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by shoo 2914 days ago
Professional advice is a good idea.

One suggestion that helped for an acquaintance: if it's RSI from typing on a standard keyboard, but isn't too severe, switch to a fancy split ergonomic keyboard (provided that's different to what you currently use), change the key layout to Dvorak, throw away your existing typing habits and slowly learn to touch type again.

Another relative was diagnosed with https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpal_tunnel_syndrome . Surgery can help.

2 comments

Also, switch to a trackball instead of a mouse. I'm not terribly sensitive to RSI (I've worked data entry jobs where I sometimes spent 12 hours a day 6 days a week typing), even so I've found that using a regular mouse for a full day of work is one of the easiest ways to get RSI. I switched to using a trackball maybe 10 years ago and it's very noticeable how much it improves things.
My wife went through a lot of work to find ergonomics to mitigate RSI. In the end:

1. Adjustable desk height. 2. tried several keboards before settling on the best split. 3. tried several mice.

all helped, but... symptoms were also confusingly intermingled with a pinched nerve. PT helps that. See a doctor, yes, and also keep your mind open to other/multiple confounding causes.