How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career • Hacker News Board

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#241

Post by muxxa » Sun, Nov 20, 2016, 10:30 PM UTC

None of the comments so far seem to have picked up on the mention of caffeine. For me this was the revelation; paying attention to how a strong cup of coffee alters my posture and increases tension from my back through to my wrists. I also notice myself long-pressing shift/ctrl/alt keys in a state which I can only describe as 'over-determination'. (Funnily enough, a large pot of green tea delivers a steadier dose of caffeine and doesn't seem to produce these negative effects)

Not everyone is affected this way and I believe the root cause that caffeine exacerbates is the particular kind of stress you feel when you want to get something done already, a typical state of mind to be in running a startup. Stress and psychological factors feed directly into bad posture and this is why taking regular breaks only upped my stress levels as now I needed to work even faster.

Lastly on the level of equipment fixes, ensure your elbows are supported by arm rests.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#242

Post by Snowe » Mon, Nov 21, 2016, 12:22 AM UTC

overcast wrote: post #62

This article is totally missing the basics. Exercise. I promise it will make ALL the difference. Get yourself a pull-up bar, and if you're feeling extra fancy, a dip bar. Push-ups, pull-ups, dips, and sit-ups. Every day. You'll be a coding machine. At the VERY least, push-ups. Every hour or two, take a break, knock off ten push-ups, walk around a bit, get some water, get back to work. I'll do this right at the office…

The best exercise, for myself, for the "RSI" (tendinosis most likely) in my right forearm is archery with recurve and longbow in particular, not so much with compound.

Any pain I have in it is halved, and it feels much looser and stretched out. And as a bonus my medium distance vision also gets a workout.

I bought a power tower for chinups and pullups earlier this year but unfortunately it contributed to aggravating both my elbows and forearm.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#243

Post by therealdrag0 » Mon, Nov 21, 2016, 6:56 PM UTC

Too wrote: post #208

mrexroad wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Push-ups, pull-ups, dips, and sit-ups. Every day. You'll be a coding machine. At the VERY least, push-ups. ehhhh... years of daily pushups contributed to the slow shredding of cartilage in my wrist and two operations before i could type again. but > walk around a bit, get some water, [...] SLEEP. this. can't stress enough.

I'll second that. Push ups can make wrist problems worse if not done carefully. Do them on your fists or holding a bar instead of palms flat down to reduce unnatural bending of your wrist.

Yep. Pushups are my favorite exercise, yet I can't do them because they exacerbate my wrists pain.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#244

Post by cholantesh » Tue, Nov 22, 2016, 1:50 AM UTC

jboles wrote: post #148

cholantesh wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally do squats, OHP, and pullups in there, and have seen people bench and deadlift in a rack as well. Easy to fill an hour in a rack.

Not so much a poor use of a shared resource as a required use of a poorly equipped gym.

40 treadmills. 0 deadlift pads. 'Good' life.

Re: How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career

#245

Post by mchahn » Tue, Nov 22, 2016, 5:49 AM UTC

A very simple way to fix wrist problems is to switch hands for the mouse. I had carpal tunnel bad enough to stop me from using a mouse at all and then I tried switching hands. At first my useless left had couldn't click on the side of a barn. After a week or so I was using my left hand with no problem and after a month I was as good as with my right.

A year later I happened to be using a mouse with my right hand and I discovered there was no pain. So I actually fixed my problem.