Plaidophile

So, after an Ars Technica thread about dealing with RSI, I decided to order a Powerball, which arrived a few days ago. I played with it a few times but couldn't figure out how to get it going, until I searched Youtube and came across this useful video.

I got the Techno model which only shows your score after a certain threshold (which I haven't reached yet) but even without that, this thing is great. Just a couple minutes of it feels like I've been working out for hours, and I can barely move my arm afterwards from the muscle fatigue. It finally gives me something useful to do during my typing breaks (and it's certainly more fun than lifting dumbbells while watching TV).

Of course one has to be careful when using one in an office environment.

Hopefully this will finally help me get over my long-term wrist problems. I'm sure I'll keep everyone updated.

For the last month or so my wrists have been getting really bad again, and for some reason I've been in denial. Argh. I guess this is the same cycle I go through every few years. This time around I think it's a combination of bad ergonomics (my keyboard tray at work kind of sucks and I have no keyboard tray at home) and other stress factors.

In particular, over the last couple weeks I've been playing guitar and drawing a lot, which probably has a lot to do with it. Also I haven't been sleeping with my wrist braces for the last, oh, 6 months. So that's something I'm going to have to start doing again. Meh.

I'm having a heck of a time trying to find a decent massage therapist in downtown San Francisco. Most of what I can find are erotic masseuses who advertise their picture more than their credentials, and what's left is mostly practitioners of bullcrap like reiki and reflexology.

I really need someone (preferably a CMT, though the reiki/reflexology practitioners all claim to be CMTs as well so I'm guessing CMT doesn't really mean much anymore) who will do deep-tendon massage for tendinosis. Surely there's got to be someone good and reputable around here?

(I can find a number of decent-looking therapists down in Mountain View, San Jose, etc. and I suppose it's not that big a deal to go down on a Saturday or whatever, but it'd be much more convenient if I could go during the work week without taking a day off from work.)

That's the important one.

There hasn't been a "Dear fluffy" in quite some time, but Chris just writes in with this:

Hello

Googling for leads on what's been plaguing me for the past six months brought me to your site, specifically this post:

http://beesbuzz.biz/blog/e/2006/06/16-tendinosis.php

I've been diagnosed with everything from tendinitis to deQuervain's to nerve damage in my neck with no luck so I still hunt for answers. Since your wrist posts seem to end after that one I'm very curious: did anything in that post work for you? Have you had any improvements or progress? Living with this, I sincerely hope you have

Regards
Chris

I've been going about treating my wrist problems all wrong. I mean, I was doing an established protocol for treating inflammation of the tendons, but cortisone didn't help at all. Reading further I found out it's much more likely I have tendinosis, which is caused by several microtears in the collagen layer of the tendons. In the case of tendinosis, the last thing you want to do is get rid of the inflammation, because that is how the body sends important stuff to the tendons to repair the collagen.

There is an experimental treatment for tendonosis called "prolotherapy" which actually induces inflammation to speed the natural healing process up, but apparently the best treatment is to exercise the muscles in "braking" motions, not stretch, not use anti-inflammatories (instead using painkillers like acetaminophen) to mitigate the pain, and not do the things which cause damage for a month or more. Argh.

So, nerve conductivity tests showed that there's no compression or damage. So whatever I have isn't typical carpal tunnel syndrome. Yay me.

You know it isn't a good sign when a traditional doctor suggests trying acupuncture...

(Well okay, he didn't actually say it outright but he implied it.)

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I really don't like the current chunk of songs which I'm so horribly late on due to my wrists anyway, at least not Been To China or A Thousand Swords. There's a couple of surprise ones I still want to do, though, and I guess I got a bit less shitty for Birds Of Our Own. Really there's not a lot of worthwhile songs left though.

I actually missed the +5 deadline for "Been To China." I have lots of ideas for it but can't work on it because it hurts too much. Meh.

Hopefully this Friday I'll get cortisone and then I'll be all better.

Because my wrists are teh sukc right now my superiors want me to just do non-typing analysis and demi-management stuff until I can get to the orthopedist, and the one who I was recommended to see doesn't have anything available until next Friday. So, no typing until then. Although I appreciate work not wanting me to kill my wrists, after just one day I've already taken care of all the management-type stuff I can foresee for the next week or so. And so now I'm being paid to basically sit around and not even twiddle my thumbs. And I've also been politely asked to not work on music in my spare time (so of course my sadistic muse has decided to fill my head with song ideas! and I'm just bursting at the seams with songs right now) and to keep my non-work typing to a minimum.

I really appreciate the concern for my physical well-being but I AM GOING CRAZY. And it's only been one day! (Two if you count being sent home on Friday.)

There's got to be something productive I can do without using my hands.

last night i had the worst flareup of cts pain ever. hasn't really gone away. finally dragged myself into work today and told my manager of the problem and he told me to take the day off and we'll figure out what to do. gonna do as little as possible witih my hands this weekend also. later

wrists hurt

For the entire weekend, I will not be on MUCKs, IRC, or AIM. I will try to not post lots of weblog entries. The only computer use will be reading email, browsing the web, and maybe drawing my comic.

Future livelihood is more important than short-term entertainment.

Once upon a time, I had severe carpal tunnel syndrome. During this time I went to Hong Kong, and while I was there I discovered a copious number of small form-factor keyboards, which had minimal key travel and were narrow enough that I could keep my mouse at a reasonable location rather than having to either reach awkwardly for the mouse or keep the keyboard off to the side. Within a few months, these keyboards helped me to reclaim the sensation in my fingers. I bought several keyboards, and sold many of them to my computer scientist compatriots back in America, keeping two for myself.

One day I spilled a soda on one of them, and a few years later the other one wore out.

As impossible as it would be, taking a month-long break from the computer seems really appealing right now.

meh