Anyone gotten rsi ? how ya deal with it.
Jan 12 · 4 months ago
3 Comments ↓
I don't have RSI, at least not diagnosed, and not to an extent that I feel like I *should* look for a diagnosis, but I do sometimes get strained pain after lots of repetitive movements, especially from using a computer.
The biggest thing for me is using the Dvorak keyboard layout. If I need to use a Qwerty keyboard for even an hour I will feel sore. I need to be going hard at my own keyboard for ten+ hours multiple days in a row to feel it on Dvorak. I have no science to offer you on the topic, but that's my experience.
My partner has it a lot worse than me, he got a wrist brace and ergo keyboard/mouse set around the same time and that combination has been working well for him.
🐦 wasolili [...] · Jan 12 at 22:06:
I read through "It's not carpal tunnel syndrome: rsi theory and therapy for computer professionals" and the stretches and "glides" in it were a big help, though I warn anyone who reads it that there are some nonsense claims made (like it repeats the discredited claim that alternative medicine and training can fix poor vision), so while the exercises and advice on RSI were effective, it's best to take the medical speculation with a grain of salt.
Some other importants factors for me were switching to a layered keyboard which made typing much more ergonomic and trackball mouse. I also use compression sleeve gloves and an armrest when driving long distances. And doing overhead press helped strengthen my upper back and shoulders which seemed to take a lot of the stress of driving/typing off the rest of my arms.
I also had to take efforts to not curl my hands into the "t-rex arms" sleeping position. This is still a struggle because it was my goto sleeping position for most of my life, but if I do it now, I'll really feel it in my wrists and elbow when I wake up.
Taking care of not just my wrists, but my entire arm, shoulders, and neck has also been important. I don't headbang at shows anymore because the neck/shoulder fatigue worsens the RSI symptoms in my wrists.
I've mostly recovered from it. When it was at its worse typing for a couple minutes, using my phone, or playing guitar would cause pain, fatigue and sometimes numbness. Now I go weeks at a time without feeling any symptoms and can use my hands as much as I want.
I think the most important advice I've read on it is that when you're doing something that stresses your hands, your goal should be to take a break just before you start feeling discomfort. and that if your fingers start to feel numb, it's well past time for a break and to take one immediately.
I started getting something like RSI, so I stopped using a mouse so much, and I switched to vim to write code, that was I guess 20 years ago, and it kinda stopped it in its tracks, as for me it was mostly about the mouse and making weird key-chords over and over.