Re:Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
by pohart on Monday June 23, 2008 @04:10PM
(#225517)
before spending $1000, adjust your chair, keyboard, and mouse so that your posture is good, your shoulders are relaxed and your wrists are in a neutral position. You may not be able to do this with a standard keyboard, but a split keyboard is less than $100. if your chair doesn't adjust, get one that does. I personally like a chair that doesn't have armrests, as they sometimes cause me to raise my shoulders or contort my wrists, and I am comfortable resting my arms on my body/legs/
Re:Ask HN: Avoiding carpal tunnel / repetitive stress injuries
by wensing on Monday June 23, 2008 @11:52AM
(#225214)
Thank you for the questions. I realize now that I have been resting my wrist on the chair armrest in an attempt to keep my wrist and arm and hand straighter (thinking this was healthier). But now I realize that even if that whole unit is straight, the resting itself is damaging. Thanks.
Is the pain in your R hand on your wrist (palmar side?) or is it in the back of your hand? It' makes a difference. A doctor can help you sort things out. All the tendons and nerves that control your hand flow through a narrow band in your wrist. If you rest your arm's weight on your wrist for extended periods of time (i.e. mousing on your R hand), you can put pressure on that bundle of nerves and tendons. Do it too long, and you can end up like a friend did and not be able to button a shirt for 4 months.
So, may I suggest a trackball, trackpad or vertical mouse. I actually have a track ball and a mouse connected to my computer, and I switch back and forth between them every so often. I'm probably going to purchase a vertical mouse soon, because my wrist is aching a little bit.