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Ask HN: Do you have wrist or hand injuries?

I'm curious how prevalent wrist and hand injuries are amongst programmers. I haven't come across good statistics on this, and it seems like it could be a moderate professional risk. It's hard to tell who has hand/wrist pain but doesn't talk about or just ignore it, who's had corrective surgery, etc. Also, do you use preventative measures like ergonomic keyboards and mice?

tbirrell 8y ago
I'm more concerned about constant keyboard use exacerbating existing injuries. I don't have any caused by computer use, but all my fingers are double jointed and have a tendency to get hyperextended and hurt doing other things, such as playing american football (though I have injured my hand doing something as trivial as tucking a bedsheet in), so I'm carful about what keyboards I used since the tap-tap-tap all day will hurt otherwise.
accrual 8y ago
I've been a computer user since age 3. I only started developing RSI when I began computing as a profession. Within the first year I experienced prominent wrist pain, primarily in the mouse hand. I had to deal with many applications across three 1920x1200 monitors. Things that helped: > I used a Wacom Bamboo tablet for several months to completely replace the mouse. I became pretty skilled at using it and it helped a lot with the RSI. It was a good experience and it's nice hardware for the cost, too. > I bought a pair of wrist braces from Amazon. I used them while working and while sleeping. They provided excellent pain relief by keeping my wrists fixed and stable. > A mechanical keyboard. I've bought and used several, but an old Das Keyboard with MX brown switches remains my favorite and most comfortable keyboard. I'm sure an ergonomic variety would be even better but I'm comfortable with the standard QWERTY. > I gradually increased my mouse sensitivity. This was one of the most important changes, as my hand no longer needed to travel as far to accomplish the same tasks. My window configuration was already pretty optimal for me. My RSI resolved within a year or so. I stopped using the braces and Wacom tablet but keep them on hand just in case. I haven't had any problems since.

tbirrell 8y ago

I'm more concerned about constant keyboard use exacerbating existing injuries. I don't have any caused by computer use, but all my fingers are double jointed and have a tendency to get hyperextended and hurt doing other things, such as playing american football (though I have injured my hand doing something as trivial as tucking a bedsheet in), so I'm carful about what keyboards I used since the tap-tap-tap all day will hurt otherwise.

accrual 8y ago

I've been a computer user since age 3. I only started developing RSI when I began computing as a profession. Within the first year I experienced prominent wrist pain, primarily in the mouse hand. I had to deal with many applications across three 1920x1200 monitors. Things that helped: > I used a Wacom Bamboo tablet for several months to completely replace the mouse. I became pretty skilled at using it and it helped a lot with the RSI. It was a good experience and it's nice hardware for the cost, too. > I bought a pair of wrist braces from Amazon. I used them while working and while sleeping. They provided excellent pain relief by keeping my wrists fixed and stable. > A mechanical keyboard. I've bought and used several, but an old Das Keyboard with MX brown switches remains my favorite and most comfortable keyboard. I'm sure an ergonomic variety would be even better but I'm comfortable with the standard QWERTY. > I gradually increased my mouse sensitivity. This was one of the most important changes, as my hand no longer needed to travel as far to accomplish the same tasks. My window configuration was already pretty optimal for me. My RSI resolved within a year or so. I stopped using the braces and Wacom tablet but keep them on hand just in case. I haven't had any problems since.