

Ask HN: Dealing with ganglions/RSI - kfullert

Just been to to doctors after noticing small cysts on my left middle finger - diagnosis is ganglions[1] caused by RSI (the constant nature of typing has worn out the protective membrane in places around joints in my finger, allowing fluid to leak out and cause cysts)<p>It's not causing me any pain currently, though I have noticed slightly decreased mobility in the finger they're on.<p>Doctors advice was mainly to invest in speech recognition software (I work as a support analyst/developer during the day and am bootstrapping an idea in the off-time) so I wondered if anyone else on HN suffered similar, and had any suggestions for things that might help (I mentioned it in #startups and was told that change of posture and exercises would possibly help, something my doctor didn't mention)<p>I already take regular breaks from the keyboard (usuaully 5mins or so out of every 60 I step away completely during the work day)<p>Oh, and here's what mine look like for reference<p>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/730422/Photo%2010-05-2012%2011%2012%2051.jpg<p>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/730422/Photo%2010-05-2012%2011%2013%2010.jpg<p>[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganglion_cyst
======
HedgeMage
I inherited a predisposition to RSI and was headed for surgical intervention
when I made a few minor life changes that cleared it up completely over the
course of a few months.

1\. I started taking huge doses of vitamin B6.

2\. I moved my work space around a bit to allow for better typing and writing
posture.

3\. I switched to a good buckling-spring (mechanical) keyboard, like the IBM
Model M or one of its successors from Unicomp[1].

4\. I switched to the dvorak keyboard layout, which reduces the awkward
twists/bends that qwerty forces on us.

5\. I stopped writing with ballpoints, rollerballs, or any type of pen other
than a fountain pen.

6\. I purchased the book Write Now by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay and learned
their italic and cursive italic handwriting, which is much better for the
hands than how most of us were taught to write in school.

7\. I keep mousing (esp. use of "eraser mouse" or touchpad pointing devices on
my laptop) to an absolute minimum.

...and that's it. I've been RSI-free for about a decade. The only caveat I
have is that my RSI was in my wrists and the backs of my hands/third knuckles.
It was not in my fingers at the second knuckle as your pictures show. I'm not
sure that this makes a difference, but I'm not sure that it doesn't, either.

I still spend most of my typical day typing, and a lot of time writing
longhand. I don't take any scheduled breaks from either (just the usual pause-
to-think/snack/etc) or do exercises for it -- I tried both of those things and
they did nothing for me.

Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions. RSI is not
fun.

\--Susan

[1]: <http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html>

~~~
kfullert
Thanks, I've spoken to my boss about it (WFH today) and we're going to discuss
when I'm next in the office, but I think a laptop stand/proper keyboard are
things I'll be getting (I do all my work on a laptop, on a desk, using the
laptop keyboard) plus I've got 4 days holiday starting tonight in which time
I'm going to limit my keyboard usage severely and hopefully this will let them
die down, and then start with the new ergonomics etc. next week and gauge what
effect that has on them.

Good shout on the B6, I'll have to try that too!

~~~
krisleech
Using a laptop is what started my RSI off in the first place. I would suggest
at least plugging a proper ego keyboard in to it.

------
krisleech
I had RSI to the point I could not longer work, happily I am now pretty much
back to full health. What really helped for me was:

Take a week off, no computing (actually I had no choice) Physiotherapy for a
month (once per week) 3M ergonomic mouse (it looks like a joystick) Being
conscious of my body position, when working its easy to get in to a tense
position to ease the pain. Stretching, having break to walk about Exercise Not
using Apple keyboard or mouse, the Microsoft Ergo split keyboard is great, if
only they did a small form version. Switching to Vim text editor (no mouse).
Setting my Mac clock to speak the time every hour (so I know when to take a
rest). The book, "Its not carpal tunnel syndrome", it talks about identifying
the root causes not just addressing the symptoms. A herman miller chain,
pretty expensive. Work less, 9-5, no evening or weekend work.

\- Kris (teamcoding.com)

