Pain

[mikoli5763]

not in the story, but my own physical pain. I did a search and didn't get any finds so I'm asking.
I have found that I have pain in certain areas of my body after long hours typing on the keyboard. My right wrist, right shoulder, and lower back have been killing me today because I spent a good four to five hours last night writing my story for the winter contest.
I must admit I misread the due date and thought it was closer than it was, but once I got started, I couldn't stop and didn't realize how long I'd been writing and late it had gotten.
So my fellow AH'ers, do any of you have this problem? How do you deal with it? Are you able to ignore it when you're in the "zone" as athletes call it like I seem to be able to do?"

 

[StrangeLife]

Get up and walk around for a few minutes at least once an hour... maybe do a few of those "office exercises" to loosen the muscles. Does wonders for me.

 

[desertslave]

Exactly. Get up, walk around, do some stretches and bends to work your arm in the opposite direction.

Also, see if a different chair position might help, or a different keyboard.

The thermal patches can be a big help, too.

 

[PennLady]

not in the story, but my own physical pain. I did a search and didn't get any finds so I'm asking.
I have found that I have pain in certain areas of my body after long hours typing on the keyboard. My right wrist, right shoulder, and lower back have been killing me today because I spent a good four to five hours last night writing my story for the winter contest.
I must admit I misread the due date and thought it was closer than it was, but once I got started, I couldn't stop and didn't realize how long I'd been writing and late it had gotten.
So my fellow AH'ers, do any of you have this problem? How do you deal with it? Are you able to ignore it when you're in the "zone" as athletes call it like I seem to be able to do?"

I've had some episodes of CTS-type pain, and that may be what you have. Not CTS, exactly, but maybe tendonitis or something like that. (I used to work in an office where we did a lot of type-setting of third-party documents on top of other things, and man, that can take a toll.)

When you say your wrist, etc., are "killing you," what kind of pain is it? I once had enough pain/discomfort in both of my arms that it felt like a burning line was going down each of them. I sat in a chair one night and watched about two hours of television and never touched a remote or anything because I wanted to rest them.

Anyway, is it like that? Is it more of an ache? Sometimes pain can be so hard to describe.

The suggestions of getting up and moving around are good ones, as are making sure that your chair, desk, keyboard, etc., are at the right heights for you. You might want to try cold instead of heat (in case you have any inflammation), or alternating ice packs with heat pads. Aleve (naproxen sodium) may help alleviate some of the pain, too.

If it continues, you may want to see a dr. I saw a ... neuro-muscular specialist, I think, or maybe a neuro-skeletal specialist. Neuro/musculor/skeletal something. Although a GP would be a good place to start. I'm sure many of them see this with so many people working in offices and at computers.

 

[R. Richard]

The pain in your wrist might be CTS. However, the pain in your shoulder and back indicates that your keyboard height and/or your computer chair are not right. Your forearms should be level when you type . Your chair should provide adequate support. If it's the chair, getting up and walking around might help, but if the problem is the chair, you might need a better chair.

 

[CeasarBoobage]

I agree, it sounds like your chair is at the wrong height, leading to bad posture. Also with your wrist sore, you may need a pad that supports your wrists on the keyboard/mouse. Another option is using an ergo keyboard; I can see an increase in both typing speed and comfort when I use a split-key design.

After about a decade in front of crappy mice and keyboards, I had surgery to relieve carpal tunnel issues. Now I gladly spend extra cash to get good hardware. If i'm gonna be a keyboard jockey for as many hours as I am every day, you're damn right it's worth it.

 

[mikoli5763]

Thank you

for all your responses.
I have secondary questions from them though.
Like I mentioned, when I'm writing, I get in a "Zone" and time has no meaning. I thought I'd only been at it for a couple of hours not four or five. Getting up once or twice an hour doesn't even compute when a couple of hours feel like one.
I guess I could get a timer that would alarm or beep when it's time to get up and move around, but that would break my train of thought and it's so hard to get back into the groove for me once I've started something and have to stop in the middle of it.
All that aside, again Thanks for everyone's suggestions and hints.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

CTS would be the most common problem (I've been through it and now again), but it presents as numbness of the thumb, index, middle, and lateral side of the ring fingers. Your symptoms are more comparable with a poor elevation of your working surface - your desk, or whatever you work on, is likely too high or too low for you. Try adjusting it to the height where your forearm is comfortably level (parallel to) with the floor and your shoulder is neither raised nor lowered.

Good luck.