In 2005, programmer Henrik Warne developed RSIrepetitive stress injury.
Over the course of six months, the condition progressed so severely that he considered a career change.
Fortunately, through a combination of actions, he managed to get rid of the pain and fully recover.
This week, we’re tackling RSI.
Early in 2005 the muscles in my forearms started to hurt.
I realized fairly quickly that I had RSIRepetitive Stress Injury.
After about a month of pain I went to see a doctor.
He thought my joints were inflamed, and gave me anti-inflammatory pills (which did not help).
However, he could not answer how I could get rid of the pain.
I also went to a number of physical therapists, and tried many different exercises (e.g.
weight training), as well as acupunture and heat treatment.
It was also pretty clear to me that my problem was something they had not previously encountered.
So I started doing my own research on the web, and tried different things.
I read the book"It’s Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!
I also experimented with many different kinds of mice and keyboards.
I found that theGoldtouchsplit keyboard and a gel-filled wrist rest works well for me.
The split (and angled) keyboard allows my hands to stay at a more natural angle when typing.
The mouse I use is anUllman Penclic Mouse.
You hold it like a pen and move it like you move a normal mouse.
Eventually I found a really great one called WorkPace.
I believe that the break-program together with the ergonomic keyboard and mouse really saved me.
However, none of the doctors and physical therapists I saw realized this.
Instead, they were all in one way or another treating the symptoms.
So my advice is that if you feel any pain when typing, do something about it right away.
But I was programming for more than ten years without problems, and then it started to happen.
How I Beat RSI| Henrik Warne’s Blog
Henrik Warne is a software developer in Stockholm, Sweden.
He has been programming professionally for more than 20 years.
Image remixed fromHuHu(Shutterstock).
