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!
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
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.
I recommend plenty of physical therapy using Ken’s Wii … that sounds worse than it is.
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. (-:
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
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!
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 ;-)
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!