6/15    I know there was a discussion a couple of weeks ago about RSI and
        Carpal Tunnel Syndrome but I wasn't paying attention. Now my SO has
        developed wrist pain after using the computer for a couple of hours
        (we're guessing it's RSI not CTS but we're not sure) and I'd like to
        know: a) is this something people go to see a doctor about and if so
        does anyone have any recommendations for a good doctor (preferably
        in the south bay)? b) any specific advice besides "take breaks every
        10 minutes" etc, especially about setting up an ergonomically healthy
        computer desk setup?
        \_ You need to approach this problem from all sides. I had RSI and
           the pain was so severe that after an hour typing I'd have so much
           pain that I'd have to stop. I took frequent mini vacations but
           after a while they no longer worked. I finally filed for worker's
           comp through HR and they'd set me up with 2 chiropractor
           appointments a week. By the way, despite what you hear, worker's
           comp for RSI is very very common in Silicon Valley and in many
           cases the HR shields this information from your peers and boss.
           Anyways, here is the 411 from my doctors and chiropractors. As
           you get older, the ability for your body to regenerate muscles,
           cartilage, etc diminish. Many short distance runners have to quit
           because they can no longer regenerate some parts at a rate they
           used to, and eventually their body parts wear out that it hits
           the nerves. Same with typing. You're getting older. You'll never
           feel as good as flexible and agile as when you were 18, but you
           can do a few things. First, increase the rate at which your body
           regenerates-- EXERCISE! Cardio is the best. Do this twice a week,
           you'll notice dramatic differences in a few months. You should
           also STRETCH your hands once every 30 min when you type. Make
           this mandatory! Lastly, as a temporarry but immediate relief, use
           Kinesis-Ergo keyboard. I did something drastic and even used
           Dvorak layout on top of my Kinesis, but there is a lot of
           commitment involved. Finally, do all of the above and do it
           CONSISTENTLY. It's been 3-4 years since I started my therapy
           and according to my doctors and chiros I'm 80-90% healed.
        \_ I'd email you exactly how I got rid of my RSI but you're anonymous
           \_ I'd email you and tell you my login so you can e-mail me your
              advice but you're anonymous... oh wait.
              \_ you're the one asking for help, dude.
           \_ email me please.  !op             kngharv
        \_ maybe you should email williamc@csua.berkeley.edu because he says
           there is no correlation between RSI and typing. Maybe he can give
           you advice on what he does that prevents him from getting RSI, like
           proper diet or just having fewer neurons that dulls your sensation.
        \_ I found that not resting my wrists below the level of (or for
           laptops, on) the keyboard, trying to work in not-too-cold
           temperatures, using a wrist pad, using a low-impact keyboard (easy
           to push keys, not too clicky) and just doing wrist/hand/forearm
           stretching exercises every few minutes helped a lot.  -John
           \_ I think John's suggestions are all good. I use the Soft
              Splints from http://www.mousemitt.com to keep my wrists
              at the proper level and keep my hands warm while typing.
              You may end up looking like a Hobo or Glenn Gould or something
              wearing them, but I prefer them to wrist pads, especially for
              laptops.  - ciyer
        \_ I find this mouse very helpful, eventhough it may look like an
           obscene sex toy:  http://www.animax.no  or, if you can't find it
           anywhere, try amazon and look for:
           http://www.3m.com/us/office/myworkspace/mos_ergo.jhtml
           \_ That looks good. I might get one of those. It's funny that it
              looks a lot like a good ole fashioned joystick. Incidentally, I
              bought a rollerball mouse. It's good in that I can actually do
              CAD work for more than an hour at a time now, but I still get
              pain when I have long projects. -- ulysses
        \_ I got one of those bowl keyboards.
           http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/essential.htm and yes they are
           espensive and yes it took several weeks before I could really type
           and over a month before I type well but I was having serious pain
           in my right hand before I switched and as long as I use that
           keyboard the pain is totally gone now.  -aspolito
        \_ You can find utilities that remind you to take rest breaks, or just
           set a kitchen timer.  Learn about stretches specific for
           keyboarding
           http://www.askergoworks.com/about_erg_stretch_breaks.asp has a
           downloadable .pdf with examples of stretches.  I also find that a
           split keyboard helps.  I switched to vim for editing so I don't use
           ctrl-alt chording as much as I did with emacs.  I also started
           mousing with my left hand (I can play FPS's now, though it took a
           while to adjust).  Finally, strength exercises for back and
           shoulders help your posture and force your body into a position
           that's better for your arms.
        \_ I went to the Stanford hand clinic when I had a problem with my
           ulnar nerve.  Had physical therapy, which was almost all just hot
           paraffin wraps of my forearms.  They also had me do exercises
           with silly putty and elastic bands to strengthen my wrists, and
           I use softcasts whenever I type for extended periods.  All that
           seemed to work, and I've been pain free for years now.  The paraffin
           wraps helped calm down my inflamed ulnar, and I think my longer
           term nerve-healthiness is due to the softcasts.  I am not sure the
           exercises helped a whole lot, but I wasn't terribly diligent in
           doing the exercises in the first place.  BTW, I had a grand old
           time talking the clinic resident into ordering all kinds of
           expensive nerve induction tests, all of which were paid for by my
           insurance.  There's probably some kind of insurance-reform parable
           in there somewhere.
        \_ Try these busty mousepads: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=1498
        \_ I haven't tried the Kinesis kb's, but I personally use a normal
           MS ergo split key with the 3M ergo mouse.  The mouse made a
           huge difference for me.  One of my coworkers with more extreme
           RSI uses something called a touchstream keyboard.  It's pretty
           nice since it requires near zero force to type and mouse.
           Make sure you get your desk ergonomically evaluated and do wrist
           stretches ever day.