snax - comments

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by bigcatfishmofo

bigcatfishmofo — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 04:08:32 +0000

I bought a truck without power steering. This worked for me.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by Axio

Axio — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:42:36 +0000

I’ve been using Kinesis Advantage keyboards for 6 years, and a Bamboo Fun for 4, that’s the best thing that ever happened to my hands after I got a pretty severe RSI (like, impossibility to open a door, cook, etc).

Using a Dvorak based layout (bépo, in my case) also proved useful.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by Martin

Martin — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:12:57 +0000

I suffered from sciatica for a while because of spine compression. Extending the angle between my trunk and my legs (reclining the chair and abandoning the straight back advice) sorted me out as it reduced the pressure on the lower back.

The most important thing with any structural pain is to get an accurate diagnosis of what’s causing it so you can attempt to fix it.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by evan

evan — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:01:01 +0000

ficklelife: I tried that mouse back in the day and found it excruciating. But if it works for you, it works.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by ficklelife

ficklelife — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:37:11 +0000

One thing to try for hand/forearm pain is an Evoluent Verticalmouse.

I bought one after pains in my forearm and the top of my hand. Took a couple of days to get used to the vertical mouse, but my forearm is not twisted and haven’t had any pain at all since. That was 3+ years ago.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by Megan Kingston

Megan Kingston — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:03:17 +0000

If it gets bad and it is mouse related you could always start using the other hand. It only takes two weeks to become fully dexterous. In effect you half the mouse workload. That in conjunction of having a setup where your wrists are straight can be a big improvement.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by Tim

Tim — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:31:04 +0000

Great article, Evan. I too work in IT and play Xbox, and have suffered on and off with RSI. I would second/third/fourth what you said about strength (Your Shape is great for this) and have also used the Wacom tablet.

I also found far too many gimmicks online so I wrote my own series on the subject in the hope it might be a help to others.

This also includes a couple of other gadgets people might find useful. I would also be grateful for any comments.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by evan

evan — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:13:25 +0000

evan2m: You could try leaving the laptop as-is, and instead focus on getting your upper body exercise daily when traveling.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by evan2m

evan2m — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:01:59 +0000

I wish you had written this article years ago. It took me far too long to realize that my pain was caused by the complex set of factors that you outline here.

Do you have any tips for ergonomics while away from home with a laptop? I’d love to pack my Kinesis but it’s just too huge. I already prop the laptop up on something to bring it closer to eye level.

Comment on a programmer’s guide to healing RSI by aerials25

aerials25 — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:10:42 +0000

evan: Thanks for your note. I’m not familiar with Sarno. I’ll follow up in private!