]> snarfed.org draw group stream of consciousness Ryan Barrett <snarfed at ryanb dot org> en text/html Copyright 2002-2007 Ryan Barrett 2006-11-18 Ryan Barrett <snarfed at ryanb dot org> 2007-02-22T21:56:00Z en text/html Copyright 2002-2007 Ryan Barrett

RSI: Required, Sudden Inactivity

I've come down with a pretty bad case of RSI. It's awful. I'm taking it seriously, so I'm cutting out most non-work-related typing for a while, including email, IM, side projects, and posting here.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with myself. Please, for the love of god, wish me a speedy recovery!

 http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 Giri cmt_pubDate text/html Hey Ryan,

I'm sorry to hear it man. I think I know what you're going through. I've experienced some unusually severe pain in my hands/wrists on and off in the past few years. I can never stick to the "proper typing" method where you keep your wrists elevated off the keyboard. Anyway, have you had an ergonomic evaluation of your workspace? I find that the chair, height of the keyboard and posture can affect how much RSI can bug me. I hope you get better soon.

PS: I finally revamped my site, check it out!

Giri http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 christopher baus cmt_pubDate text/html That's my worst nightmare.  I actually spent a lot of time getting  my workspace in order after I started getting pain in my right hand.

Good luck. http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 NextDoorWarren cmt_pubDate text/html November 7th, 2006 : Britney Spears Files for Devorce
November 13th 2006 : She re-appears in public light showing a nice hot body again, and all the goods she has to sell.
November 18th 2006 : Ryan claims to be having wrist problems.

You Be The Judge. http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 Dan cmt_pubDate text/html I recommend plenty of physical therapy using Ken's Wii ... that sounds worse than it is. http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 Asheesh Laroia cmt_pubDate text/html Best wishes for a speedy recovery.  Hopefully, in the short time before you feel better, you'll enjoy more of the cool stuff of San Francisco and the Bay Area like a week and a bit ago. (-: http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 NextDoorWarren cmt_pubDate text/html I think this merits the purchase of a mobile telephone.

Now Ryan, I want to talk to you for a moment, everyone else just stop reading.  You know, that new store opened on University Ave, you know the one, the bright blue and white store. They sell Helios, now remember it isn't a phone, it's a Helio, so don't you go and call them a phone company. This might just be the perfect thing for you because you can get 'not a cell phone' but still have the functions of one. I think it would help your RSI by at least 17-24% with a growth margin in Q2 of 7% ( /- 5% margin of error based on November poles of 100 random friends).

Please, think of the Domokuns! http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 sri cmt_pubDate text/html I had a severe case of RSI -- as soon as I would sit in front of the computer and place my hands on the keyboard, I could feel the pain.

after about 3-4 minutes i would have quiet severe pains.

that was september 2006.

forced myself to go to get acupuncture done. twice a month.

things are much better now -- pain is very minimal. althought, at times, they start to bother.

Dr. John Sarno's work in this area remarkable -- helped me.
See http://podolsky.everybody.org/rsi/

hope that helps.

-sri http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 Alex cmt_pubDate text/html Had it bad too, mostly fixed it now... Don't just rest as it won't help, and probably make you weaker.  Do yoga sessions (2h daily watching YogaZone helps as a cure, then drop to much less for prevention); take walks; and have regular stretching breaks.  Drink water to stay hydrated, avoid coffee.  Keep regular workloads, don't stay up too late crunching; you'll pay the price over the next few days.  Don't ever use any pain killers or ice; you're body is telling you something.

The best thing for me was also to have a keyboard tray that's barely above my knees.  Having a high desk causes elbows to fold, and reduces the blood circulation.  Chairs don't make much difference for me...

There are years of my personal observations in this comment, so start experimenting!  Keep logs, take notice of what works for you and what doesn't... Most people you talk to about RSI (even those you pay) have absolutely no clue; figure it out yourself by experimenting.

Most of all, believe you can go back to normal again :-)

All the best! http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 pahaloom cmt_pubDate text/html So, like 2 weeks from the post for now... Feels like You really needed a rest from all the keyboard-related activities.

Still, hope you're not at bed, lying because of that - suppose you still have other body-parts available to move without any pain. Hopefully even hands - so go out, where-ever you can and give them some movement. It could be (but does not have to) jogging, swimming, surfing, hot bath (almost like swimming), skiing, roller-skating, massage or whatever.

And once the pain relieves - don't stop moving yourself then ;-) http://snarfed.org/ 2006-11-18 sedu cmt_pubDate text/html As a computer engineer, I can relate to your problem...
Just make sure that everything is ergonomic from keyboard to the mouse you use (chairs, hight of your screen...).

Best recovery!