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?"

Comments

Change your habits, change anything.

[dekaysion]

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?

Go by what you feel

[baryon351]

Go by what you feel when you're using a computer. If you feel something hurting, stop. right away. Then look at what you're doing and what could cause it, and try something different.

12 years ago I worked in a department that insisted on bucketloads of ergonomic tricks to make things easier for people. If we were just using mouse and plain keyboard, we were pushed to try trackballs, wristrests for mouse & keyboard, split keyboards, ergo chairs etc. That made for a culture of workers feeling free to say "this isn't working for me, let me try something different" and most people found their niche setup, using components they didn't know were available to them, or didn't know were an option in the workplace.

As it turns out I tried trackballs and found them cripplingly painful, and ergo chairs were comfy while I sat on them but locked my knees painfully into place. I'm most comfortable with plain old keyboard and mouse, and have been RSI free with that setup for 22 years. It's the best solution for me, and if that works for you too, don't be in too much hurry to change.

Don't take medical advice from me...

[mwvdlee]

...but I have typed/moused daily for the past 12 years of my life and have never had any RSI problems. I'm a fulltime programmer and program as a hobby too, so you can imagine the amount of time I spend behind a keyboard.

My secret; don't use wristsupport of ANY kind. The majority of RSI problems stem from straining your wrists, so don't strain them. My wrists are usually floating because I support my arms at my elbows if needed; the area of motion allowed just by skin flexibility (not even adding flexibility in clothing layers) around the elbows alone is enough to reach the entire keyboard and mouse physical space.

At home I have a custom-built desk which lowers the keyboard and mouse to a comfortable position (just above my lap) where I don't even need to support anything; now I'm able to use all the muscles in my arms for the required motion; which is far easier.

Often I see colleagues using wrist supports for their keyboards, where they quite literally push their wrists into the support and produce all motion from flexing the wrists; a sure way of getting RSI.

Just try keeping the wrist afloat and everything will go much smoother. Perhaps even try raising the keyboard from your desk a bit if that makes it easier.

Re:Don't take medical advice from me...

[Aceticon]

I use the same trick.

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 :) ) 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.

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 ;) )

Re:Gel wrist rest attached to mouse mat

[Xtifr]

I've never understood those gel pads. What good does a pad positioned an inch or so below your wrist do? :)

The most important thing, in my opinion, is a chair with arms. If your elbows are properly supported, your wrists don't need to be, because they'll be in mid-air. If your wrists are resting on anything, you're doing something wrong.

I suspect the split-style keyboards are good, but I've never bothered with them. But I can see the attraction.

Wrist exercises?

[lisaparratt]

I know I'll probably get the piss taken out of me for this, but I tend to do a lot of glowsticking - often up to an hour a day, in the privacy of my home. It's fun and fairly good exercise, plus it means gonig out clubbing all night doesn't leave me a smouldering wreck the morning after.

It mostly involves fluidly moving the hands via the wrists faster than the eye can see, along with a fairly hefty dose of arm waving, continuously, for anywhere from an hour to ten hours.

I've never been able to tell if it's good or bad for me. I don't have RSI, but then I didn't have it before I took up glowsticking, either.

Anyone know? Us ravers need to know! :D

Sitting properly!

[MaestroSartori]

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 ;)

RSI - stop it or you'll go blind!

[Half a dent]

Since I stopped visiting "adult" web pages my wrist RSI has greatly improved!

Re:RSI - stop it or you'll go blind!

[cerberusss]

Since I stopped visiting "adult" web pages my wrist RSI has greatly improved!

This is slashdot. Of course this gets modded informative...

Re:Cold wrists?

[hcdejong]

Why can't I mod you -1 Moronic?
IANADoctor, but it seems to me that cold wrists can be a sign of the blood flow being cut off, or nerves being pinched, both real, and possibly dangerous problems. Even if not, cold extremities are annoying and do make typing harder than it needs to be.

May sound daft but..

[Gaewyn L Knight]

This may sound stupid... but recent studies are showing that most people that get RSI actually get most of the damage from sleeping on their hands at night.

So...
#1 No hands under the pillow/head
#2 No hands between the legs to keep them warm
#3 If you ever have numb hands from cuddling your S.O. that's a no-no also

I changed my sleeping habits just that little bit and now no matter how much I abuse my wrists at work programming or playing Enemy Territory I have no more pain.

Re:May sound daft but..

[superpenguin]

This is quite important. I don't know about the claims of "most people" getting their RSI this way, but it is a factor.

I am a musician, and musicians, especially string players (I play cello) are notorious for wrist problems. Our problems tend to be more in the line of tendonitis than carpal tunnel (that's what the pianists get), but a lot of the general preventative measures are pretty much the same.

I've had wrist problems on and off for the past several years, and one of the string faculty at my college mentioned this sort of thing when I asked him about my wrist problems. He suggested wearing a brace at night, and it really does help. I actually use two different braces on a fairly regular basis. One is just a wide elastic band that wraps around the wrist. It provides a little support, and keeps me from extending my wrist too far (which is what gives me a lot of problems), but still provides a pretty good range of motion (enough that I can play with it). This one I wear quite frequently. Always when I play and frequently just for a little extra support. The other is more heavy duty and fits more like a fingerless glove with a wrist extension. This one has a metal insert that runs along the underside of the wrist and the palm. I use it whenever my wrist is really bothering me and I need to keep it relatively immobilized and also whenever I'm lifting weights or doing any other kind of heavy lifting. It's okay for mousing, but it limits the range of my thumbs, so it's no good for typing.

So I often wear one or the other when I sleep, and I have changed my sleeping habits a bit. I actually sleep with my hand under the pillow, but that's because my main concern is keeping that wrist straight, as my problem is tendonitis, not carpal tunnel.

As far as general ergonomic guidelines, I've also learned a good bit about that due to hurting myself by playing my instrument (I had a lot of back trouble a couple years back, which is mostly gone at this point, thanks to some changes I made). One of the main things to keep in mind is that any tension, especially in your spine, will spread to the rest of your body. One of the most common places for tension to start is in your lower back. The reason for this is that the human hip is not designed for a 90 degree angle between your torso and your upper leg. If you actually have that angle, it's because the last couple degrees are coming from your lower spine. This sort of static loading will kill your back. Unfortunately, most chairs aren't designed with this in mind. Your best bet for a chair is something with a relatively straight back and either a flat seat or one that tilts slightly forward rather than back. My chair of preference is an old swivel chair that my mom pulled out of a dumpster with the intent of reuphostering the seat. I stole it and used it as my computer chair for several years before college, and I still use it. During my undergrad, it was the only chair on campus that I ever found that was truly comfortable. It has a flat seat and an adjustable back (which I keep low for lumbar support) and can be adjusted to be pretty tall (which is important since I have very long legs).

Static loading on the lower back basically means that even though you don't look like it, you're actually hunched over forward. Obviously then, that tension travels up to the shoulders and neck, and if your shoulders aren't relaxed, your arms and hands can't be. So reduce static loading on your lower back and you're already helping yourself.

The other component to my ergonomic computer setup is a desk I built for myself. I designed it with my ugly chair in mind, so that the keyboard tray is just above my lap (although for long typing sessions, I still prefer to just pull the keyboard off and put it on my lap). One thing that departs from conventional wisdom, but that works pretty well for me is the fact that my monitors are fairly high. I built the desk primarily because I needed something that I could have my computer and my