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Preventing RSI?
conJunk asks: "How do you protect against RSI? I try to practice good typing habits, but without the aid of wrist splints, I tend to get cold wrists. The splints are great, but they slow down my typing by a fair bit. What do you all do?"
I have workrave running on my computer. It's great!
I was lucky to never really develop major RSI related injuries, but I got very close, and I am still very alert when it comes to feeling pain in my hands. Generally I guess you could characterize the means for prevention into hardware and software (which mostly includes changing habits i.e. brainware as well).
Hardware:- Mouse alternatives (like a tablet, trackball or, better, a combination of as many input devices as necessary)
- Ergonomic keyboards
- Ergonomic anything, desk, chair, office. There ARE many ways to get hurt or at least work on your chronic situations, not just RSI but back pain etc.
- Medicine: In my case whenever I am in a phase where I need to work on a computer exclusively I start developing pain in my right hand, some kind of inflammation - which can be taken care of 3 days with ibuprofen or diclofenac. And which also keeps the thing under control for about another 9 months or so. Talk to your doctor!
Software:- Break Scheduler: Software that enforces breaks, micro breaks; shows stretching tips etc.
- Habits: change your habits, change your posture, change your input devices - do anything that keeps you from burning into one repetitive posture/gesture/.... (As with all things in life - change is good)
- Macros, Automation: get a good spell checker, get a good macro software, program your editors to do things for you thereby reducing the repetitive work.
Some links/Linklists:thread at 43folders
google RSI prevention
btw: where is markdown formatting in slashdot's comment form?I know, sounds daft. But setting up your chair for *real* comfort as opposed to slouching, with a view to helping your wrists stay in the proper position.
;)
Your chair should be high enough so that your feet naturally lay flat on the ground, and your thighs are perpendicular to your shins. If you have one of those annoying spring-backed chairs which let you lean way back, lock it all the way forward for support. Some chairs have adjustable back supports too, move them to the correct place (which I think is supporting the lower back).
At this point, sit up straight and reach your hands out in front of you to a comfortable position. Put the keyboard under them, with the mouse mat next to the keyboard. This should be a decent position for you to work from without straining anything.
A tip I've had from people who get back pains at work is to buy a really big exercise ball, and sit on that instead of a chair. You'll look stupid and people will mock you, but it really helps build up the lower back with all the unconscious movements you use to keep balanced on it. Of course, if your balance sucks you'll fall off and get mocked even more
Game dev and music blog
i.e. no single item can prevent you from getting RSI. You'll have to combine healthy work habits, regular exercise, and good equipment.
- Work habits: Set up your work area correctly. Desk height, chair height, monitor placement, etc. You should be able to find a relaxed position. Take regular breaks, and do some exercises during those breaks.
- When you're at home, don't spend the entire evening sitting at your home computer.
- Exercise: Couch potatoes are more susceptible to RSI (and a host of other problems).
- equipment: Use a good mouse (optical, low-friction worked for me, YMMV) or trackball, etc. Consider getting an ergonomic keyboard. Lighting, and a good monitor are important too.
One cause of many RSI complaints is 'static tension': the muscles in your arm and hand are contracting but not moving. The muscles need movement, so every 10 minutes spend 20 seconds to stretch your arms, relax your hands etc.
I have RSI and I can say definitively that when typing your palms, especially near your wrists, should not be touching anything. Your blood vessels and nerves are especially close to the skin in that area and if they are compressed for an extended period of time RSI will develop due to lack of proper blood flow.
The parent poster is absolutely correct. A chair with good arm rests (I have one with gliding armrests) will support your arms, wrists, and hands in the correct position. Blood vessels/nerves are not as close to the surface in your arms.
Bottom line: there is no need for palm rests. Used improperly, palm rests will do more harm than good--they should only be used if you're not typing/mousing.
Best keyboard is the no-longer-manufacturered IBM Options SelectEase, IMO. Keyboard is physically split far enough your wrists do not angle outwards when your fingers are on the home keys. This separation allows me to put a trackball in-between, enabling left- or right-handed use. I can no longer use mice without my hands hurting after 30 min.
I use the same trick.
:) ) with your elbows fixed in place or just slightly moving. Only pressing function keys ( a comparativelly rare operation) will require your to lift your arms from the table. Most of the time the whole arm (almost up to the wrists) will be supported by the table. With the mouse next to the keyboard, picking the mouse and moving it is also a question of rotating your arm on your elbows and (posssibly) sliding it around a bit when moving the mouse.
;) )
When i was a teenager i actually got into the early stages of RSI (i had loss of feeling in the palm of my hands) due to programing at home while supporting my wrists in the border of the table (ie the keyboard was next to the border of the table).
Nowadays, 15+ years later, after working as a professional softwared developer for several years, i have no RSI symptoms whatsoever. No special keyboards, plain-ol-style mouse, no wrist support or any other support watsoever other than a table.
The big secret:
- Position your keyboard on the table far from you (typically next to the monitor). Your elbows should be supported by the table. When your arms are parallel, with your elbows supported by the table your fingers should reach the second top row of a common QWERTY keyboard (ie not the function keys row, the one below it).
Typing is a question of moving your hands from side to side (and your fingers up and down
A couple more usefull tip i've picked up:
- You chair should be to such a height that with your legs bended at an 90 degrees angle, the whole sole of your shoes is on the floor.
- Your screen should be in such a positions that your chest (and face) are facing the screen. If your position relative to the screen is such that your head is turned you're strining your neck
- Your back should be fully in contact with the back of your chair and at a 90 degree angle to your legs (thus ||_ ). If your ass is forward (towards the front of the chair, like |\_ ) then your are straining your chest muscules (if you have chest pain it's probably this or a heart problem
Sorry, but this is BS, I had very severe RSI for awhile. It got to the point where I could hardly hold a glass of water without shaking, and it was extremely painful. RSI will also cause depression for obvious reasons. I am a computer enthusiast, I love my job, and I love computers, design and and gaming. I really don't think anyone can understand RSI unless they have had it. It seems too trivial from a non-suffers point of view. I remember having a teacher warn me about it 10 years ago, and I laughed it off with others.
RSI will not effect everyone, just like many diseases and viruses do not effect everyone, but when it does it can become a very serious situation, and the problem is it is not taken serious by the general public. This is partly why you feel so helpless when you have a severe RSI. Usually you are in a repetitive job, like IT or Design. Your productivity slows down greatly, you are in constant pain, and day to day life becomes a chore. I know I am sounding dramatic, but it can be this bad, and I have total sympathy for anyone suffering from it. There are varying degrees and types or RSI's too.
The good news is most people can overcome it to a degree. I still get pain now and then, but no where near what I was suffering from two years ago. Stress can be a major factor and was partly to blame in my case, but it is not always the case, many other things, like a cold working environment, or bad posture. Its far easier to get it then get rid of it. I read a lot on RSI's, and most of the stories went like this. (Started feeling a bit of pain one week. Ignored it. Got worse the next week. Felt crippled the third week. Took over a year to get rid of it).
I used wrist braces which helped a lot, and bought a special keyboard, used a wacom tablet instead of a mouse and paid attention to posture. Now I can use a normal keyboard and mouse too without pain.
If you have RSI, there is a load of good information on the web, and you can get rid of it slowly but surely.
www.ianhoar.com My blog about geeking out.
I'm not a doctor, but do be careful about relying too much on armrests. Actually, even just leaning on your elbows too much. Theres a nerve that goes through your elbow called the ulnar nerve which gives feeling to the pinkie and ring fingers; if you compress it too often, then it can actually develop problems at the elbow (exascerbated by stuff like resting your arm on the window while you drive/depending heavily on armrests/leaning on elbow while sitting at tables). A new type of strain injury? It so happens that this is the same nerve that you hit when you slam your elbow into stuff -- the "funnybone."