Ask HN: What do you wish you knew before you got RSI? - swyx
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wallflower
\- In many cases, RSI can only be managed, not cured

\- Regular physical fitness like doing weight training, push-ups, and pull-ups
(if you can manage those) can help greatly

\- Swimming is one of the best exercises if you have access to a pool since it
is zero-body impact. Look at Total Immersion’s “Swim like a Fish”

\- Your greatest asset is your ability to produce income for yourself and your
family. RSI forces you to preserve that asset, even if degraded

\- Playing guitar, tennis, piano, even bowling will become activities that you
can no longer partake in

\- Those damn key combinations (ctrl-c, ctrl-v) when done with one hand if you
are lazy are really bad and can cause RSI to flare up

\- Foam rollers are one of the cheapest and therapeutic things you can do for
yourself

\- Not taking the ability to type for granted will gift you a glimpse at a
long-term perspective on life

\- Like diets, there is no one-size fits all solution. Try out before you are
sold.

\- If you have pain or soreness after a binge of coding and it goes away after
a night of rest, that is a warning sign. Eventually the recovery periods will
lengthen. And eventually there will be no true recovery, but a baseline
pain/soreness

\- It takes many years to get RSI but you can do it quicker if you pound away
at the keyboard day and night. Same for video games

\- RSI will become just another part of your life. You will manage. You will
survive. You just won’t go bowling.

~~~
swyx
"Your greatest asset is your ability to produce income for yourself and your
family. RSI forces you to preserve that asset, even if degraded" wow - this is
profoundly insightful. thank you for this amazing list!!

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scamper
I developed RSI around 1996, when I was doing lots of fine mask work in
Photoshop. I tried lots of things to reduce the pain, including one of the
early “vertical” mouses. But the only strategy that worked was switching to my
left hand (more effectively distributing the workload), something that works
for me to this day. I’ve had zero flare-ups since ~1997, though I can still
occasionally feel wrist stress in my dominant hand when it’s in a non-resting
position for too long. For that I wish I’d been more mindful, and used my non-
dominant hand earlier, before I was forced to. I just thought I could push my
way through.

~~~
swyx
I'm glad that you have had no flareups for so long! unfortunately my symptoms
seem to be keyboard, not mouse related (I am right handed and use my mouse
with right hand, but pain is in my left) so I doubt I can just switch sides.

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user_agent
I don't have RSI, I have Fibromyalgia. It'a a similar PITA.

What I'd wish to know earlier?

\- That computer mices are retarded and trackballs are the way to go.

\- That there are much better keyboards out there and the standard layout is
retarded (ortho is a minimum) - currently using X-Bows, previously Microsoft
Ergo 4000. There are options.

\- That the tilted keyboard (its top tilted) is one of the worst ideas ever.
It should be exactly the opposite.

\- That I need to make breaks.

\- That when something is titled "ergonomic" in 9 out of 10 cases is at best
anti-ergonomic. Plus what's really ergonomic is often ugly.

\- That weightlifting helps a lot with maintaining rarely used muscles in a
good shape.

\- That sometimes the only thing I need to do is to put my hands into a warm
water for 15 minutes.

\- That I don't need to write everything on a computer. I switch between a pen
and a keyboard all the time.

~~~
phaus
>That computer mices are retarded and trackballs are the way to go.

I really like mice and I find them to be much faster and much more precise.
However, I recently switched to using a trackball for work and general use and
I now only use a mouse when I'm gaming. My wrist feels better than it has in
years.

> That the tilted keyboard (its top tilted) is one of the worst ideas ever. It
> should be exactly the opposite.

I have a split keyboard with adjustable tenting. Can you explain or post a
picture of what proper tilting looks like? I would like to give it a try and
see if it helps.

~~~
user_agent
Great! I do it exactly the same way.

>Can you explain or post a picture of what proper tilting looks like?

It's very simple. Either make the whole thing flat, or tilt it, but make the
part that's close to your wrists higher than the rest, so you can look like a
mantis - you bend your hands in a similar way, which is the opposite to how
people usually do it and where keyboard's jibs are usually mounted. In both
cases gel pads for wrists are mandatory. And the keyboard should be close to
the body, not the monitor. Split is a must too.

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markx2
That ignoring or not realising the warning signs and taking painkillers to
keep working is a very very wrong thing to do.

Mine developed 2007 onwards and it's still with me today.

The only thing that worked for me was not using that hand at all and using a
splint at night.

~~~
swyx
I think I am in the early stages of getting RSI now. unfortunately I'm not
sure how I can type without my left hand??

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kleer001
I got RSI when I was 12. AT 45 the only things that keeps it away are frequent
breaks, smart ergonomics, and resistance exercise. And I only discovered those
things in the last 5 years.

~~~
swyx
what kind of resistance exercise works for hands? I feel like everyone needs
to know this.

~~~
kleer001
Anything with grip strength. Work on the forearms and biceps. Basically
anything above the waist is good for your hands.

However, do not try to focus on only the hands. The human body is a big bundle
of sticks and elastic see-saws. It a very real way (as hippy dippy as it
sounds) the human body is all one-thingness.

Do:

Pushups, all kinds.

Pullups, all kinds.

Punches, presses, windmills, do it all.

Have a 15 minute daily exercise routine before breakfast. Make it up yourself.
If you have room to turn around you have enough room to exercize.

There's tons of body weight exercizes to find online for free. This is your
body. No amount of money can get you a new one or improve the one you have.
The only way to get better is discipline and consistent effort. Just 15
minutes a day, I swear.

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kirubakaran
Remap CapsLock to Ctrl

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bjourne
How to avoid getting RSI. Duh!

