. Learn and use keyboard shortcuts. The mouse was a major issue for me, so I started to use the keyboard as much as possible. I installed gnome-do so I would be able to access all my apps through the keyboard.

2. When you aren't typing, DO NOT rest your hands on the keyboard. This one killed me until I finally broke the habit. Resting your hands on the keyboard causes them undue stress.

3. Make sure you are elevated above your keyboard at the correct angle. Find what works for you, but having your arms extend DOWN to the keyboard with a shallow grade is very important.

Just my $0.02

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#26

Post by curej »

silentbicycle wrote: post #22
curej wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I'm constantly making adjustments but still have not hit on a comfortable setup. I think I need someone to monitor me while I'm working some day - or maybe videotape myself typing for a few hours.

No, I meant, "If you cannot take breaks periodically (at least once every few hours), you will have to change your work environment (to be able to take breaks) or change your work environment (by changing jobs)." Not being able to take a break for hours at a time means that if your RSI continues getting worse, you will not be able to work there anymore . The RSI stuff I have read has suggested breaks every 20-45 minu…

Ah. Sorry. I misread you. Yes, you are probably right.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#27

Post by curej »

AlanEdge wrote: post #24
curej wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my initial evaluation for my RSI problem, the physical therapist said she thought my typing/mousing was relatively inconsequential in light of my head-forward position, forward-sloping shoulders and asymmetrical back muscle development. She believed this had developed from poor posture and slouching while seated at the computer. I tried to pay attention to it but couldn't seem to translate my posture-in-my-head to…

Interesting. A few thoughts come to mind: 1) You should be covered by worker's comp (by law), in which case a brief to-the-point conversation with a key decision maker in your company over the trade-off between them covering thousands of dollars of WC coverage vs. allowing you to bring your own chair to work is in order. 2) Habits are formed and habits are broken. If you believe you can't change your sleeping posture…

You are correct on both counts. I will consider how to approach these issues. Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#28

Post by trapper »

curej wrote: post #14
trapper wrote: post #11

Off the top of my head things you could try: 1. Go to a paul chek, nasm or shirley sharman practitioner. They will check out your posture. Ignore anything they say about the one true way [edit - I mean the research is inconclusive - either may work, but all will claim their way is correct]. 2. If you already have bad posture you need to correct it. Some good [alternative] ways: - overhead lifting and overhead shrugs…

I do have very bad posture. Good suggestions - especially the workout suggestions - my trainer recommended those to me a year ago and I stopped doing them but it was probably a mistake. Those are changes I can easily make to my workout. The rest I didn't know about at all. Thanks.

Remember the key you are going for in your postural work is time. You spend 50+ hours on the keyboard a week. You need to be able to have a [postural] buffer large enough so there are no overflows into poor posture, which means a large work capacity.

Do try ART - (activerelease.com has practitioners probably) - it can work wonders. The basic algorithm is to identify the parts of the muscle that are tenser than the rest, bring the muscle into full flexion, then compress the tense area against the bone while simultaneously moving the muscle into full extension. This causes a mechanical stress that helps lengthen the tissue. You can try it on yourself pretty easily which can be useful.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#29

Post by chris_l »

curej wrote: post #17
chris_l wrote: post #13

Alexander Technique worked for me. But it is not miracle cure, you have to work on yourself to make it work. A one line takeaway is that you're probably doing something too hard as a matter of habit when typing.

I like it in theory but I find it hard to put into practice. I have very poor awareness of my body so when others recommend changes I usually feel like I'm already doing it the way they suggest. It's the same reason I sucked when I tried to learn swing dancing.

That's why it's necessary to have an AT teacher for a while, to help you develop awareness of your posture, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Remedies for RSI?

#30

Post by curej »

trapper wrote: post #11

Off the top of my head things you could try: 1. Go to a paul chek, nasm or shirley sharman practitioner. They will check out your posture. Ignore anything they say about the one true way [edit - I mean the research is inconclusive - either may work, but all will claim their way is correct]. 2. If you already have bad posture you need to correct it. Some good [alternative] ways: - overhead lifting and overhead shrugs…

Found "(De)-Constructing Computer Guy" from a link in a Mike Robertson article. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_trai...

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