Computers and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Studied

pioneer writes "An article on MSNBC.com reports that a Danish study has found that computer use is not a significant risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome. Not sure about you, but I spent a lot of time learning dvorak and kinesis to prevent just that... the 'inevitable' onslaught of RSI/carpal tunnel/etc."

Comments

As I write this...

[Jerk City Troll]

...both of my wrists are cramping up. The more I type, worse my wrists get. Sadly, I'm a programmer. That doesn't help things. I cannot agree with a study that tries to disassociate repetitive motion with RMI. That's just bologna.

It's not typing, it's "wrist rests"

[Verteiron]

I've been typing since I was about 6... at age 20 or so I began to experience symptoms of a RSI, tingling fingers, burning pain in the wrist, etc etc. So I took some steps. I got an ergonomic keyboard for home, and those gel pads that supposedly help you keep your wrists up. The tingling got worse and worse over the next few weeks. What seemed to hurt the worst was actually resting my wrist on the pad while typing. So I stopped. I began typing by keeping my hands in the air at all times, keeping the backs of my hands level with my forearms, and letting my fingers fall down to the keyboard rather than reaching out toward it. It looked weird, but it was the only way I could type without wincing.

The pain was gone within 2 weeks. The last the of tingling faded away (except in the pinky of my right hand, which seems to be related to mouse use) a month or so later. As long as I keep up this spidery-looking typing style, my hands don't hurt.

Might be worth a try to those of you experiencing pain.

Re:Not Ineveitable

[andy1307]

Its been less than 10 years since a large number of people have started using computers everyday. It's too early to predict the long term health effects. Someone i know had real bad back pains because of her posture when she used a computer. 20 years from now, a significant percentage of us could suffer from things like back aches and bad eyesight...It's just too early to say.

Confirms my thoughts

[Chilles]

This article confirms what a few of my friends and I have been saying for a while. We all are very active computer users (>10h/day usually, using computers for at least 15 years), and we all only suffer from pain in the wrist when we allow our stress levels to rise to intolerable heights or when we're doing something we really dislike.
From what I've seen in other people everybody who had severe wrist/arm/shoulder complaints that they were relating to their computer work was either:
- Working under a lot of stress and/or time pressure for prolonged periods.
or:
- Not happy with their work or their work situation.
I think that computer use puts you in a certain heightened risk group for RSI/carpal tunnel but in my opinion you only "get" RSI or carpal tunnel when you are under a lot of stress or generally not in a very relaxed/happy mental state.

I find that when I voice this opinion in the real world, people tend to be very offended by it... so just for the record, this is not a troll.

Flawed Study?

[WC as Kato]

THE FINDING was based on a survey of nearly 7,000 workers... Computer use âoedoes not pose a severe occupational hazard for developing (the) symptoms,â the authors concluded.

The article doesn't state what was on the survey but I have a suspicion that there is no distinction between a computer user and a person that is mainly a typists. I've been a programmer for many years and although I would be considered a heavy computer user, I would not be a heavy keyboard user. I type parts of the program, think, type some more, take a break, etc. I'm not like a key data entry person. That person would type non-stop for hours. I say that either the study is flawed and/or the article is too short on details.

if you do it right

[oogoody]

From reading the posts it sounds like if you
use the right keyboard, the right pressure,
take breaks, have the right posture, etc then you'll be ok.

All those preconditions sounds like there's a
lot of risk to me. Rock climbing is safe if
you do X, Y, Z. But if you don't, you are
screwed.

Re:For geeks like us...

[Mostly Harmless]

Well, being a computer geek, musician and hockey player, I couldn't tell you which of the three makes my wrists hurt. But I can tell you what makes them feel better -- a little exercise.

Re:Do you exercise?

[jmichaelg]

Gee, your post sounds like how I used to sound and your profile certainly explains why I got RSI. I only was running 3 miles every other day and lifting weights. I had been coding for 25 years with nary a problem so I figured the RSI crowd was a bunch of wankers. Until one period where I typed straight for 14 hours/day for 3 weeks. That particular type of work with no breaks while the compiler did its thing or I stared at a screen trying to understand where the bug was lurking led me directly to RSI. The running and weight work were for naught when compared to not holding my wrists properly while I typed.

Yeah, you sound just like I used to sound till I experienced RSI first hand. Funny how experience will change your viewpoint.