Computers and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Studied 365
pioneer writes "An article on MSNBC.com reports that a Danish study has found that computer use is not a significant risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome. Not sure about you, but I spent a lot of time learning dvorak and kinesis to prevent just that... the 'inevitable' onslaught of RSI/carpal tunnel/etc."
For geeks like us... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:For geeks like us... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:For geeks like us... (Score:2)
Re:For geeks like us... (Score:3, Insightful)
phew that's a relief... (Score:4, Funny)
I'm asking....for a friend.
Mike
Re:phew that's a relief... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:phew that's a relief... (Score:3, Funny)
But what about that other activity that is associated with a man, and his wrist. Is it a significant risk factor?
I dunno - does your "friend" engage in... that other activity... eight hours a day, five days a week? If so, well, then your "friend" probably has other issues to deal with.
Re:phew that's a relief... (Score:3, Funny)
Arr Laddy! (Score:5, Funny)
Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Interesting)
M@
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Informative)
I seriously question this study - I've seen numerous fellow employees at various companies who have dealt with their RSI problems in different ways. (Here's one tip for managers: raise the temperature! Sitting in a cold draft only worsens things).
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Informative)
Same symptoms as Carpal Tunnel, different reason.
I agree entirely... (Score:2)
To minimize any further injury I do not play video games or other repetitive type programs.
But these days if I write quite a bit (am a professional technical author) I can get it after about two or three weeks of solid writing.
If the study looked at Europeans, of course it would make sense. Europeans actually have to work at the computer to get any type of injury!
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Interesting)
> numerous fellow employees at various companies
> who have dealt with their RSI problems in
> different ways.
I have to agree. I happen to currently work at a centre for adaptive technology people with disabilities. A pretty significant portion of our clientele are people with Repetitive Strain Injury and of those I'd estimate about 90 percent are coders or professional writers. I haven't made a graph or calculated p-values for this, but from what I remember of my undergrad stats course, I would say that that is a pretty damn significant correlation.
There are several varieties of RSI of which CTS is only one and not the most common. I notice that the article never mention the larger family of RSIs. I wonder if this is intentional. Perhaps keyboard use does not significantly increase risk for CTS but does for other RSIs and this is a matter of selective reporting by the researchers.
I'm concerned that this might just be a half assed study, but that it might end up being quoted to prevent a lot of people who definitely deserve work hazard or disability compensation from receiving it.
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:3, Interesting)
From what I remember from my stats course, correlation does not imply causality.
Sorry, I couldn't resist that. Truthfully, I find this study hard to believe too.
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Interesting)
From the article, The research, appearing in this weekâ(TM)s Journal of the American Medical Association, was conducted by the Department of Occupational Medicine, Herning Hospital, Herning, Denmark, with financing from the Danish Medical Research Council and the Danish Ministry of Employment, National Work Environment Authority.
Perhaps our Danish Slashdotters could fill us in about the organizations who funded this study. It very well could have been funded by government or insurance interests who have money to save by not having to pay for work related injuries.
I would look it up in Google and do the research for myself. I would also expound upon my research results at length; however, my eyes are sore from this monitor glare and my wrists are killing me.
Do you exercise? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Do you exercise? (Score:2, Informative)
Lazy bastard (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Do you exercise? (Score:2)
Re:Do you exercise? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, you sound just like I used to sound till I experienced RSI first hand. Funny how experience will change your viewpoint.
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:2)
Very likely. But the backaches will be much more a function of lack of exercize and being overweight than because of computer use. Eyesight is another matter. There are ways to mitigate damage resulting from continuous monitor use but, whatever one does, there is an undoubted effect.
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:2)
Daniel
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:3, Informative)
Some things include factors such as your own work habits. For instance, do you take breaks from the keyboard and mouse? I take a break every couple of hours to stretch my legs, otherwise I start to get that cra
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:2, Insightful)
In Europe there are pretty strict regulations about the environment around VDU workers (people sitting at a computer). I have to wonder if many people's problem is not their environment. I have seen far too many people lo
Re:Not Ineveitable (Score:2)
I'm living proof. (Score:5, Funny)
Dutch study? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dutch study? (Score:2)
Re:Dutch study? (Now Danish?) (Score:3, Interesting)
But to reply on the matter at hand (no pun intended), any sort of work which forces you into the same type of repetitive movements or the same position for hours on end, has serious health repercussions. If this study 'proves' (for as far as you can do that in a statistical study) that computer keyboard use isn't the primary
As I write this... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As I write this... (Score:3, Informative)
IANAD.
Re:As I write this... (Score:2, Funny)
Shit I must need another cup of coffee, for a split second I was thinking "Why is this guy talking about RS232 signals?"
I just figured (Score:2, Interesting)
that since I've been using computers since 1st grade (I'm now out in the world working), that it was a load of crap.
Also, my eyesight hasn't gotten worse, it's better.
Oh well, I wonder how long until that study comes out.
Maybe not computer use... (Score:4, Funny)
Is Nintendo thumb an accepted medical term yet?
Re:Maybe not computer use... (Score:2)
Grand Theft Auto 3 nearly gave me tendonitis... That and Wipeout Fusion.
Then what causes it? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Then what causes it? (Score:2)
It's not what you do repetitively, it's how you do it. It's about repetitive stress. Keyboard (or whatever) in a comfortable manner that doesn't unduly stress your body and no pain will result.
Re:Then what causes it? (Score:2)
that is a very bad statement...
Go to a foundry and talk to the guys that use the hand grinders all day... extended vibration while holding a grinder will give you carpal tunnel faster than any desk jockey can dream up a new icon.
Factory work and foundry work will give you this and many MANY more problems lickedy-split!
office workers and programmers have it really fricking ea
CTS != RSI (Score:5, Informative)
Re:CTS != RSI (Score:2)
Good point. I'm amazed how poorly people (including most reporters) grasp the distinction between the larger issue of RSI and the specific problem of carpal tunnel syndrome. I've been battling RSI myself for a year, and continue to be asked (by the same people!) if I'm going to need surgery for carpal tunnel, etc.
Heavy computer use: 7 hours a day? (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know about you, but my computer usage averages about 10 hours a day. However, I don't know if I actually type for 7 hours out of the ten, after factoring in meetings and other productivity boosters.
I worry more about my eyes than wrists. I may not be typing 100 wpm constantly, but I am looking at my monitors even when not typing.
Even if I get carpal tunnel... (Score:2)
Pretty fair trade, I think. So there! heh.
Then how... (Score:2, Interesting)
If this is the case, I wonder how it came to be that computer use was associated with RSI/carpal tunnel.
I had always heard (can anyone verify this?) that it was mouse use, in particular with scroll-wheels, that was the main offender.
Kinesis? (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe if he'd put some more time into telekinesis he'd still have a useful skill.
True (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been keyboarding long days for 26+ years now (and "mousing" since 1984). When I start to feel a little cramped, I stop for a few minutes. No carpel tunnel injuries.
Likewise, my vision hasn't changed over the same period, for the same reason. Eyes get tired? Stop. Look around (at a distant object). Close them for a minute.
Repetitive stress injuries are self-inflicted wounds. The psychology behind the activity would be more interesting to read about, but I haven't seen any articles on that subject.
Personal experience (Score:2, Interesting)
mouse is a problem (Score:3, Insightful)
The researchers said they did find an association between use of a mouse for more than 20 hours a week and a slightly elevated risk of a possible problem but no statistically significant association with keyboard use.
So mouse usage is a problem, but the keyboard isn't. Guess I should stop playing Battlefield 1942 at work then.no, EMACS causes CTS (Score:5, Funny)
C-M-g pain
C-M-G agony
C-M-T paralysis
Look at the inventors of *emacs: Stallman - CTS. Gosling - CTS. Zawinsky - weird. Wing - bald.
In the absence of "emacs peddles", the confirmed emacs user is doomed (dooomed).
(in next week's exciting episode: "Perl and your spermcount - the shocking truth").
Re:no, EMACS causes CTS (Score:2)
Awwww crap.
Typing doesn't cause RSI (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been typing since I was five--I'm twenty-five now. I type at ~100WPM. Because I'm self-taught, I don't use the traditional touch-type method. When I type, my hands are at about a 45 degree angle to the keyboard; if I had a "home row", it would be something like QSDC MKLP. I hit whichever key with whichever finger is closest. My wrists stay straight and uncrimped.
I type multiple hours per day, every day, and I don't suffer fatigue, carpal tunnel, RSI, or any of that other business. My touch-typing coworkers walk around with braces on each wrist, and gingerly ease themselves down in front of split-key ergo keyboards and start wincing when they have to type for more than a few minutes.
Keyboarding doesn't cause RSI. Traditional, wrist-crimping touch-typing causes RSI.
Re:Typing doesn't cause RSI (Score:2)
Re:Typing doesn't cause RSI (Score:2)
Style (Score:2)
I use computers a good 10 hours a day (work for IBM, play at home, work from home, etc..), and yet I've never had one whit of a problem with my wrists/arms/fingers/hands.
We need to spread the word
Re:Typing doesn't cause RSI (Score:3, Informative)
My own experience confirms this (Score:2, Interesting)
l8r
Do what? (Score:2, Informative)
It has occured to me that all these people are females in their 40's or 50's, who are generally receptionists, keying in data whilst on the phone.
I've had a mild case & switching to one of the specialist keyboards has helped. I use a Fingerworks [fingerworks.com] TouchStream ST - excellent but it takes some getting used to, is a right old pain if you work in the UK and need to use the £ sign (character
With all due respect... (Score:5, Interesting)
Carpal-Tunnel and RSI were originally diagnosed in women who worked at "sweatshop" textile factories in the early part of the industrial revolution. Sewing is WAY harder on your hands than typing, and so it probably ran rampant in that environment. But there was almost no treatment; women were by and large told to "suck it up" and stop complaining, because it was "just" pain afterall, it's not like they broke anything.
It wasn't until millions of white men started working with keyboards and a VERY SMALL percentage of them got RSI, that it became worthy of national attention. And so now, if you get diagnosed with RSI, you can get disability pay, early retirement, or at least many ergonomic adjustments to facilitate your recovery... IF you're white.
One of the groups who suffer RSI at a much higher rate than computer users: meat packers. Today's meat packing plants run 2-3 times faster, sometimes more, than their historical counterparts, and some cutters have to slice through 60-80 pounds of meat over 100 times an hour. I promise, this will burn out your wrists WAY faster than writing an ActiveX module. But most meat plant workers are Hispanic, and/or non-English speakers. They get $9 an hour, minimal benefits, and, like women in textile factories of old, are usually told to shut up and quit if they don't like it when their wrists are in searing pain.
So, by and large CT/RSI is an affluent white excuse to complain about jobs we aren't "satisfied" with. The people who are truly suffering from these conditions are largely ignored and always have been.
Re:With all due respect... (Score:3)
But that's a somewhat incomplete observation. While there is certainly racism, sexism, and class bias underlying what gets medical focus, especiall
Touch typing (Score:2)
Typing "by the book" dangerous? (Score:2)
Could it be that ten-finger-typing as it was invented for typewriters is dangerous? I mean, RSI is caused by repetitive small movements, and 10-finger typing was invented to keep movement small. Combined with the little way keys on a typical keyboard travel compared to keys on a typewriter, I see a possible connection. Now, if you type like me (all fingers in use, travel pattern could be used as random generator for cryptography), movements are far larger. As for the mouse: play a shooter now and then, it w
Re:Typing "by the book" dangerous? (Score:2)
RSI != Carpal Tunnel (Score:2)
It's not typing, it's "wrist rests" (Score:5, Insightful)
The pain was gone within 2 weeks. The last the of tingling faded away (except in the pinky of my right hand, which seems to be related to mouse use) a month or so later. As long as I keep up this spidery-looking typing style, my hands don't hurt.
Might be worth a try to those of you experiencing pain.
Re:It's not typing, it's "wrist rests" (Score:2)
I began typing by keeping my hands in the air at all times, keeping the backs of my hands level with my forearms, and letting my fingers fall down to the keyboard rather than reaching out toward it.
In other words, you started typing in exactly the pose recommended by your 8th grade typing book.
Re:It's not typing, it's "wrist rests" (Score:3, Interesting)
As other posters have mentioned, the correct typing position is with your wrists straight, your hands hovering over the keyboard, and your fingers dangling down (relaxed) to press the keys. The intent of the wrist rest is that when you stop typing, you do not rest your wrists on the desk and bend them backwards as your fingers rest on the raised keyboard.
Used correctly, a wrist rest can help relieve
See? (Score:2)
DVORAK is crap? (Score:3, Insightful)
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong (I can certainly count on that around here...) but I thought it was pretty widely accepted that the Dvorak keyboard being faster or better is a myth. [urbanlegends.com]
Alright, a quick Google reveals that this is not commonly accepted. [angelfire.com] The defense is pretty shaky thought ("the Navy wouldn't do that.")
Anyways, repetitive movements are what cause the (quetionable) RSI condition, and I don't see how changing the keyboard layout would help, short of something more radical like one of those Logitech/MS 'natural' keyboards... and I don't believe Dvorak is inherently any faster than Qwerty; when comparing two people who know both very well, the typing speeds are probably the same.
You'd do much better to lower your keyboard to take the strain off your wrists. Most people keep their keyboards too high.
Re:DVORAK is crap? (Score:2, Insightful)
Dvorak is not crap. When people watch me type they usually comment that my fingers hardly move. I watch people type on a qwerty and their fingers are all over the place for most words. Dvorak is optimized for the english language and most words can be typed on the home row. (~1600 to be specific).
About the military (lack of)
Sometimes you need to consider the source (Score:2, Redundant)
Clarification of CTS versus RSI (Score:2, Informative)
RSI is basically tendinitis. There are a million causes for it and it is hard to track down. If you get i
Home row (Score:3, Interesting)
I have seen enough coworkers walking around with wrist braces bearing real enough grimaces to take the problem of wrist pain seriously, and don't think they were making it up. So I have experimented with "ergonomic" keyboards, including the Microsoft Natural. While it is comfortable to "touch type" on the Natural, it is even more comfortable to type my way. I believe it is because the way I type, my hands can always fall back to a relaxed position, elbows wherever they need to be, rather than the uncomfortable T-Rex arms I have when using the home row.
These researchers conceded that mousing might be at fault, and I have found that the best thing I have done for wrist and shoulder comfort was to get a Happy Hacking and a small trackball. The sole reason being that getting rid of the numeric keyboard put the mousing device a good deal closer to my hand.
Remapping much used keys (Score:2, Informative)
is a lot I know. And a few months ago I got a pain in my left wrist, so I stopped and actualy took some sick leave.
But even after a week it still was painfull to type, so I tried to find out why and I located the problem to using the ctrl key, which made my hand strain (especialy the ctrl-b and ctrl-f combinations).
The solution was rather simple, I remamped my ctrl key to the caps-lock key (old keyboards actualy had the ctrl key there). And I disabled the old c
Ergonomic issues (Score:5, Interesting)
Everyone else I know, however, uses extremely high sensitivity and accelleration settings. (I tweaked the reg keys in Windows to get it as high as I wanted.) I grip the mouse lightly with my fingers, and only they move. My wrist, my arm: both remain stationary. The mouse itself moves no more than a half-inch in any direction no matter what I'm doing (and at 1600px no less).
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that these problems are avoidable, and they're caused by poor practices more than anything else.
In the infinite wisdom of the Polish Doctor from the old joke, "Stop doing that!"
will somebody explain to me (Score:3, Informative)
Re:will somebody explain to me (Score:2)
The answer is in your question. You changed the nature of the stress on your wrists. Maybe, by using the
Programmers are a bunch of whiney bitches... (Score:2, Funny)
Hmm... (Score:3, Interesting)
But what about those of use who use keyboards a LOT -- and use cramped, uncomfortable keyboards like those on laptops and palmtops a LOT. I mean, I am typing pretty much nonstop for about 16 hours a day. I have huge hands (with a size 12 ring finger) -- and sometimes, they just hurt. The 500k+ impacts per day on this click tactile keyboard can't be doing me any good. Am I the cancer rat? Can I safely ignore this stupid warning label engraved in my otherwise stylish black dell keyboard? Or can I expect the ligaments in my index finger to just tear one day, like a linebacker's ACL? Can you come back from such an injury? CAN I DROP MY LLOYDS' POLICY?!?
Confirms my thoughts (Score:5, Insightful)
From what I've seen in other people everybody who had severe wrist/arm/shoulder complaints that they were relating to their computer work was either:
- Working under a lot of stress and/or time pressure for prolonged periods.
or:
- Not happy with their work or their work situation.
I think that computer use puts you in a certain heightened risk group for RSI/carpal tunnel but in my opinion you only "get" RSI or carpal tunnel when you are under a lot of stress or generally not in a very relaxed/happy mental state.
I find that when I voice this opinion in the real world, people tend to be very offended by it... so just for the record, this is not a troll.
Try a different window manager (Score:3, Funny)
To avoid problems.... (Score:3)
Proper Typing = More Pain? (Score:3, Interesting)
Think about it- "proper" typing is based around the concept of minimizing your hand/wrist/arm motion. With a limited range of movement, you're doing the same little movements over and over again.
Myself, I'm a pretty fast typist, but I use sort of a modified hunt-and-peck method. I use about three fingers on each hand and I can basically hunt-and-peck AND touch type. Scary. But anyway, my hands are constantly roaming all over the keyboard like a pianist, almost... I actually feel like this really PREVENTS stress injuries, since I've got a wide range of motion going on.
This is in addition to other, proper ergonomic measures such as arm rests on the chair, wrist rest in fron of the keyboard, etc... of course.
Its NOT using computers that causes problems (Score:2, Funny)
Flawed Study? (Score:5, Insightful)
THE FINDING was based on a survey of nearly 7,000 workers... Computer use âoedoes not pose a severe occupational hazard for developing (the) symptoms,â the authors concluded.
The article doesn't state what was on the survey but I have a suspicion that there is no distinction between a computer user and a person that is mainly a typists. I've been a programmer for many years and although I would be considered a heavy computer user, I would not be a heavy keyboard user. I type parts of the program, think, type some more, take a break, etc. I'm not like a key data entry person. That person would type non-stop for hours. I say that either the study is flawed and/or the article is too short on details.
Other injuries (Score:2)
Biggest contributer to my CT: the Mac "puck" (Score:3, Informative)
Of course, now I use trackballs almost exclusively, so it doesn't matter as much. Optical trackballs are SO nice!
Its Mice, not Keyboards.... (Score:2)
The study mentions what I have personally felt for a while... With that numeric keypad tagged onto the keyboard, the mouse ends up being very far away... So I at one point started,sliding my keyboard left (I'm right handed) and found that while I started typing mostly with my left hand, keeping my right on the mouse I started getting cramps in my left so I had to move the keyboard back... but now I have to reach so much farther for my mouse, which will only be bad for my right hand. Why do we still have tho
Re:Its Mice, not Keyboards.... (Score:2)
Shamefully responding to my own post...I realized that I forgot to ask if the lefthanded slashdotters use those lefthanded keyboards [dsi-usa.com](numeric and qwerty opposite to what most people are used to) and if they find that these are more comfortable, for the reasons I described in that first post..
No brainer - its not what you type on, its how (Score:3, Informative)
I've used computers since I got my commodore 64 a little more than 15 years ago. Never had a problem, until this year.
This year, I sliced open one of my fingers bad. The bandage I was wearing changed my typing position, and within the 12 or so days I had the bandages on, my wrists started hurting and my fingers tingled. The bandage and wrist pain is gone now, but my fingers still do tingle on occasion.
Speaking from Personal Experience (Score:5, Informative)
Thanks to her help i'm getting better, however, and can offer this advice:
- find the working position that is optimal for muscle relaxation. I have two desks put together in an "L" shape with an armless chair, so i can rest my elbows up at the level of the keyboard. What kills your muscles is having them flexed (even gently) for a long period of time.
- stretch every 30-60 minutes. I do these three forearm stretches and find them very effective:
1. Hold your arm straight out. Bend your hand forward at the wrist, pulling it with your other hand until you feel a gentle stretch. Hold it for at least 30 seconds (it takes at least this long for muscle fibers to get the hint and release.
2. do the same thing bending your hand backwards.
3. this one is more complicated but is really the money stretch: hold your arm straight out in front of you, make a fist with your hand and hold it tight. Rotate your arm to that the thumb-side of your fist is facing outward. Now grab the fist with your other hand and pull it down and outwards, simultaneously bending the wrist and rotating the arm further. If done properly you should feel a nice stretch all through your forearm. Be gentle: it's more important to hold it longer than to push it harder.
If you're a Canadian living in Ontario or BC, you can go see a Registered Massage Therapist - they do wonders, and can give you advice on stretching and posture. Also Active Release Therapy (or ART,) which is provided by certain RMT's and Chiropractors, is pure gold for more serious problems. I don't know what regulatory bodies exist in the states, but i know that in Canada's unregulated provinces (everywhere but BC and Ontario) a lot of massage workers are either foofie-lala new age aromatherapy types or borderline sex industry workers, as opposed to genuine health care providers - so be careful.
Don't forget shoulder & neck posture (Score:3, Informative)
Through some Alexander technique [alexandertechnique.com] and structural integration [rolfguild.org] work (i.e., rolfing), I'm finally better.
Whereas my regular doctor blamed computer usage and recommended I take off a few months from work, my PT believes this my symptoms were caused by poor posture over a lifetime - shoulders drooping forward, neck dropping forward. I believe the PT more than my doctor. (I have since changed doctors.)
if you do it right (Score:4, Insightful)
use the right keyboard, the right pressure,
take breaks, have the right posture, etc then you'll be ok.
All those preconditions sounds like there's a
lot of risk to me. Rock climbing is safe if
you do X, Y, Z. But if you don't, you are
screwed.
Load of crap (Score:2)
I developed repetitive stress disorder/carpel tunnel disorder while working on my prelims during my PhD training. It came entirely from having to practically live in front of a computer manipulating a mouse hour after hour, day after day. The problem continues today so that I have to be careful about how I use my computer and for how long.
My wife has also developed similar problems, only her's are more severe than mine...but for her is was not just the mouse/computer interface - it was a combination of
video games (Score:2)
I think the PS2 dual shock, with their weird, analog-but-shouldn't-be buttons, are particularly bad, since the tactile feedback is so poor.
Endless games of Tetris Attack / Pokemon Puzzle League prolly don't help though, and that's all Nintendo...
Ergonomic Works (Score:2)
When I wasn't playing music, I could almost definitely be found on a keyboard (minus some other activities).
After playing VERY frequently I started to feel pain my senior year in high school in my wrists/fingers/hands. These would be extremely sharp pains that would stop me from using my hands for at least a few minutes before starting up again.
When I got to college I was on my computer ALL the time (CS Maj
cigarette smoking is not bad for you either... (Score:2)
Well, I don't agree. (Score:2, Insightful)
Let me just start off by saying that you wouldn't want to wish CTS on your worst enemy. It's not a pleasant experience.
That out of the way, I can say, without a doubt, that typing was the cause of my CTS.
I was hacking up an Ericsson PABX controller for many many hours for many many days. I wasn't taking breaks, I wasn't stretching, and I was using a mouse and a normal keyboard.
At first my hands went numb on a Friday. I thought it w
Re:mixup (Score:2)