R.S.I. solutions?

[Eric S. Johansson]

Nick Craig-Wood wrote:
> This is excellent advice... I was diagnosed with tendonitis over 5
> years ago now.  I found the medical people generally hopeless, but the
> physios really know their stuff (this is in the UK also).

some know their stuff but a vast majority of them are humming because 
they don't know the words.

12 years ago, I went through a whole bunch of doctors including 
physiotherapist etc. and they all just kind of said "sucks to be you". 
Now, after having been stable for 10 years, the pain is getting worse 
again.  This time the nerve conduction studies show compression and it's 
off to the neurologist I go.  I expect a second round of "sucks to be you"

Now the list of things he suggested are basically sound but only work 
for a small proportion of people injured.  This is the real big 
indicator that the medics don't know what they're doing or even have a 
vague understanding of the problem.  We would get just as good a result 
if we gave people tonics and told them to stay out of the miasmic vapors 
of the lowlands.



> 2) Get your workplace right! chair height, screen height, distance to
> keyboard etc.  The physio can advise here.

it is exceptionally difficult to do this yourself even if you are 
well-educated.  The reason being is that you need somebody else from the 
outside to look at how you are sitting.  You also need someone to visit 
and evaluate your workspace.
> 
> 3) The physio recommended a rolled up towel as a wrist rest - for me
> that is just the thing.  It is large and soft.

my problem is a different one.  Most keyboards are to narrow for me.  If 
you have the classic IT profile (i.e. spare tire), your elbows will be 
pushed out and your hands will want to form a / \ position to the 
keyboard and as a result, you will twist your wrists outward to make 
them parallel so you can easily get the keys.

I have seen even normal weight large men have problems with keyboard 
width.  The only people who haven't had problems are typically women 
under 130 pounds.  It would be really nice to find a keyboard with a 
wide center space and no keypad.

The other thing to pay attention to are the keys themselves.  Many 
keyboards today are garbage.  Cheap ( but not necessarily inexpensive) 
keyboards including the Microsoft natural, have sticky keys that make 
you use too much pressure in order to get a keystroke and then 
frequently you will bottom out with a sharp shock.  At any one time, out 
of a selection of 30 or 40 different keyboards I might find one with 
acceptable keys.

What's really strange is that most people think laptop keyboards are 
horrible but I absolutely love the ones I've had from Dell and Acer 
laptops.  the Acer one is truly remarkable because the keyboard is 
arranged in a smiling face which accommodates my greater width without 
being obnoxiously wide.  If only they would put that on a desktop 
keyboard, I would be very happy.  In terms of key pressure, that's also 
wonderful.  It's lightweight and I barely have to touch them.  IMO, it's 
a win.

> 4) I swapped my mouse usage to the left hand (my right hand was
> worse).  It took a few months to get used to but it feels totally
> natural now.  I can now mouse with both hands just fine.

I'm currently using a trackball although the best input device for me 
has been a tablet with pen.  I do wish the pen was fatter and cushier 
but that's something you can do to using some foam if there's some way 
to keep the pen side buttons available.  see wacom for the 4 x 6 
tablets.  Be aware however that a pen costs almost half a tablet and are 
only available over the mat so that when a pen breaks, it is frequently 
cheaper/easier to throw a tablet away and buy a new one than it is to 
replace the pen.

> RSI is a complicated disease - there are lots of different forms of it
> all caused by different things.  You'll need some professional advice
> to sort it out.

and lots of whom don't know what they are doing.  you will be pushed in 
different directions and the only thing I will say to stay away from is 
surgery.  Especially for ulnar nerve transposition.  I do not know a 
single person that that has helped investing lots of people with scars 
all over their arms and neck from surgeons mucking about with nerves 
like they were Dr. Frankenstein creating new life.

the rule of thumb is: try anything you want but stay away from anything 
you can't go back and get seconds.

which reminds me.  It's incredibly easy to gain weight at the best of 
time for geeks like us.  If you are hurting, in lots of pain, and 
feeling very isolated, it's really easy to gain even more weight if you 
seek solace in food.  It's hard but try to resist.  Gaining weight will 
make the symptoms worse but losing the weight afterwards won't always 
make you feel better.

Do what you can with the parts of your body that aren't hurting.  Go 
walking, put together the money for a recumbent bicycle (under seat 
steering is a godsend if you like to ride in your arms hurt).  Hike with 
somebody else who can carry a backpack for you.

there are other suggestions about how our side affects you and your 
partner that are best left off a programming language form but have been 
discussed in various injured person mailing lists like sorehand.

---eric