Occasionally I’ll have a flare-up of problems with my wrists after I’ve been typing/mousing too much without paying attention to my posture or the ergonomics of my desk. I went through this a few years ago and sought the full phalanx of help (saw a doctor, visited an occupational therapist, got a consultation from an ergonomic expert). I know enough to try to avoid problems as long as I can keep my head out of my rearend long enough to remember.
However, I find that once I forget and problems start, I cannot get my hands back to normal. As I compensate for them, I start to make my shoulders hurt as well. Even observing all the proper guidelines on using a mouse and keyboard doesn’t help. It’s happened again–my wrists are killing me, and my triceps have begun to hurt, not to mention the ache in my shoulder blades. At the moment, I cannot take the time to give them the rest they need. I’ve got to make dissertation progress, and that means typing. In a few weeks, I am going on vacation and can give them complete rest. But between now and then, I have to find a way to keep going.
I am certain some of you have dealt with this, and I hoped to hear from some of you what you do to speed healing and ease discomfort. Exercises, medication, strategies, etc. FTR, right now I am taking Aleve and Advil. I’m wearing flexible wrist braces to bed, too. I bought some glucosamine (joint supplements) figuring I’d take the chance that might help, too.
I have Ulnar Palsey, which is basically Carpal Tunnel but in the shoulder or elbow, rather than the wrist. In one of those two joints, or both, the nerve path gets inflamed, presses on the nerve, and makes the outside half of my left arm and hand, including the two outside fingers hurt like hell and then eventually go totally numb. Without lots of testing and surgery to first locate the inflammation area, and then to correct it, the treatment that 3 doctors have given me is the same.
“When it starts up, put yourself on a 3200mg/day dose of Advil. 800mg four times a day. When the numbness/pain begins to subside, usually about 7 days, stop taking the advil”.
Apparently the best thing to do is just take anti-inflammatories, and work on trying to figure out what I have done that makes it start up. Sometimes it happens twice a month, sometimes I go 6 months without it happening.
My wife has tendonitis in her wrists and has been told the same by doctors. Take advil, wrap them, and keep them as comfy as possible. The alternative is surgery which may or may not correct it.
Drugs help but here’s what really helps: Get rid of your mouse immediately and get an ergonomically correct TRACK BALL!!!
Using a mouse causes you to overcontrol the large muscles in your shoulder (that’s why your triceps hurt, and pretty soon your neck muscles on that side are going to get stiff too) and arm in order to move the mouse ball through a fairly tiny area. Plus it requires you to stay in a constant “clench” of the mouse which is bad for all those muscles.
With a trackball, you will be using the muscles Ma Nature INTENDED for fine control: your fingers and thumb. Plus, your arm and wrist can be almost constantly supported throughout use, rather than being stressed constantly.
I, too, had RSI, was getting physical therapy, and it wasn’t working, and they were talking about SURGERY. Then someone told me to try a trackball and–no kidding–two hours later most of my RSI problems cleared up. No more aches, pains, tingling and numb fingers, frozen shoulders, all gone, bye-bye.
For residual problems, find the best massage therapist you can and see him or her once a week for a month.
DO NOT let anybody cut anything till you’ve at least tried this.
Thanks for the anti-inflammatory advice. I tried taking two naproxyn instead of one today, and the difference was incredible. So I’m upping my dosage of the Advil, too.
I know what good advice this is. I had a trackball–it was one of the best solutions they gave me at work after my last serious flareup. But I was having USB compatability problems with my computer. Constant freezes and crashes all due that thing (well, that and my ergonomic keyboard. It was killing my productivity and raising my blood pressure to boot. Finally I had to take back my old mouse. Damnit. Maybe with a new OS I can try it again. Or at least get one at home (I’m on a different platform at home)
the trackball is a definite help. i would only add that advil is a brand name. the 800mg 4 times a day will really help by reducing the inflammation, but generic ibuprophen is exactly the same, and cost about 1/3.
Be careful taking large doses of pain relievers. They cause stomach irritation.
Make sure to eat something before you take mega doses.
You may end up with a hietal hernia.
The new arthritis drugs are wonderful. But they are prescription only. Ask your doctor.
I have terrible tendonitis in both wrists and I can’t agree more that a trackball mouse is the way to go. I have a Kensington TurboBall that came with “rest-reminder” software. It sends me a message however often I want that tells me I have to stop and rest. I have mine set for every half-hour, at which time I stop and do some dr. prescribed writst stretches/exercises for about 2 minutes. Then I just put my hands in my lap and sit for another minute. It helps A LOT to just stop and rest a bit. You might look for some software like that, even if you can’t do the trackball.
Also, I switch my mouse from right to left-handed every week. It took some getting used to at first, but now I’m just as fast with the left. It gives my overused right wrist a nice break for a week.
I also have an ergonomic keyboard, which, after one day, I was used to and do not even notice now that it was different. I have a footrest and a fully adjustable chair WITHOUT arms. Not having arms on your chair (at least for me) is important because then your arms/shoulders etc. can be in the correct position without banging into the chair arms.
Anyway, after 15 months, I have completely stopped taking any pain medication and am able to control it with frequent rests, stretching and an ergonomically correct workstation. You might want to ask your HR dept. if an ergonomics person can come evaluate your workstation. That’s what I did and she fixed me up and taught me how everything should be.