I'm having real problems with my arm and shoulder at the moment and I'm in a bit of pain.  I know that it is related to the way my computer area is set up. 

I need to get some advice on how to set things up and find out what I am doing wrong.  Until I'm conviced it is all sorted I am going to restrict my computer use to essential stuff only.  I hope that having this break will allow everything to heal.

Will miss you being here, karen...

Enjoy the break and hope all your aches and pains clear up soon...

Hope You feel better Karen. :)

I hope things work out for you, karen :)

Hope everything goes well :)

Sometimes stretching and taking a break can help. I hope your pain goes away real soon.  :)

Karen...I'll miss havin' you around here. :-[ Hope everything works out for you and that you'll feel better. :) 8)

Sorry to hear that karen but you're doing exactly the right thing in getting specialist advice to sort our the problem at its root.

Look forward to seeing you back here, fully recovered, in the near future!

I hope you feel better soon!




Erin :)

I hope your arm and shoulder get better, Karen.

See you soon. :)

take good care,Karen  :)

We are sorry to see you go but you do need to take care of yourself. I hope the problems gets fixed soon so you can hurry back to us.





Cat

We'll miss you, karen...take care of that arm and shoulder and come see us again when you're feeling better.  :)

get well soon...I'll miss you!

I'm having real problems with my arm and shoulder at the moment and I'm in a bit of pain.  I know that it is related to the way my computer area is set up. 

I need to get some advice on how to set things up and find out what I am doing wrong.  Until I'm conviced it is all sorted I am going to restrict my computer use to essential stuff only.  I hope that having this break will allow everything to heal.



Get it sorted!

It could be to do with the fact that your office is.. A BLOODY MESS!

;D Hope to see you around soon

Get it sorted!

It could be to do with the fact that your office is.. A BLOODY MESS!

;D Hope to see you around soon


Ha ha!  ;D

I'm sorry to hear you are having troubles, Karen. I hope that you can come back in the sound knowledge that everything you do will be ergonomically sound.

Rest up in the meantime. We will look forward to your return.  8)

Hope you feel better soon, Karen.  Hurry back. :)

have a nice time healing... an uh, well, come back when you can!

Hope everything clears up soon Karen  :)

Get it sorted!

It could be to do with the fact that your office is.. A BLOODY MESS!

;D Hope to see you around soon


The desk has been tidied up a bit anyway.

Back for a little while but I won't spend as long here.  I'm waiting for a wrist rest and things to help.  Does any know where I can find a page showing keyboard short cuts for things.  It's mainly scrolling on websites that doing the damage I think.

eta:  Forgot to say thanks to everyone for their good wishes

The desk has been tidied up a bit anyway.

Back for a little while but I won't spend as long here.  I'm waiting for a wrist rest and things to help.  Does any know where I can find a page showing keyboard short cuts for things.  It's mainly scrolling on websites that doing the damage I think.

eta:  Forgot to say thanks to everyone for their good wishes





karen,
does your mouse have the little rolling thing in the middle of it? I tell ya, that helps a lot with scrolling up and down a page....and you don't have to move your wrist hardly at all...maybe you could check into one if you don't have one already.



Erin :)

Erin

I have one of those.  It's to do with the position of my arm and wrist.  I wasn't keeping my elbow underneath my shoulder and my forearm parallel to the desk.  Still haven't worked out how I'm supposed to type and not move my arms to in front of my body like this website shows.

www.openerg.com

Im currently using the mouse left handed because my arm aches!

I'm waiting to get some of those gel things.  I really think they will help.  I couldn't find any for sale in town on Saturday and it will take a few days for them to come from an order placed at work.

Im currently using the mouse left handed because my arm aches!

I'm waiting to get some of those gel things.  I really think they will help.  I couldn't find any for sale in town on Saturday and it will take a few days for them to come from an order placed at work.





Hope you're feeling better :)

Hope the arm is better soon Karen  :)    It's not going to be the same without you.

Karen I can sympathise - I developed chronic RSI (now known as OOS - Occupational Overuse Syndrome) in Dec 2002.  For the first 18 months I couldnt write with a pen, use a mouse, stir food while cooking, wash my hair (I actually cut my waist length hair to above my shoulders to reduce the effort), push or pull doors open, point, dial a phone and so many other normal day to day things.


Most days my right arm feels like a lump of lead from finger tip to shoulder blade and my wrist is 30% larger than my left one - it hasnt reduced one iota in the past 3 years. 

So here are the things i did to help myself - hope they are helpful to you:

- Bought the best quality ergonomic gas lift chair - my physio suggested if you have one where there is a tilt lift for the seat itself - slope it foward a bit - you feel like you are falling off till you get use to it but it totally changes your posture and really helps the shoulder and arm.

- Ensured my desk and chair at home and work are set to identical heights.

- Reduced my computer use to weekends only. Sometimes I break that rule if I am home sick.

- Trained myself not to rest on the mouse while reading a site - when there is no need to scroll - make the effort to take your hand off the mouse and rotate your wrist and move your arm and shoulder around before returning to scroll down the page.

- Bought a cordless mouse so I can swap from left to right the whole time I am online.

- Do NOT use the gel wrist pads. They have been banned in most Aussie government departments after studies showed they were cutting off circulation to nerves and causing damage to the nerves that was being misdiagnosed as MS, and causing CTS and ganglia cases to triple. OH&S dpartments here prefer to suggest that you always ensure there is air between your wrist and your desk - never be inclined to rest it on the desk or anything else.

- Take 500mg of a good anti inflammatory twice a day with food.

- Apply an anti-inflammatory gel or cream twice daily.

- Make some good sized wheat bags and keep them in the freezer for application whenever the agony is bad. I go to bed with one on my shoulder blade and one on my wrist - my mum actually designed one in the form of a velcro'd wrist band so it goes all the way round and stays on.

- Trained myself to actually switch off the puter when it starts hurting (this was the hardest lesson !!)

- my physio suggested a good wrist excersize - I will see if I can describe it (otherwise I will need to take photos and PM you with them). Start with your hand palm down - use the other hand to push the hand downwards (as if your fingers were aiming at your elbow) - do this to the count of ten. The reverse it pushing the hand upwards for ten.  Repeat during the day.  What it does is causes the blood to constrict and the flow fast - and this helps with the fluid retention and pain.


I did this to myself and I feel so stupid - I had been using computers for years and in just one weekend of resizing a few hundred holiday photos - lots of clicking and dragging and renaming - I managed to give myself a stupid injury that I then assumed would go away. Almost three years later I am fooling myself that my wrist will ever return to its normal size and my shoulder will stop screaming with pain.  The best I can do these days is prevent it from worsening.  Dont let it get that bad Karen. Try and nip it in the bud before it becomes chronic.