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I have such bad RSI from computer use that I can't use a keyboard for any length of time close to allowing me to hold a fulltime (or likely part time) job. I h

by SCdF 3y ago

I have such bad RSI from computer use that I can't use a keyboard for any length of time close to allowing me to hold a fulltime (or likely part time) job. I have solved this by replacing my keyboard with voice commands almost entirely (I don't actually have a keyboard on my desk, but I can reach for my laptop keyboard if I really really have to), and am slowly working on replacing a trackball with an eye tracker (it's kind of headache-inducing though, so it's likely the trackball will stay for a while) I'm not a medical professional but that sounds like a disability to me.

thaumasiotes 3y ago
Recent discussions on HN have mentioned RSI being cured by exercise. (If I recall, someone specifically mentioned pull-ups.) It makes a kind of intuitive sense to me that the problem might be more a lack of normal wrist movement than the abnormal movement and positioning that the keyboard/mouse need.
- azinman2 3y ago
  RSI doesn’t seem to be one thing that has a universal cure.
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    Traditionally it has no cure at all, but apparently there are those who disagree. The odds are pretty good that computer-related RSI is similar to other computer-related RSI. I see no particular need to specify that I'm not talking about tennis elbow when that is already abundantly evident from the context. Most of my comments could include an accurate disclaimer that I'm not talking about tennis elbow, but it wouldn't improve any of them.
- michaelmrose 3y ago
  This is a fundamental problem with people not suffering from medical problems understanding those who do. Real diseases often have a progression of permanent damage over time and real treatments have positive and negative interactions with other aspects of patient health, cost, and a wide range of outcomes. Commercials especially push a simplistic view that a person has a problem and undergoes a treatment and their problem is resolved. This is as real as crimes being solved in scope of an hour drama or as real if you prefer as people hacking by pounding on the keyboard really fast. Most users in Developed countries have access to both doctors and the internet and have whatever level of problems they have in spite of pursuing treatment options and probably wont benefit from "one weird trick" to beat RSI.
phkahler 3y ago
Thanks, that is the sort of answer I was looking for - a real disability and how you're working around it. When I hear accessibility I tend to think of screen readers - magnification or text to speech - for people with low vision.

by SCdF 3y ago

thaumasiotes 3y ago

Recent discussions on HN have mentioned RSI being cured by exercise. (If I recall, someone specifically mentioned pull-ups.) It makes a kind of intuitive sense to me that the problem might be more a lack of normal wrist movement than the abnormal movement and positioning that the keyboard/mouse need.

azinman2 3y ago
RSI doesn’t seem to be one thing that has a universal cure.
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  Traditionally it has no cure at all, but apparently there are those who disagree. The odds are pretty good that computer-related RSI is similar to other computer-related RSI. I see no particular need to specify that I'm not talking about tennis elbow when that is already abundantly evident from the context. Most of my comments could include an accurate disclaimer that I'm not talking about tennis elbow, but it wouldn't improve any of them.
michaelmrose 3y ago
This is a fundamental problem with people not suffering from medical problems understanding those who do. Real diseases often have a progression of permanent damage over time and real treatments have positive and negative interactions with other aspects of patient health, cost, and a wide range of outcomes. Commercials especially push a simplistic view that a person has a problem and undergoes a treatment and their problem is resolved. This is as real as crimes being solved in scope of an hour drama or as real if you prefer as people hacking by pounding on the keyboard really fast. Most users in Developed countries have access to both doctors and the internet and have whatever level of problems they have in spite of pursuing treatment options and probably wont benefit from "one weird trick" to beat RSI.

phkahler 3y ago

Thanks, that is the sort of answer I was looking for - a real disability and how you're working around it. When I hear accessibility I tend to think of screen readers - magnification or text to speech - for people with low vision.