I have a serious hands problem, need advice.

[surrealchereal]

Thanks Mike, I will today! Mr. Ed his is what I am worried about. (oh tell the Misses thanks and we should see more of her on the board, )
But does anyone have any opinions on Voice Rec. software? I know quite a bit about the hardware needed for the best response, I sell a product that is excellent for S/R but what about software? L&H? or? Who is best?

[Ed_S]

We had an excellent discussion of VR software here a few months ago. Tried to find it, but unfortunately the search functions don't appear to be working properly tonight.
Anyway, TechJumper has been involved in VR, even tried his hand at a BBS devoted to it! He should be a good info source...

Also, a very close friend had CTS badly enough to require surgery on both wrists. Couldn't use a mouse at all, and he was in cadd courses at the time. He went with a MicroSpeed trackball, said it worked great for him. I bought one as well, & love it! Had it several years now & still the best I've found. Large ball, large buttons, comfortable base angle. I've got mine on com1 with a mouse on ps2 port, both active so I can switch whenever I like. Varying the hand usage that way might help too.

<IMG SRC="http://www.microspeed.com/trackballs/images/pc-trac.jpg" border=0>

[kennedyb]

I think I would start by taking more breaks from the kb and doing some gentle stretching of your neck, shoulders, arms, and wrists. Long static positions can attribute to neck/shoulder/elbow/wrist pain. It can be difficult to differentiate between all of these joints. It is also difficult to differentiate between involvement of nerves, tendons, and vascular structures. It does however sound "nerve like" as you have hypersensitivities in your finger tips. It is especially important to notice which fingers hurt, where exactly do they hurt (top, bottom, sides), how long does it take before it begins, what makes it better, what makes it worse. These will be questions that the doctor will ask you, so pay attention to the answers so you can provide accurate information to him/her. It does not seem like cts to me. I too am no doctor, but I do have experience in this area.

You may also as to see a Physical Therapist for evaluation, treatment, and possibly an ergonomic worksite evaluation. This may also be a workers comp thing if it is work that is aggrevating it. In that case, your work will have to send you to their specified workers comp doctor and their therapists. A therapist will be able to rule out the neck, shoulders, elbow, wrist, and fingers to narrow it down better.

Let us know how it works out. Good Luck.

[krusty the klown]

I'd recommend trying one of the MS (or similar) ergonomic keyboards. It helped me, as I have a tendancy to stab the keys far too hard and I'm less inclined to do so with the ergonomic ones. I think the built-in wrist rest helps too.

In the mean time, you could try taking a low dose of paracetamol or ibuprofen. These are NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and should help reduce the inflammation. Ibuprofen is better, as paracetamol can cause stomach irritation and should not be taken by anyone with a stomach ulcer or acid reflux.

Naturally, you do not want to rely on these - you sense pain as your body's indication that damage is occurring, so you do not want to dose up to the point where you can unknowingly cause more damage because you can't feel pain.

It is likely to be a repetetive-strain type of injury, but as members have pointed out, there are other possibilities, so see the quack and don't let them fob you off with some kind of 'it needs rest, come back in a week' BS. This is their common line for either 'I think you are a time-waster and there's nothing wrong with you' or 'I don't know what's wrong with you, please go away and let me treat ingrown toenails and write out repeat prescriptions'.

If you don't have any joy with the quack, either see another who will take you seriously, or more than likely, a physiotherapist speciallising in work and sport related injuries will be far more knowledgeable than a local doctor.

No, I do not have a high opinion of 'family doctors' (general practitioners, as they are called in the UK). IMO (and I have VERY strong reasons to form this opinion), they are far too quick to tell you to go away (perhaps with a low dose of a few pills, to keep you quiet) and they seem to assume everybody's a time-waster until proven otherwise.

EDIT: LOL kennedyb - posted @ same time

EDIT2: surreal - is there any history of rheumatoid arthritis in your family??

[This message has been edited by krusty the klown (edited 03-25-2001).]

[MrEd]

The MRS. works as an RMA for an Orthopedic Surgeon, and she thinks you may have tendonitus (sp?). You should get in to see a doctor or it's going to get worse. If that's what it is, then you WILL have to take it easy on the keyboard until it heals.

-MrEd

[MiKe85]

Perhaps you have similar problem as myself. If so, then welcome to the wonderful world of carpal tunnel syndrome. Even at my supposedly relatively young age of 20, I already suffer from the first stages of this degenerative condition. Spasms, serious pain, swelling, stiffness, and a variety of other problems associted with the hands can be results attributable to cts

This definetely shouldn't be taken lightly..My grandmother had to retire and have surgery on her wrist because of carpal tunnel...
Rob: It's good you are taking care of this..

Surrealchereal: I've had that problem..I suggest going to your local CVS, Walgreens, or any drug store and getting something like a wrist 'protector' it wraps around the wrist and cushions it .. something like cast if you break it- so you can only move it in certain positons.. I got one it costs $20 but it really does help..
Good luck!


Mike

[surrealchereal]

I'd recommend trying one of the MS (or similar) ergonomic keyboards. It helped me, as I have a tendancy to stab the keys far too hard and I'm less inclined to do so with the ergonomic ones. I think the built-in wrist rest helps too.

very plain left hand typing only
i got a t-ball and the key board for the same reason k-klown, i beat it to death, got the mouse in but no keyboard (maybe the battery i went cordless) just using the mouse to do the installation my hand swelled. it will be easy to show a doc. i will take the mouse with me. i am an informed consumer (pain in the ****) when it comes to dr's and am not bullied away.
get this, i just got med ins haha 1-1/2 weeks ago! they wont be too happy! I purchased my own. and i havent had any for 8 months. so i will pursue it all. thanks guys.
i'll keep ya posted.
and kklownn yes to the rheumatoid arthritis ..
hey TKOP, this mouse works better than yours!!! i can hit the spot 2 out of 3 times!
For everyone else, the kingofpains got a trackmouse that acts like it's on cocaine & steroids overtime!
whew!

and because i installed a moose the first time....

[This message has been edited by surrealchereal (edited 03-26-2001).]

and any other corrections forget it!



[This message has been edited by surrealchereal (edited 03-26-2001).]