My right wrist is aching so much that I'm actually typing this entry with my left hand.
My mouse now stands on the left side of my laptop, which can be quite confusing.
Ideas to stop the pain are welcome.
RSI is a pain, it's also very personal, a keboard good for one person may be relly bad for someone else.
As a general rule, your better off with a trackball rather than a mouse. It's also worth using something that forces your hand/wrist postion to be more relaxed and straight. I use a gel filled wrist rests which I find quie useful.
Remember eveyone is different....
Re:Better keyboard and mouse?
cog on 2006-08-14T10:43:25
something that forces your hand/wrist postion to be more relaxed and straight
I think that's precisely what I need.Re:Better keyboard and mouse?
ajt on 2006-08-14T13:14:52
Everyone is different, but in genreal bent wrists are bad for you, your carpal tunnels don't like being used when they are bent. Poor seating position can make for painful shoulder and neck too.
I've never had a problem, but I know lots of people that have really suffered.
I know it's obvious, but the way to stop something hurting is not to do it. If that's not possible, then take regular breaks. If you're in pain now, take 30 minutes off to 10 minutes on. That sounds really bad but you can use the 30 minutes to think, doodle down designs, and organize yourself. I've found it makes me no less productive.
Also you might want to check out externally applied painkillers. I got a bottle of "Wood lock" from my local Chinese doctors, which helped a lot. But don't let the painkillers fool you into thinking that you can type and it won't hurt! You still need to take long recovery breaks.
I'm a big fan of Workrave as a Windows/Linux background utility to remind me to take regular breaks. I also use a Microsoft Natural keyboard -- the split thing took some getting used to, but is much more comfortable to me now than a regular keyboard.
