Scary Stuff:

• I have friends with friends who can't brush their hair because it hurts too much. They can't open doors with their hands; they use their elbows. They have difficulties holding cups. RSI is very real.
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (one form of RSI) involves a tendon passing through a tunnel in the wrist. The tendon expands with usage, scraping against the tunnel. There is a buildup of scar tissue that eventually eventually blocks motion and causes pain. With rest, scar tissue can take months or years to heal, or it can require surgery. However, since one types very regularly, one is almost never resting the wrists for months at a time. Thus, once you have scar tissue, the tissue generally will not heal.
• You might have pain in one area right now. But, it spreads...
You can do a lot of damage to your wrists before you feel any pain. By the time you can feel pain, you have a serious problem. Seeing a doctor immediately is a good idea.

Have Good Posture.

• I admit it, as I become more and more tired, my posture becomes pretty terrible. Many people are like this.
• My Dad (a chiropractor) tells me that my neck position is far more important than my wrist position -- though wrist position is important.
• Feet should be firmly planted on the floor. Wrists should be level with the elbow. One should have the monitor at eye level, so that one does not need to bend one's neck. The back should be well supported; one should not be leaning forward. I repeat: one should not be leaning forward.

Do some stretching exercise.

• I know almost nothing about this topic. I want to learn.
• A couple of exercises: http://www.tifaq.org/archive/tendonitis_info.txt
• Exercise Equipment: http://www.tifaq.org/accessories/stretching.html

Take regular breaks.

• Apparently the rule is 5 minute breaks every 30 minutes. Apparently two 2.5 minute breaks are not acceptable; it has to be a full 5 minute break.
• Alternatively, I've read 10 full minutes every hour. But for me, I find 40 minutes of typing is enough to cause tingling so that I will not use this alternative.
• Several people have claimed that regular breaks are far more important to them than choice of keyboard.
• For windows, I have recieved recommendation for www.rsiguard.com (Ron Goodman, a Techer, I think an old mole).
• For linux, xwrits is available. Try: "xwrits typetime=30 breaktime=5 +beep +breakclock +clock +idle=2 +top"

Get a good keyboard.

• I recently switched to the microsoft contour ergonomic keyboard. It is a sloping keyboard with the keyboard divided in 2. I like it much better better than a normal keyboard.
• Several people recommend the Kinesis contour keyboard. www.kinesis-ergo.com It requires very little movement to use; though it is difficult to learn to use.
• Several people claim that the key feature of the keyboard is that it requires very little force to press the keys -- a soft touch keyboard.
• Many people say the keyboard is not very important. Breaks and Good posture are far more important. I asked several friends with RSI which keyboard they recommended. They all told me to take more breaks.
• From time to time, I find it painful just to put my fingers over my laptop keyboard in preparation to begin typing. My hands are too close together; they are at the wrong angle and my posture with my laptop is often terrible.

What do I do to cope?

• I make sure I have excellent back support when I type. I make sure my feet are firmly planted on the floor. I use a normal keyboard. I put it on my knees. I tape the cord to the desk to make sure the keyboard doesn't slip. I take 5 minute breaks minimally every 30 minutes. I try to take more breaks if I can. (I use xwrits to time the breaks). During those breaks, I ALWAYS stand up, walk around, and stretch my kneck, back and wrists. I often stretch my legs as well. For about 6-8 hours of typing during a day, this procedure is sufficient. When I type for 10-12 hours, it ceases to be sufficient.
• I find that my hands start to feel pain after 40 minutes of typing. I also find that once my hands start to feel pain, it is almost impossible to get the pain to completely stop without completely stopping the typing. Thus, the goal is to take breaks before my hands start to feel anything.
• I try not to use a mouse. I set up short-cuts so that I can use the keyboard to easily switch windows.
• I don't stop working during my breaks: I try to think about what I'm doing during the breaks. So, my time is generally not entirely lost.
• I try to spread out my typing. If I have some reading to do, I will type for a few hours first. Then I will read. Then I will continue typing later.
• I try to keep my wrists and arms warm. Muscles relax when warm; they become very tense when cold. Even during the summer time, I will almost always wear a long sleep shirt and sometimes even a sweater. In an air conditioned building, it can be very difficult to keep one's hands warm.
• I keep a water bottle by my computer. I make sure I stay well hydrated. I'm told that muscles become tense when dehydrated. Also, drinking a lot gives me a good reason to regularly take breaks.

Links on RSI

• General List of Links: http://www.rsiguard.com/rsilinks.htm
• Very Thorough List: http://www.engr.unl.edu/ee/eeshop/rsi.html
• Lots of information and recommendations by doctors: http://www.tifaq.com/information.html
• MIT reccomended technology: http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/techno.html
• RSIguard: http://www.rsiguard.com
• xwrits: http://www.lcdf.org/~eddietwo/xwrits/
• Kenesis: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com