these links(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofascial_pain_syndrome and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofascial_release) seem related to the above problem ..In fact, couple of my programmer friends (been coding for 17 yrs) had this posture related problem and massage therapy more or less cured them
How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
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Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#72Many years ago I suffered nearly life-changing RSI pain. It happened in the middle of an extreme project where I found myself coding and running CAD for 16 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week for months. The first good decision I made was to stop all work. Next, I sought medical opinion. I was horrified to learn medical professionals were all over the place. I got recommendations spanning from surgery to vitamins. I…
My RSI wasn't very bad, but each day it was getting slightly worse - it was reaching the point of being that bit too painful to sleep comfortably, the chronic dull pain was distracting, I was occasionally forced to take breaks when coding.
I started using a standing desk for back health and my RSI completely went away after about 2 weeks. I was doubtful at first and didn't let myself believe it would last (it makes that fall that much worse). But I'm happy to say it's been just under 6 months now and it's still completely gone.
If I were to guess I'd attribute it to the angle of my wrists when typing. Knowing you're not forced to change from a career you're passionate about is one of the best feelings I've had, and I hope at least someone on here can experience it by leveraging the advice in this thread :)
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#73I was also very, very skeptical about this. But I have to say, it worked for me. I read this book in desperation after learning Dvorak, getting a fancy Kinesis keyboard, and getting expensive physical therapy (massaging of my forearms, hand strengthening exercises) to no effect. I repeat, no effect. I don't know what else to say. It still sounds like bullshit to me, but it worked when all of the other methods did not…
When talking about physical therapy, did you ever consider referred pain patterns [1], like neck/shoulder muscle tension causing pain in the wrist/fingers?
I found the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook [2] quite enlightening in that regard. Maybe you should think about doing some weightlifting or jogging instead of trying to strengthen your hands :)
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#74Many years ago I suffered nearly life-changing RSI pain. It happened in the middle of an extreme project where I found myself coding and running CAD for 16 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week for months. The first good decision I made was to stop all work. Next, I sought medical opinion. I was horrified to learn medical professionals were all over the place. I got recommendations spanning from surgery to vitamins. I…
WARNING: Watch out for laptops. Since they are so portable, people don't tend to do the careful ergonomic adjustments they often do with immovable desktops. You can end up regularly using a laptop for long periods in dangerous postures that feel quite comfortable (until the pain gradually emerges).
I gave myself a nasty case of tennis elbow, for example, with a few hours a day of 2-finger "natural direction" (pushing away from you) scrolling on a MacBook when I wasn't at a desk.
Just be careful with a laptop and doubly careful if the laptop is actually in your lap.
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#75This does not work at all. The causes behind RSI are physical and real.
Reminds me South Park episode 'Imagination land'
Eric Cartman: Look, maybe they're all part of the same thing - Santa and Jesus and hell and leprechauns. Maybe they're all real in the same way, right? Tom: Santa Claus and leprechauns are imaginary, but Jesus and hell are real. Technician #1: Well then what about Buddha? Tom: Well, of course, he's imaginary. Technician #1: Aw, see? Now, you're being intolerant, Tom.
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#76Many years ago I suffered nearly life-changing RSI pain. It happened in the middle of an extreme project where I found myself coding and running CAD for 16 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week for months. The first good decision I made was to stop all work. Next, I sought medical opinion. I was horrified to learn medical professionals were all over the place. I got recommendations spanning from surgery to vitamins. I…
I agree with the table design. I had the lucky hunch to buy a desk with keyboard on an embedded shelf.
Another important thing is to buy a mechanical keyboard (I have a DAS Keyboard). If you are using it all day, the $150 bucks are really not all that much and the typing experience is worlds apart to the cheap rubber crap found all over the place.
I also moved to Dvorak layout and vim, but that takes time and determination to do. The hardware part is where you should start.
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
He also promotes this book: http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superh... If you look at the reviews you'll get a better understanding.
Indeed, it doesn't look good. I don't know how you can be skeptical but then also try chiropractic and acupuncture (without trying a lot of other stuff) The wikipedia talk page is interesting. Here's my personal story about how I conquered my RSI: stopped using Emacs. It helped that I moved from a developer to a sysadmin role. When I do occasionally use Emacs, it's with viper mode.
After reading multiple comments criticising Emacs for wearing down the hands, there's some more stuff (apart from viper-mode) that makes Emacs use less damaging:
* ergo-emacs key bindings (http://ergoemacs.org/features.html)
* partial-completion-mode
* auto-completion (e.g. binding dabbrev-expand to an easy reachable key/combo)
* put window/buffer navigation onto easier reachable keys (for me F7, F11 work well)
* Make buffer switching smarter by using ido-switch-buffer and ido-find-file instead of the normal switch-buffer and find-file functions (see documentation for ido-mode)
* desktop-save-mode so you don't have to repeatedly re-open files after restarting emacs
* Using auto-generated boilerplate when creating new files (see Emacs manual for define-auto-insert and friends)
* using a Kinesis Advantage keyboard helps with emacs key combos as Ctrl/Alt can be reached via the thumbs without moving the hands.
...
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#78I was also very, very skeptical about this. But I have to say, it worked for me. I read this book in desperation after learning Dvorak, getting a fancy Kinesis keyboard, and getting expensive physical therapy (massaging of my forearms, hand strengthening exercises) to no effect. I repeat, no effect. I don't know what else to say. It still sounds like bullshit to me, but it worked when all of the other methods did not…
I was in a similiar situation a few years back, had to stop working due to the pain. Went to a loads of doctors, tried medication, fancy keyboards, changing chairs, improving postures, raising monitors, switching mouse arm etc. It all helped a little, but nothing solved it. 12-18 months of gym/pilates helped in the end, after gaining strength in my hands, wrists and arms I was able to go back to full time working again, without feeling pain.
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#79I like this article about Dr. Sarno's theories: http://www.bettermovement.org/2011/a-skeptical-look-at-the-t.... In summary: his treatment probably works, but his theories explaining chronic pain are most likely incorrect.
Re: How I Cured my RSI Pain (2010)
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm trying to picture what harm can be caused by telling one's pain to go, other than delaying traditional treatment.
A delay in pursuing an effective treatment can be extremely significant. For example, if one simply tries to will away a broken bone, it can set incorrectly and cause permanent damage.
I did write "other than delaying traditional treatment".