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NeilPerry
May 2, 2010
As the title suggests, I am forced to keep this short.

I've been having issues since August. It started pretty rough because I did a lot of translation work, but even after it died down a bit it's just been a cycle of good days followed by terrible days ad neaseum. Imaging is inconclusive (original doctor said he saw carpal tunnel of the ulnar nerve, which makes NO sense) but I'm going to get an EMG done soon. I'm doing yoga and stretches, as well as limiting my typing but it's not working by any stretch. I did continue to play a video game for like 20 minutes a day and had to keep using my phone for a while for texting, so that might have contributed to it not improving. Even so, doctor says it can't be too bad because I still have the strength and feeling in my hands, and forcing movement in various directions does not hurt at all most of the time. It's basically my entire hand (both of them). Just some days it's the thumbs that hurt, some days it's the pinkies, some days it's a dirty pressure feeling in the wrists. Mostly it's just a feeling of my hands being stiff (no numbness or tingling except for some itchiness once in a while). Nothing in my blood either.

What are your stories with RSI and such, and how did you get through it? Plus, how long did it take to see real change?

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Zogo
Jul 29, 2003

I've known people to use braces at night to keep their wrist/hands in certain positions and cortisone shots? Some kind of shot to avoid surgery.

I'd drop video games for the moment.

Ham Equity
Apr 16, 2013

i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar
Grimey Drawer
I started having some pretty serious wrist pain about a decade ago. Didn't go to the doctor or anything, but I was doing a lot of typing both at work and at home, and playing a lot of Guitar Hero.

I ended up replacing my keyboards both at home and work with ergonomic keyboards (the type with the split down the middle), haven't had a problem since. I had a coworker who was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel, and she would have problems off and on. I kept recommending an ergo board for her, she kept declining. Then, she came in for a week solid with wrist braces on, and I finally just insisted, and said "listen, I'm gonna hook this up for you for a week; if you still hate it, tell me, and I'll never mention it again." She used it for two days and didn't need the braces anymore, and then said "I should have listened to you sooner."

Obviously, two data points is still anecdotal, but it's really not as hard to switch as you think it will be, and it does seem to help significantly.

Shooting Blanks
Jun 6, 2007

Real bullets mess up how cool this thing looks.

-Blade



FWIW, your doctor was probably referring to ulnar nerve entrapment which is a real thing.

I had it a few years ago and it me 5 or 6 months to resolve it via exercises, behavioral change, and wearing a brace at night.

Edit: but you're correct in that your symptoms weren't anything like mine, so it probably isn't that.

NeilPerry
May 2, 2010

Thanatosian posted:

I started having some pretty serious wrist pain about a decade ago. Didn't go to the doctor or anything, but I was doing a lot of typing both at work and at home, and playing a lot of Guitar Hero.

I ended up replacing my keyboards both at home and work with ergonomic keyboards (the type with the split down the middle), haven't had a problem since. I had a coworker who was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel, and she would have problems off and on. I kept recommending an ergo board for her, she kept declining. Then, she came in for a week solid with wrist braces on, and I finally just insisted, and said "listen, I'm gonna hook this up for you for a week; if you still hate it, tell me, and I'll never mention it again." She used it for two days and didn't need the braces anymore, and then said "I should have listened to you sooner."

Obviously, two data points is still anecdotal, but it's really not as hard to switch as you think it will be, and it does seem to help significantly.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-L5V-00001-Ergonomic-Desktop-Keyboard/dp/B00CYX54C0

Would something like this suffice? It's the easiest one for me to find.

Ham Equity
Apr 16, 2013

i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar
Grimey Drawer

NeilPerry posted:

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-L5V-00001-Ergonomic-Desktop-Keyboard/dp/B00CYX54C0

Would something like this suffice? It's the easiest one for me to find.
I currently use the earlier version of that:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9N63KK5580

I'm a big fan, I haven't used the newer version. There are also ergonomic mouse pads that some of my coworkers use, but I doubt that's going to have nearly the impact of an ergo keyboard, given the volume of typing you do:

http://www.amazon.com/Wrist-Rest-Gel-Like-Ergonomic-Mouse-Blue/dp/B000YTR3XE

I haven't used them much, so I can't comment on their efficacy.

Che Delilas
Nov 23, 2009
FREE TIBET WEED

This is the loving best keyboard. My normal keyboard was starting to give me trouble at work, then a dude with one of these got fired and I scavenged it. That very day, wrist and hand pain went away and they haven't been back. Can't recommend it highly enough.

It's very odd at first; it's an aggressive layout and the center keys are really high. You'll hit the wrong keys and probably be annoyed. That will last about a day and then you get used to it, I promise. Force yourself to acclimate and then see what it does for your hands. It may not be a magic bullet but that inward-kinked wrist position that normal keyboards tend to promote is just terrible for you.

Ham Equity
Apr 16, 2013

i hosted a great goon meet and all i got was this lousy avatar
Grimey Drawer

Che Delilas posted:

This is the loving best keyboard. My normal keyboard was starting to give me trouble at work, then a dude with one of these got fired and I scavenged it. That very day, wrist and hand pain went away and they haven't been back. Can't recommend it highly enough.

It's very odd at first; it's an aggressive layout and the center keys are really high. You'll hit the wrong keys and probably be annoyed. That will last about a day and then you get used to it, I promise. Force yourself to acclimate and then see what it does for your hands. It may not be a magic bullet but that inward-kinked wrist position that normal keyboards tend to promote is just terrible for you.

Yeah, soldiering through the first few days is gonna be difficult, especially as a transcriptionist. That being said, I just took a typing test on a normal, straight keyboard, and it felt so goddamn weird. You do get used to it, and faster than you would expect.

NeilPerry
May 2, 2010
Got the keyboard and holy gently caress, I knew it would help but I never thought it would be this big a difference. Thanks a lot. Still wondering how long it'll take to get back to normal and what to do to help that. Assuming it's an overuse problem and not anything like carpal, would it be okay to do some weight lifting?

NihilismNow
Aug 31, 2003
Are you sure it isn't a mental health issue? From what i understand RSI is mostly psychosomatic.
Do you like your job?

NeilPerry
May 2, 2010

NihilismNow posted:

Are you sure it isn't a mental health issue? From what i understand RSI is mostly psychosomatic.
Do you like your job?

I understand that RSI is definitely impacted by psychosomatic factors, but I'm pretty sure this is not the case (entirely) because I'm a pretty chill grad student with a lot of free time.

It was definitely a big factor in the beginning, but I feel confident in saying that it isn't the main problem.

Che Delilas
Nov 23, 2009
FREE TIBET WEED

NeilPerry posted:

Got the keyboard and holy gently caress, I knew it would help but I never thought it would be this big a difference. Thanks a lot. Still wondering how long it'll take to get back to normal and what to do to help that. Assuming it's an overuse problem and not anything like carpal, would it be okay to do some weight lifting?

So, for anything more than what we've already talked about you should probably start talking to a doctor. Personally I don't have a problem lifting - sometimes my hands get sore after a session, sometimes they don't. But I have no idea how my situation compares to yours. A doctor will at least be able to give you advice based on more than anecdotal evidence.

Griz
May 21, 2001


NihilismNow posted:

Are you sure it isn't a mental health issue? From what i understand RSI is mostly psychosomatic.
Do you like your job?

I hate my job, but when I started getting wrist pain and tingling/numb fingers, two weeks of wearing a wrist brace I bought at the pharmacy made it go away.

Khorne
May 1, 2002
Stretching helped me significantly with my wrists. My problems stemmed from heavy use and not from posture/ergonomics/whatever. It's difficult to recommend which stretches to do though because certain ones can agitate certain types of RSI. I'd consider them preventative rather than a treatment. I also personally avoid massaging my forearm/wrist because it can just agitate it more despite feeling good at the time. For me personally the big one is:

Extend arm out sideways completely, point fingers down, press fingers, or palm, against wall, raise or lower arm depending on whether you can feel a stretch or not. This is the big one for me. I went from being unable to put my hand flat against the wall without feeling pain to being able to do that and lift it up at a borderline freakish angle, and I never had pain in my mouse hand ever again after doing it for a few weeks. This is one of the stretches that could make your pain worse depending on the type of RSI.

Then I do some other ones. You can find a bunch of descriptions of these, but I've found searching for "RSI stretch percussion" or percussionist is the best way to go. There are some pdfs. Most of the RSI/carpal tunnel sites aimed at computer users are loaded with garbage, and when it comes to percussionists they face similar issues as heavy keyboard users and there aren't a bunch of dumb sites trying to make money or raise their page ranking.

This video actually has most of the stretches I do in it.

If you are in actual pain I'd definitely not do anything that places any strain on things, stretching included. It sounds like you are in a somewhat similar situation to what I was in, though. I had trouble with my wrists starting at age 17/18, and I didn't really start the stretching thing until 24. I would just take few day to few month long breaks when I experienced soreness/pain. I'm 28 now and I haven't had to take any breaks since a few weeks into the stretching. I also make sure no unnecessary strain is put on my wrists/elbow while sitting, but there never was to begin with at the desk I use most.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 08:58 on Feb 12, 2016

Spazzle
Jul 5, 2003

I've had severe wrist pain from computer use, but for me it all comes from poor mouse use. When using the mouse i would rest my wrist on the table due to the angle which hosed it up in the ling term. Switching to a mouse/keyboard tray has done me a huge amount of good.

Setset
Apr 14, 2012
Grimey Drawer
Odd question but do you staple a lot of papers? I was doing 200+ staples per day for a few months and I thought I was getting carpal tunnel. A week after getting an electric stapler the wrist pain went away

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OwlFancier
Aug 22, 2013

I used to get a bit of wrist pain from keyboard use but I switched to using a flat keyboard and that helps. I dunno how people use the them with the footrests up.

I used to have a wrist pad as well which helped but this keyboard doesn't come with one.

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