Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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- The Spanish Inquisition
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by The Spanish Inquisition » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:59 pm
Those ergo keyboards are not my style but maybe they help. They are a bit confining to the position you have to be in. I do like the M$ keyboards though.
The thing about RSI (repetitive stress injury) with key boards is that you need a wrist pad, you need room on your desk, you need proper chair and table height. For me, my chair was too low and that's all it took. What happens is that your wrist is held in a particular position that is not natural. This stretches your tendons out in that particular direction over time. This will weaken your ability to normally hold/grip/twist things because one tendon is looser than the opposite. Eventually what sets it off is you try to lift something or other and you strain a bunch of muscles in your hand because it just can't handle it anymore. It may not even be painful at first.
Now you have a pulled muscle and because you continue to use it, it get's inflamed and starts pushing on a major nerve (that is what pinching is, it's not literally pinched). That nerve causes ghost signals up the rest of your extremities where is seems like pain is happening but it really is not, it's in your wrist. I've had back pain and been walking along and all of a sudden my middle toe will feel like it just got clobbered. For three years I lost complete feeling in my left thigh, just a numbness.
You need to not use that hand AT ALL for a week. Don't lift even a couple pounds. Then you need to still wear it for about another 3weeks and also do stretching exercises for it but still no lifting and no typing. Lot's of exercises on the internet to look at. Some of them look silly but that is all your wrist can really take. Take ibuprofen or aleve, or any NSAID (nonsteroid anti-inflammatary drug). I had to wear the wrist brace for actually about six months because I kept fucking it up again as soon as I thought it was better. If you pay attention to it, you can be out of it in a month at the earliest, and as long as you change your computing setup.
You should also be icing it up during this time. The current conventional wisdom is alternating ice and hot packs. The idea is that ice reduces swelling and hot induces blood flow (healing).
The thing about RSI (repetitive stress injury) with key boards is that you need a wrist pad, you need room on your desk, you need proper chair and table height. For me, my chair was too low and that's all it took. What happens is that your wrist is held in a particular position that is not natural. This stretches your tendons out in that particular direction over time. This will weaken your ability to normally hold/grip/twist things because one tendon is looser than the opposite. Eventually what sets it off is you try to lift something or other and you strain a bunch of muscles in your hand because it just can't handle it anymore. It may not even be painful at first.
Now you have a pulled muscle and because you continue to use it, it get's inflamed and starts pushing on a major nerve (that is what pinching is, it's not literally pinched). That nerve causes ghost signals up the rest of your extremities where is seems like pain is happening but it really is not, it's in your wrist. I've had back pain and been walking along and all of a sudden my middle toe will feel like it just got clobbered. For three years I lost complete feeling in my left thigh, just a numbness.
You need to not use that hand AT ALL for a week. Don't lift even a couple pounds. Then you need to still wear it for about another 3weeks and also do stretching exercises for it but still no lifting and no typing. Lot's of exercises on the internet to look at. Some of them look silly but that is all your wrist can really take. Take ibuprofen or aleve, or any NSAID (nonsteroid anti-inflammatary drug). I had to wear the wrist brace for actually about six months because I kept fucking it up again as soon as I thought it was better. If you pay attention to it, you can be out of it in a month at the earliest, and as long as you change your computing setup.
You should also be icing it up during this time. The current conventional wisdom is alternating ice and hot packs. The idea is that ice reduces swelling and hot induces blood flow (healing).
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
by Bobby » Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:19 pm
I'll second that. When I was writing a lot of code, poor wrist posture when typing caused
a lot of pain, to the point where I had to wear a wrist brace for support. Some of you
old school 1.3 players might remember how I couldn't turn well in game because I had
to wrap my wrists in tensor bandages to play.
It got to the point where I developed a ganglion cyst on the back of my right wrist.
They're pretty neat - inflammation of the tendon sheath causes fluid to build up into a
painful bump. Sometimes with rest the fluid would go down, but eventually I had to deal
with it.
Doctor's advice? Smash it with a book *... but he wouldn't do it. So I did it myself. Quite
mixed emotions - you're in a lot of pain because you just whacked the back of your hand
a couple of times with a big book, but you're also surprised and amazed because it works.
The thing deflated, and completely vanished in a couple of days, taking the pain with it.
Remember to take a couple of minutes break to rest your wrists every hour.
-b
* This was recommended because of the position of the cyst. Yours may be different -
talk to your doctor first!
a lot of pain, to the point where I had to wear a wrist brace for support. Some of you
old school 1.3 players might remember how I couldn't turn well in game because I had
to wrap my wrists in tensor bandages to play.
It got to the point where I developed a ganglion cyst on the back of my right wrist.
They're pretty neat - inflammation of the tendon sheath causes fluid to build up into a
painful bump. Sometimes with rest the fluid would go down, but eventually I had to deal
with it.
Doctor's advice? Smash it with a book *... but he wouldn't do it. So I did it myself. Quite
mixed emotions - you're in a lot of pain because you just whacked the back of your hand
a couple of times with a big book, but you're also surprised and amazed because it works.
The thing deflated, and completely vanished in a couple of days, taking the pain with it.
Remember to take a couple of minutes break to rest your wrists every hour.
-b
* This was recommended because of the position of the cyst. Yours may be different -
talk to your doctor first!
by lilGenie » Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:01 pm
Welcome to the club, Pvt Go! 
And don't be mis-informed. It is going to take at least 2 months with proper
physical therapy sessions to heal. At least that's what my doctor told me in
my case.
On the other hand, just moving the wrists and keeping rest of your forearm
stationary while using your mouse is a recipe for carpal. Similarly, keeping
fingers on your keyboard like in curled position is not good for your wrist.
So, those who do it, don't.
. It only covers the mouse use, but do a search for keyboard ergo
positions.
And don't be mis-informed. It is going to take at least 2 months with proper
physical therapy sessions to heal. At least that's what my doctor told me in
my case.
On the other hand, just moving the wrists and keeping rest of your forearm
stationary while using your mouse is a recipe for carpal. Similarly, keeping
fingers on your keyboard like in curled position is not good for your wrist.
So, those who do it, don't.
. It only covers the mouse use, but do a search for keyboard ergo
positions.
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