Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 19 posts

Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#1

Post by WoodenChair »

I'm having a bit of carpal tunnel. I had it several years ago and I found these exercises which seemed to help a lot: http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/ctexercise.htm

I'm going to do them again, but I'm wondering if HN has any mouse/keyboard/pads/other suggestions. I already have an elevated monitor so I'm good on that front. I'm currently using the standard Apple external keyboard of a couple years ago and a pretty generic Dell mouse.

Edit: Should add that the pain is only in my right wrist/hand (mouse hand) and I think a large degree of it maybe related to the mouse - I spend a lot of time scrolling with my middle finger for example. I'm considering the Apple Magic Trackpad

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#2

Post by dylanz »

I had the same issue, and was told by an old school hacker friend to do the following:

- Stop typing for a few days altogether

- Get a Kinesis Advantage keyboard

- Switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout

After a few months, I got rid of the Kinesis keyboard, and everything was back to normal. I never had any issues moving forward, and I attribute a lot of this to the use of Dvorak.

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#4

Post by WoodenChair »

dylanz wrote: post #2

I had the same issue, and was told by an old school hacker friend to do the following: - Stop typing for a few days altogether - Get a Kinesis Advantage keyboard - Switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout After a few months, I got rid of the Kinesis keyboard, and everything was back to normal. I never had any issues moving forward, and I attribute a lot of this to the use of Dvorak.

Thanks for the rec. I am considering stopping typing for a few days. How many days did you stop for? Do you feel the Kinesis made a big difference? I feel like a big part of my problem may be the mouse actually - I spend a lot of time scrolling with the middle button and I'm actually only having pain in my right wrist/hand. I'm thinking of getting the Apple magic touchpad.

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#5

Post by gknoy »

WoodenChair wrote: post #4
dylanz wrote: post #2

I had the same issue, and was told by an old school hacker friend to do the following: - Stop typing for a few days altogether - Get a Kinesis Advantage keyboard - Switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout After a few months, I got rid of the Kinesis keyboard, and everything was back to normal. I never had any issues moving forward, and I attribute a lot of this to the use of Dvorak.

Thanks for the rec. I am considering stopping typing for a few days. How many days did you stop for? Do you feel the Kinesis made a big difference? I feel like a big part of my problem may be the mouse actually - I spend a lot of time scrolling with the middle button and I'm actually only having pain in my right wrist/hand. I'm thinking of getting the Apple magic touchpad.

Have you also tried: - swap to off-hand mouse. - use pageup/pagedown/spacebar for scrolling at times - More/larger monitors, so that you don't have to scroll things or swap between things / re-cat things as often - Plan things with whiteboarding / talking rather than banging out code

These won't eliminate RSI, but they might help alleviate the causes of it.

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#6

Post by mtmail »

I use a http://www.goldtouch.com/ergonomic-keyboards/ which forces me to never have my wrists on the table (or on a gel pad). I requires a good posture (elbows almost 90 degrees). With mice I make sure they're big so I can rest my whole hand on them. Apple mice are too low and small in my opinion. Goldtouch also has mice in kind of a 30 degree angle but I never got used to them. I have no recommendation on trackpads. I'm glad you're at least not crouching in front of a small laptop in a cafe.

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#7

Post by ColinCera »

A few things I can recommend:

(1) Switch to the Colemak keyboard layout -- it significantly reduces the work your fingers have to do.

(2) Vary your mousing devices/behaviors. I love Kensington trackballs, and they're much easier on my wrist than a mouse, but after awhile I get pain in my thumb (because with a trackball you typically use your thumb to left-click rather than your index finger), so I switch back to a mouse for a few weeks. Vertical mice are also nice and I occasionally use one for a change. You can also move your mouse/trackball to the other side of the keyboard and use your non-dominant hand -- it takes a few days to rewire your brain, but it's another good way to change up your mousing behavior.

(3) Consider buying a USB numeric keypad, placing it on the non-dominant side of your keyboard, and using macro software to program the keys for common actions (e.g., scrolling).

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#8

Post by WoodenChair »

gknoy wrote: post #5
WoodenChair wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the rec. I am considering stopping typing for a few days. How many days did you stop for? Do you feel the Kinesis made a big difference? I feel like a big part of my problem may be the mouse actually - I spend a lot of time scrolling with the middle button and I'm actually only having pain in my right wrist/hand. I'm thinking of getting the Apple magic touchpad.

Have you also tried: - swap to off-hand mouse. - use pageup/pagedown/spacebar for scrolling at times - More/larger monitors, so that you don't have to scroll things or swap between things / re-cat things as often - Plan things with whiteboarding / talking rather than banging out code These won't eliminate RSI, but they might help alleviate the causes of it.

Thanks yeah, pretty much do all of those.

Re: Ask HN: Carpal Tunnel Recommendations?

#9

Post by meraku »

I've had similar problems with pain and discomfort when using a mouse. Was using an Evoluent Vertical Mouse for about a year, which helped, until the left clicker started playing up. Replaced this with an Anker vertical mouse which costs a fraction of the price and is just as comfortable. Can't recommend it highly enough!
Post reply on HN