From the tab and backspace I stab at thee...

[gement]

Tendonitis has been gnawing at me for the last couple of months, on and off. It's come to my attention that I need to nip this in the bud. I feel it in my wrists, my thumbs, and the depths of my elbows (the tendon that drives the rest of the fingers). I know friends who deal with REAL chronic pain, so I was tempted to ignore this, but then I realized that's often how it starts, so let's talk now.

I've seen the "prayer" stretch, though it doesn't seem to stretch the right things. The yoga "Dog" stretch loosens up my shoulders, which helps peripherally but doesn't address the main problem. I've got an ergo keyboard now, I've been adjusting the heights and distances every which way...

But every time my pinky reaches for the tab (I do Excel all day) or the backspace (I have to correct typos regularly), unless I'm REALLY conscious, my hand twists and I ache. Any time of day, except when my hands have been resting all weekend, I can touch the funny bone hollow behind my elbow and feel the ow ow ow tendon. My finger knuckles have popped constantly (but not painfully) for the last three years since I started typing day jobs.

My massage therapist says he submerges his arms in hothot water at night until they're pink and parboiled, which promotes blood and lymph movement and thus healing. He says it hurts worse at the time, because of swelling, but that's why you do it before bed, not in the morning before work.

Tylik suggests I bring in my sitting ball and sit on it at work, which would certainly help my overall useage, but (like Dog) I'm not sure my wrist problem will benefit more than peripherally.

I'm trying to figure out if there are more stretches I should be doing, if I should pick up drug store wrist braces to train myself out of twisting when I hit tab, if there's something I'm missing here.

Must fix. Suggestions and resources appreciated.

Comments

[dymaxion.livejournal.com]

Good wrist braces are good for the short term — I think it's worth paying slightly more for the good ones so you'll actually use them.— Unfortunately I can't remember off hand the brand that I like (I can look at them when I get home), but they're amazingly more comfortable than the drugstore kind. For the longer term, a set of fleece wrist warmers is surprisingly useful, as the few extra degrees of heat on your wrists really keeps stuff moving.  Stretching is essential, as is taking breaks.  I've found that doing some basic forward and reverse wrist curls very slowly with light weights helps a lot, too — I do them so my wrists are completely tired after about twenty reps. I can really tell the difference between days I've exercised and days I haven't.

Posture and positioning is fairly critical, and it can take a while to get right.  I use an exercise ball at work for a chair, because it's more comfortable than anything short of my Aeron (and work won't buy me one).  I've also found that, especially with the exercise ball, I need my desk really low — the bottom of the desk is resting on my knees, and then my monitor is raised up about a foot (or resting on the desk, tilted back about 45°, but that's harder to do).  So, play around a bit and see what you need.  Your work should have an ergonomics group who can help you if your furniture can't do what you need — if they don't, complain, because they're required to, within reason. 

Changing peripherals can make a big difference, too.  I'm a massive fan of tablets to replace mice, as I wouldn't be able to work without one, but they may not be for everyone, and it sounds like your problem is more with your keyboard.  There are a lot of fancy keyboards out there.  Unfortunately, most of them are expensive and a lot aren't that well made compared to more mainstream models.  I've been very happy with my Comfort Ergomagic, although it's not perfect.

If you have insurance that will cover it, or can afford it, going to see a physical therapist is a good thing, especially once you've spent a little bit of time trying to fix things and they haven't gotten better.  I've managed to mostly deal without this, so far, but if my wrists start going downhill again at all, I'm definitely going in.

[gement.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reminding me of the variety of subtle options available. I've seen the ergo person once already. Her adjustments cleared up my chronic data entry tension headaches (the full-on light sensitivity and nausea kind), which is when my wrists started aching. The positions that are helping my shoulders are hurting my hands, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[dymaxion.livejournal.com]

Hrm.  Well, if you have a position which works for your shoulders, you might need to look at different peripherals to make your wrists happier.  I know mine just can't take the rotation needed to use a normal keyboard.  Basically, you've got a few different things which are out of alignment, and compensating for one problem can make another worse.  Thus, once you've made your shoulders happy, you're bearing the strain in your wrists instead.  If you can find something which will ease that strain directly, you may be ok.  If you think peripherals might help, another visit with the ergo person might be in order — if nothing else, she should be able to confirm what's going on and make some more suggestions.  In the mean time, wrist braces, breaks, stretching, and exercises!