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Google Staff MD on Carpal Tunnel & RSI
bariswheel writes "Every older and some younger Slashdotters have been subject to that tingling feeling in your wrist after countless hours of hacking, cracking, or playing CS. This Google Blog, posted by the Staff MD addresses this serious symptom that could potentially lead to "compression of the nerve which can cause numbness or tingling and eventually weakness if the nerve is damaged severely." Didn't think hard work would hurt anybody right?"
JWZ has some good information on RSI
Sitting hours and hours in front of the computer and staring on the screen (i.e., hardening your eye muscles and causing strain on the retina) supports retinal detatchment. The really big down is that retinal detachment causes you to go blind. There's not a lot of preventative measures you can do unless making brakes and resting your eyes.
I think it's more serious than RSI or CTS, because you can still see and use a brain-computer interface in the 'near' future compared to a fully functional eye implant.
Although Carpel Tunnel Syndrome makes the news the most, the most common hand problems that computer users experience is tendonitis. Tendonitis is painful, but it doesn't damage nerves.
What evidence there is points to the mouse as the source of computer-related hand problems, not the keyboard. I remember hearing a lot about people getting computer-related hand problems in the early 90's, around the time Windows 3.1 came out and the mouse became mainstream.
I tend to have hand trouble in the spring when I start riding my bike, and that demands a hand position different from anything I do all winter.
I've had times when my tendonitis was so bad that I thought I'd have to change careers, but I found that push-ups were an effective treatment for me. Push-ups are great because they are a functional exercise that works the whole upper body -- they build up the big muscles in your chest as well as the little muscles in your wrist. I love lifting weights, but you can do push-ups at home without any equipment or gym memberships.
Note that every motion you do involves a complete 'chain' that leads back to your center of gravity -- if you push a key on a computer, it's only an ounce or two of force, but it's ultimately backed up by your whole mass. Your big muscles help your little muscles do their work and vice versa...
Musicians and programmer types know repetitive stress better than anyone I'd say. I found Desktop Yoga to be a great set of excercises to start the day and get the wrists / arms / shoulders loose and relaxed. I don't work a desk job but the majority of the excercises can be done sitting down without drawing attention to oneself.
I don't need this, I've got a Master's Degree in folklore and mythology!
and I've had it many years, even before I owned a computer. I've been to many physiotherapists, doctors and specialists and the one thing I've learned and been reminded of over and over again is the importance of good posture. The way you sit and stand can and will affect the entire body. Sit up straight, keep the shoulder blades back and the chin tucked in. Don't slouch, and if you're a hangdog like me (head slumps foward as if trying to see the computer monitor better) you'd better stop and correct yourself.
RSI's are real and frequent and can be very traumatic. Please don't let it happen to you!
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I'm a pianist. We call those hand grips you are using "unemployment". THROW THEM OUT!!! They will just serve to make your wrists tight.
The underlying etiology of most carpal tunnel syndrome seen is not inflammatory arthritis from overuse, but rather an issue with fluid distribution surrounding the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Common conditions that exacerbate this compressive neuropathy include obesity, hypothyroidism, pregnancy, and the familial inheritance of a "square" shaped wrist.
While there are plenty of ways to make oneself uncomfortable at work, the shift in medical thinking now is that carpal tunnel syndrome is not a workplace injury entitling folks to compensation. The somatization of depressive symptoms is more likely to contribute to attempts to receive disability awards in a mass hysteria of sorts regarding carpal tunnel syndrome.
Your eyes are constantly moving, even while staring intently at something. If they weren't you wouldn't see anything after a few seconds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinal_detachment
Everything you posted is wrong.
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
I recently started taking glucosamine to see if my knee pains would subside.
Not only does it seem to alleviate that problem as advertised, I also feel much better in my wrists!
The last years I have felt aches in my wrists that seem much similar to the descriptions of RSI I have read. My motorbike put a lot of stress on the wrists, and I type away on computers all days long.
Glucosamine is supposed to be one building block of which the body makes cartilege and joint liquid from, and I suppose it might also be beneficial for tendon tunnles.
In fact, I was kind of depressed util recently as I figured I will have to live with chronic sore wrists, but after a few weeks on glucosamine they feel like they used to again.
So Try It!
You basically hold your hands up in front of you, palms facing you. Then make a tight fist, and rotate each fist to the outside as far as it will go. Fists will tend to pull downward, which is fine. (Looking from above, the right fist rotates counter clockwise while the left first rotates clockwise.) Hold the stretch for about 10-15 seconds. For me, this has been the absolute cheapest, simplest, and laziest way to deal with RSI from typing.