hey, owning my first computer IS PAYING OFF ALREADY!
I wonder where the wrist brace I wore 12 years ago could be?
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:07 (fifteen years ago) link
How's that posture?
― ----> (libcrypt), Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:08 (fifteen years ago) link
why, do hunchbacks have unusual incidence of CTS?
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:13 (fifteen years ago) link
Posture includes how you hold yr paws: If you rest them on the desk, for instance, the chance of injury increases. Same if yr wrists are twisted.
― ----> (libcrypt), Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:16 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah, I know. Haven't put the laptop on a good desk yet. They're probably more dangerous than ... nonlaptops.
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:18 (fifteen years ago) link
depends on whose lap
― harry s tfuman (and what), Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:20 (fifteen years ago) link
oh. posturepaws
― o_O (ken c), Thursday, 19 February 2009 15:25 (fifteen years ago) link
any tips on getting fingers' feeling back faster? I'm holding the pen w/ TWO HANDS right now...
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 17:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Get yellow and blue gripmaster and keep by your side. These light enough tension you can use all the time without injuring yourself. Do some kind of exercise of your arms, pushups or rower for example. Get somebody to show you some good stretches, yoga and otherwise.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 17:42 (fifteen years ago) link
thx ken -- is Gripmaster a brand?
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 17:55 (fifteen years ago) link
I see it is. I guess I can get those at Paragon nr Union Square.
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 17:57 (fifteen years ago) link
get an external keyboard for your laptop, much easier to type on!
― go back to ur game of Croquette ye posho's (stevie), Thursday, 19 February 2009 18:06 (fifteen years ago) link
The yellow one is sometimes hard to get because it is too light for some people, but it is really good for stretching out and loosening your hand. Sometimes music stores have it. You can also get it online at Amazon. Or I happen to see you at FF and I have one, I might lend it to you.
(Waiting for Hurting to come and tell us how Robert Schumann hurt himself by using some self-designed hand exercise contraption)
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 19:23 (fifteen years ago) link
Also, if you carry around a manbag all day, empty it out or leave it at home, since that stuff presses down on your nerves and messes up your posture.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 19:24 (fifteen years ago) link
i had problems with this for a long time, getting rid of it basically comes down to:
1. posture - def. most important, and while a laptop makes it a little harder, it's still doable to have good posture on it. look up stuff on the web about good computer posture. 2. your chair/desk situation, tho this is related to #1 (some make it harder than others to keep good posture.). get a good chair or desk that isn't too high or low. 3. upper body exercises and streching - yoga REALLY REALLY helps. simply streching your arms/hands/wrists won't do you much good, and can even make it worse if you're doing it wrong. complete upper body stuff enables circulation throughout much more than just wrist exercises. helps in general if you do regular exercise, too. 4. take breaks here and there from computer activity.
― mark cl, Thursday, 19 February 2009 19:45 (fifteen years ago) link
4. like say, every 20-30 minutes
― mark cl, Thursday, 19 February 2009 19:46 (fifteen years ago) link
Yes, that's all good advice.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 19:58 (fifteen years ago) link
much thx. i thought the point of a laptop was you could use it anywhere? oh, me.
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 20:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Sure, you can use it, and get twisted up into a knot by it, anywhere.
― WmC, Thursday, 19 February 2009 20:13 (fifteen years ago) link
liking caddyshack also helps
― Yo, I just copped dat brand new Manity Kane cd. (M@tt He1ges0n), Thursday, 19 February 2009 20:20 (fifteen years ago) link
3. simply streching your arms/hands/wrists won't do you much good, and can even make it worse if you're doing it wrong
stretching my fingers, wrists and forearms helps me a lot. then again it's exercises I got from a physical therapist since my carpal tunnel was outta control so there's no risk of me "doing it wrong" I guess. certain types of arm exercises with weights (like the rowing someone mentioned) make mine WAY worse almost immediately
but yeah sitting up straight is the biggest thing
― dmr, Thursday, 19 February 2009 21:09 (fifteen years ago) link
A good part of sitting up straight is balancing on those two little bony parts called "the sit bones." (Somebody I know called them "the Sitz bones")
I guess the thing about doing exercise is, if it hurts stop doing it or do it at a reduced level (lower the setting on the rower) and see if that helps. I remember reading that doing pushups would exacerbate the problem, but I found that doing pushups helped me a lot, as long as I didn't do too many.
This book has some good stretches for your legs and back which should help.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 21:25 (fifteen years ago) link
geez most of these ergo pages tell yo to sit slightly *back*
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 19 February 2009 21:27 (fifteen years ago) link
If you try to hard to sit up straight that's another point. Key is to sit on those sit bones so when you move you are flexing your hip joint and not doing something weird with your back.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 February 2009 21:57 (fifteen years ago) link
right fingers still numb as hell, gotta try the splint.
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 20 February 2009 15:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Sorry to hear that. But lol at my friend last night referring to you as a "computer whiz" or "computer freak."
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 February 2009 16:17 (fifteen years ago) link
was he? did you explain I never had one til last week, and don't even understand what Twitter is?
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 20 February 2009 16:19 (fifteen years ago) link
No. I don't know if he would understand the difference. I don't think he even has email or knows what Google is.
― lemmy tristano (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 February 2009 16:22 (fifteen years ago) link
One of the best things you can do is make sure you keep your arms in a straight line from elbow to knuckle. Any backward bend in your wrist is really going to exacerbate CTS. If you're using a regular keyboard, flip the little legs away and have it flat on the table. If you can't keep your wrists straight without one, get a rest. Don't centre the keyboard to your body; centre the G and H.
― Madchen, Friday, 20 February 2009 16:46 (fifteen years ago) link
alas, laptop makes all that impossible.
why does every little thing in life now require a SEMINAR???
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 20 February 2009 16:49 (fifteen years ago) link
xp: well, not all of it. apprec'd
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 20 February 2009 16:50 (fifteen years ago) link
hey... do you think my CTS could be chalked up to my using the laptop MOUSELESS? dragging my finger on it only.
― Dr Morbius, Monday, 23 February 2009 14:25 (fifteen years ago) link
Could be...trackpads are the work of the devil...get a mouse for home computing.
― WmC, Monday, 23 February 2009 15:50 (fifteen years ago) link
yes. i'm a foole.
― Dr Morbius, Monday, 23 February 2009 15:51 (fifteen years ago) link
i have been using trackpad only for almost 3 years now with no pain but is this going to come back to bite me when i'm 50?
― я рилли (harbl), Monday, 23 February 2009 15:52 (fifteen years ago) link
hey, im not 50.
― Dr Morbius, Monday, 23 February 2009 15:55 (fifteen years ago) link
is it going to come back and bite me when i am old
― я рилли (harbl), Monday, 23 February 2009 15:59 (fifteen years ago) link
YES
― Dr Morbius, Monday, 23 February 2009 16:13 (fifteen years ago) link
OUCH
― worm? lol (J0hn D.), Thursday, 30 April 2009 01:15 (fourteen years ago) link
Hm I sit scrunched up in all kinds of wackass positions on the couch with my laptop, I suppose thats why my left side is all fucked up (pins and needles and shoulder/neck pain and a screwy jaw).
― one art, please (Trayce), Thursday, 30 April 2009 01:36 (fourteen years ago) link
J D at least youre kind of a blogger
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 30 April 2009 01:46 (fourteen years ago) link
good thing I recently got an old manual typwriter to do my writing-writing on
maybe I'll go super old-school and start carrying it onto airplanes, how insufferable would that be
― worm? lol (J0hn D.), Thursday, 30 April 2009 01:50 (fourteen years ago) link
wow you can post to ilx from your typewriter--that must be some typewriter. . .
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 30 April 2009 02:08 (fourteen years ago) link
Dr. Morbius how is yours doing? I have never had numbness/weirdness in my hand and it is really bumming/freaking me out
― worm? lol (J0hn D.), Friday, 1 May 2009 05:41 (fourteen years ago) link
it's better than it was in Feb, when my handwriting was like an 8-year-old's. You have a brace? Adjusted your keyboard height etc?
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 1 May 2009 06:23 (fourteen years ago) link
no, no brace - this literally just started a few days ago. my keyboard's a laptop. I'm presently many many miles from home (for the next four days) - who should I see for a brace?
― worm? lol (J0hn D.), Friday, 1 May 2009 12:37 (fourteen years ago) link
you can buy one in a chain drugstore for $15-20
― Dr Morbius, Friday, 1 May 2009 13:06 (fourteen years ago) link
i've had a bone spur for the last couple years now and i've basically ignored it because it's never done me any harm, but just today i've started getting a stiffness that requires a wrist flex & minor cracking sound (inna joint stretching stylee) to relieve. it's suddenly kinda worrying me. as a writer/ilxor/drone who works at a computer terminal i basically spent 60 hours a wee at a keyboard. i kinda need my hands iirc
:/
― BIG HOOS's wacky crack variety hour (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Wednesday, 29 July 2009 15:35 (fourteen years ago) link
How long has it taken you guys to heal from this sort of thing? My CPT (actually it's the other one where your ring/pinky fingers are the ones that go numb) probably started happening around January, and I've seen a (relatively useless) doctor about it, and it's still quite a bother. Though thankfully I am (hopefully) past the major hump and on the road to recovery, I'm still waking up most mornings with major numbness. I'm starting to feel incredibly paranoid this shit's never going away.
― Nhex, Thursday, 6 May 2010 09:26 (thirteen years ago) link
i had problems with my right hand cramping. so i moved my mouse to the other side and it went away. takes a bit of getting used to, and it's easier if you swap the buttons over too.
― koogs, Thursday, 6 May 2010 13:04 (thirteen years ago) link
I had to leave my job, my carpal tunnel was so crippling. I have been feeling better lately and have been in physical therapy but it will be a while.
― Band Fag X (u s steel), Thursday, 6 May 2010 13:05 (thirteen years ago) link
(actually it's the other one where your ring/pinky fingers are the ones that go numb)
Uh oh. I've had this exact thing for about a month. It's only on my right hand and it sucks. I was worried it was CPT but was sorta hoping it would just go away on its own. O_O
― Aqua Backrat (ENBB), Thursday, 6 May 2010 15:20 (thirteen years ago) link
The first symptom people usually notice is that their hand and fingers become numb and tingling while they are sleeping causing them to wake up frequently during the night. Most people do not even realize that this is a symptom of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and attribute the numb feeling to sleeping on their hands in an awkward position, cutting off blood circulation.
OK I've had this for AGES and just thought I was sleeping on my hands.
― Aqua Backrat (ENBB), Thursday, 6 May 2010 15:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually, that was happening to me. I knew this for sure because I would wake up lying on my back but with one forearm tucked behind me, and especially during this recent period it would cause a lot of pain, so I took to wearing wrist splints to sleep... man that sucked, and eventually it was causing enough negative feedback for me to quit.
koogs, I actually started doing that (switching mouse hands) and it caused me to acquire CPT in BOTH my wrists/arms :( so it's best just to cut down usage altogether. ENBB, avoid my foolish mistakes and IMMEDIATELY start relaxing and cutting hand usage, or take more breaks and such - I wish I'd acted more wisely earlier.
Physical therapy's a good idea - once I get my insurance/health situation sorted out I should look more into it.
― Nhex, Friday, 7 May 2010 03:43 (thirteen years ago) link
I had really awful CTS for about six weeks a month or two ago - pain was so bad I couldn't sleep - thought I was gonna have to have the surgery
but I wore one of the sleep braces 24/7 for a couple weeks, then went to a regular brace during the day/sleep brace at night for another couple weeks and now it's pretty much gone
as an IT guy by day and a guitarist by night this had major potential to cramp my style, glad I got it under control w/o surgical intervention
― (e_3) (Edward III), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:20 (thirteen years ago) link
two other things I did: made the workspace ergonomic and took lots of anti-inflammatory painkillers
― (e_3) (Edward III), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:25 (thirteen years ago) link
how long did you go on the painkillers for? i took advils like nonstop for about a week and it helped a ton, but started getting major stomach upsets and was afraid i was taking too much
as i said i did the wrist splint thing for a while but i doesn't seem to help anymore, and barely seemed to help much at all, as i was getting pains in slightly different areas from it
― Nhex, Friday, 7 May 2010 04:32 (thirteen years ago) link
I was taking painkillers non-stop for about two weeks, then only when it bothered me. started with naproxen/aleve cuz it's anti-inflammatory, but oddly enough tylenol worked better for me (even tho it's not anti-inflammatory).
I went to a medical supply store to get my first splint and it was awful! actually made the pain worse. then I went to a regular old pharmacy and they had a much better selection. if you can afford to buy a couple different kinds and try them out, that's the best approach. if you're in the US the futuro ones are great, the night version worked so well I nearly enter a state of sexual arousal just looking at the packaging:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/48462.jpg
― (e_3) (Edward III), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:41 (thirteen years ago) link
when things got better I started wearing this one during the day
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/00778.jpg
― (e_3) (Edward III), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:43 (thirteen years ago) link
any idea on what the most ergonomic pointing system is? trackball? some advanced logitech thingy?
― Did you in fact lift my luggage (dyao), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:51 (thirteen years ago) link
the other one where your ring/pinky fingers are the ones that go numb
That's from compression of the ulnar nerve. It can get pinched at the wrist or base of the hand but more often gets compressed at the elbow (site of, and cause of, the "funny bone" phenomenon). Common scenarios for ulnar nerve compression would be sleeping with the elbow bent, resting the elbow for hours against an armrest, and balancing the wrist or the base of the hand for long periods on a hard surface (bicycle handlebar, the edge of a table). You can call it "cubital tunnel syndrome" when the compression site is in the elbow.
The classic story is numbness in the 4th/5th fingers plus maybe some weakness of the small muscles in the hand. People with mild weakness of the muscles innervated by the ulnar nerve often find they catch their pinky finger on things (because the muscle that holds that finger close to the rest of the hand is weak).
If you compressed your ulnar nerve hard enough to cause persistent symptoms, it can take 2 months or more to recover completely. Recovery is prolonged if you continue to re-injure it. Beyond preventing ongoing injury, there's nothing that can be done to speed the process.
Your best bet is to figure out how you're squished the nerve and then try not to do that anymore. The kind of wrist splints used for carpal tunnel won't help. If you're compressing it during sleep you could consider wearing a brace/pad over your elbow at night. Found a sketchy looking website with diagrams that might help you understand what I mean: http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw007.htm
(Note: I am a real doctor but the above is not official medical advice for you, use at your own risk for recreational purposes only.)
Good luck.
― The Amy Misto Family Knife (Plasmon), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:52 (thirteen years ago) link
my middle finger is getting kind of arthritic from using the scroll wheel so much :/ xp
― Did you in fact lift my luggage (dyao), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:52 (thirteen years ago) link
Thanks so much for the words, Edward and Plasmon - I am seriously going out of my fucking mind about this, it is depressing as hell as I'm in a similar situation to Edward wrt to my daily activities and my general life has been shifted. Just hearing some new advice about this makes me feel a little better. My doctor did mention the ulnar nerve compression, but he also prescribed the wrist splints (which I had to find on my own) and Naproxen, neither of which seemed to help all that much. A second visit was even more useless, as the doctor refused to even see me. I should try out some other splints/hand braces, it didn't occur to me that other types might be more comfortable, seriously.
― Nhex, Friday, 7 May 2010 05:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Naproxen will treat pain (not very well for pain for nerve compression), but it doesn't help numbness or weakness because it doesn't fix the nerve compression.
Wrist splints are for compression at the wrist. From what you said upthread, your symptoms are being caused by sleeping with your arms bent, which means the nerve is being stretched/compressed at the elbow. Wrapping your elbow might help prevent that.
Once you stop re-injuring it, it will get better.
― The Amy Misto Family Knife (Plasmon), Friday, 7 May 2010 06:06 (thirteen years ago) link
fuck i can feel this shit coming on
― wavy g. wavegarten (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 24 March 2011 07:26 (thirteen years ago) link
is using a laptop all the time an immediate road to CTS? does using a desk really help keep it at bay?
― wavy g. wavegarten (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 24 March 2011 07:27 (thirteen years ago) link
The tip of my left middle finger is totally numb and has been all day. WTF? It's really starting to freak me out.
― Juggy Brottleteen (ENBB), Monday, 7 November 2011 01:38 (twelve years ago) link
mine didn't exactly get better but as with a lot of the other frankly appalling shit that advancing age has brought onto my body (which, don't get me wrong, a lot of it I worked hard for & earned & I have no right to complain about it now) I eventually adjusted to it.
ENBB that's really specific, are you left-handed?
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 7 November 2011 01:59 (twelve years ago) link
Nope - right-handed. It's such a weird feeling. I've had cubital tunnel syndrome as detailed itt but that was numbness in the pinky and ring finger and would come and go. This is just the middle and has been like that since I woke up. It's such a weird sensation.
― Juggy Brottleteen (ENBB), Monday, 7 November 2011 02:07 (twelve years ago) link
I have no idea what the hell tbh!
― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 7 November 2011 02:19 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah :( I don't know either. It's still numb but getting better. I think.
― Juggy Brottleteen (ENBB), Monday, 7 November 2011 16:45 (twelve years ago) link
So last wednesday, while working on a huge excel doc, my right hand let me know in no uncertain terms that i've got the cubital version. Right ring finger went totes numb and got dark and bruise-like at the first joint. Freaked cause i thought it was a blood clot or s/t, went to walk-in clinic where they were certain it was not a vascular event but a repetitive stress thing.
Since then if i even try to type w right hand, or draw, or handwrite, or hold a phone to my ear, i get the cold numbness, the tinlging and sometimes slight pain on my right pinky/ring finger/outer hand edge/outside forearm almost immediately. Super sucks and is really frustrating/depressing to the brain on some sort of really primal level.
I'm not an IT guy but my job is very email and document heavy AND i draw comics in my spare time AND i play guitar so i guess i earned this...
― folsom country prism (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 18 June 2013 20:35 (ten years ago) link
sorry dude!
― Nhex, Tuesday, 18 June 2013 20:40 (ten years ago) link
Realized I never updated the thread with what happened to me. Ultimately I didn't have any nerve damage or surgery, but i was in physical therapy for several months after i was able to get some health insurance to cover it. My injury was misdiagnosed and mistreated for half a year before things started to actually get better, and probably another 6-12 months before things were back to normal (or as close as it'll ever be). I incorporate stretching through the day now to prevent the symptoms from coming back as they occasionally do.
― Nhex, Tuesday, 18 June 2013 20:45 (ten years ago) link
I'm saying this to advise bracing yourself, get treated and start healing
― Nhex, Tuesday, 18 June 2013 20:47 (ten years ago) link
I have insurance (fittingly so since its p much my desk job that caused this). Just have to find the right provider.
I gather from upthread that the wrist/hand brace thing e.g. futuro doesn't do anything for the cubital (ulnar) version?
I'm struggling with exactly how to rest the right arm while i sit here typing away with left hand only. i have it laid relatively straight on my desktop with a pad under it, which it def prefers to hanging at my side...
― folsom country prism (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 18 June 2013 21:09 (ten years ago) link
Hands are so sore. And my right thumb is so sore from banging the space bar I am now using my left hand to hit it instead, which is awkward.
Any other writers dealing with hand pain? How do you manage?
― Evan R, Friday, 28 August 2015 14:58 (eight years ago) link