Tonight I was doing therapy with my therapist and she made an interesting observation. She said that clinics like hers should start preparing themselves for an onslaught of hand problems because so many people are gaming and texting all the time. I'm afraid she may be right. Since I started having problems nearly a year ago I have become so much more aware of how much stress we put on our hands and arms.
In one way I am lucky that I did not develop these problems earlier. As it is, while I am very much recovered, I am afraid that I will never be able to work at the same capacity and intensity that I used to. I am going to have to be very careful from now on.
This is what I have learned about repetitive motion injuries. They usually take a long time to make their appearance. Meaning that the damage to my hands probably started decades ago but only now reached the point where I started noticing things. Because I paid attention to what was going on with my hands and did not ignore my symptoms I was able to recover without surgery. But as I said, I do not think I will ever be 100% normal again. There are things that I will not be able to do, like play an instrument. Or take up gaming. Even texting--that's a no-no. I can no longer surf the Web for hours. My visits must be brief. That is why sometimes days go by when I don't post on Aspies Central. Only if my hands are up to it. My book-writing days are past.
The reason I am writing all this is that I am concerned about all you out there who spend hours gaming or texting or surfing the Web. These are not bad things, but you have to do them safely. It would be a terrible thing indeed if you found yourself unable to use your hands when you really needed to use them because you injured them doing "non-essential" things.
First, you must be aware of your posture while doing these activities. I cringe when I see someone hunched over a controller frantically working his or her thumbs. OMG. Do you know you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of misery?
Learn proper ergonomics. You may not be able to have a 100% ergonomically sound work- or play-station (I don't) but even a few changes can go a long way towards preventing injury.
Second, take frequent breaks. At least once every hour if not every half hour, get up, get away from whatever it is and walk around for at least 5 to 10 minutes. REST YOUR HANDS!! I cannot stress this enough. I work on the computer for a living--I NEED my hands. Yes, it is hard to push yourself away but you MUST do this. Your nerves and muscles and bones will thank you down the road. Do exercises. There's a lot of information out there on what kind of exercises are good for your hands and arms.
Thirdly, at the FIRST sign of pain or fatigue, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Know your body and how it is supposed to feel. Pain, heaviness, tingling, numbness, soreness, oversensitivity, all these are warning signs that your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. Don't push it. Figure out what is causing these symptoms and make changes. Maybe a new sitting posture. Maybe a new mouse or controller. But don't just ignore it.
There are many different kinds of repetitive motion injuries: carpal tunnel, brachioplexus syndrome (also known as thoracic outlet injury), and adductor muscle (the thumbs). They are not easy to diagnose and companies are very reluctant to admit that they are work-related. It has taken me nearly a year going twice a week to therapy (at $45 a session!) to get to where I am now. I have known people who had to have surgery several times for these sorts of things and still were not right.
Protect your hands!
So here's a resolution that all of us can make, to take much better care of our hands.
In one way I am lucky that I did not develop these problems earlier. As it is, while I am very much recovered, I am afraid that I will never be able to work at the same capacity and intensity that I used to. I am going to have to be very careful from now on.
This is what I have learned about repetitive motion injuries. They usually take a long time to make their appearance. Meaning that the damage to my hands probably started decades ago but only now reached the point where I started noticing things. Because I paid attention to what was going on with my hands and did not ignore my symptoms I was able to recover without surgery. But as I said, I do not think I will ever be 100% normal again. There are things that I will not be able to do, like play an instrument. Or take up gaming. Even texting--that's a no-no. I can no longer surf the Web for hours. My visits must be brief. That is why sometimes days go by when I don't post on Aspies Central. Only if my hands are up to it. My book-writing days are past.
The reason I am writing all this is that I am concerned about all you out there who spend hours gaming or texting or surfing the Web. These are not bad things, but you have to do them safely. It would be a terrible thing indeed if you found yourself unable to use your hands when you really needed to use them because you injured them doing "non-essential" things.
First, you must be aware of your posture while doing these activities. I cringe when I see someone hunched over a controller frantically working his or her thumbs. OMG. Do you know you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of misery?
Learn proper ergonomics. You may not be able to have a 100% ergonomically sound work- or play-station (I don't) but even a few changes can go a long way towards preventing injury.
Second, take frequent breaks. At least once every hour if not every half hour, get up, get away from whatever it is and walk around for at least 5 to 10 minutes. REST YOUR HANDS!! I cannot stress this enough. I work on the computer for a living--I NEED my hands. Yes, it is hard to push yourself away but you MUST do this. Your nerves and muscles and bones will thank you down the road. Do exercises. There's a lot of information out there on what kind of exercises are good for your hands and arms.
Thirdly, at the FIRST sign of pain or fatigue, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Know your body and how it is supposed to feel. Pain, heaviness, tingling, numbness, soreness, oversensitivity, all these are warning signs that your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. Don't push it. Figure out what is causing these symptoms and make changes. Maybe a new sitting posture. Maybe a new mouse or controller. But don't just ignore it.
There are many different kinds of repetitive motion injuries: carpal tunnel, brachioplexus syndrome (also known as thoracic outlet injury), and adductor muscle (the thumbs). They are not easy to diagnose and companies are very reluctant to admit that they are work-related. It has taken me nearly a year going twice a week to therapy (at $45 a session!) to get to where I am now. I have known people who had to have surgery several times for these sorts of things and still were not right.
Protect your hands!
So here's a resolution that all of us can make, to take much better care of our hands.
