Computer ergonomics

I have been developing software since the mid 80's and my life since then has been the majority in front of a computer. It really has come to a point where I experience physical pain in front of the computer. As much as when I play the bass or guitar for a long period and in just minutes of work. I spent a ton of cash, my own and the company's I work for, trying to make work comfortable. Yet, I am gaming which is even more stressful for me.

I am curious what other people found worked for them...

Two things worked for me...

1) The kneeling chair. Man this solved all my back problems in one swoop. I have been using these chairs for about 5 years now and I cannot imagine life without them.

2) This is still experimental for me, but the roller mouse has done a lot to keep me in the home row and relieve my wrist pain. I have tried track balls, track pads, side mice, air mice, "all" game controllers and keypads, and lots of different expensive gaming mice. Granted, there is something genius and natural about the traditional mouse that makes it hard to replace. But the roller mouse is darn close, Initially, it caused its own discomfort to my wrist because I was not used to its position, but I realized when I was giving up on it and went back to a regular mouse, just how much better it was for my pain. The good news about the roller mouse was that it only cost me shipping to try out as they have a try before buy program. At this point, I am going for a second one for work. I also tried pens with a touch screen, but you just cant play most PC games with them unfortunately.

 

I have a busted vertebra in my back (its out of its socket and turned about 30 degrees) because a kid was jealous of my ease with the ladies when I was young, he sneaked behind me while I was playing hockey, swiped my feet and crushed my back against the ice...

I have seen white sparkles all over, then a flush of blackness, fell unconscious then woke up as blood was shooting out of my nose and ears... I have never been the same since and the only thing that really helped the pain was Yoga.

I did 10 minutes a day and in a few months I could walk, in a few years I was pretty much pain free even if doctors and chiropractors still don't understand how I can walk and bend like I do.

And for carpal tunnel... I have dealth with 3 types of cancer in my life (again doctors don't get it) but I'm alive and one touched the nerves in my wrist, it was like carpal tunnel but much worse. This little gem became my best friend :



In a few months I had double the blood circulation in my arms and wrists, never had cancer relapse nor any pain or cold hands again, even when playing or programming for 12 hours straight.

hope this helps...

 

Wow, that really sucks! I know you are not looking for sympathy, but I feel for you bud! That was just wrong.

 

Thanks bro... yea I never asked for pity (to anyone, I was even too stubborn to ask help to my parents since I left @16 y.o.) and took matters in my own hands, when I grew up I realized it was a pattern, I was a magnet for evil pretty much all my life. That was the price to pay to get to the level of wisdom I wanted to be (and becoming harmless in nature), and also to get the magic that allowed me the return of the balance and to live a full and happy life (I have no "needs" even if dirt poor, I am self-sustaining in almost all aspects).

Sadly some of my talents were wasted... I never could play music as well as I did, nor play sports which I was almost good enough at to play professionally.

My brain took a hit that day as well as I never thought someone could be so evil, it was storybook stuff to me.

 

I keep a very active life when not on the computer. I find regular excercise keeps me from any serious problems so far.
That being said im still younger.

I worked in a call center at one point and a lot of issues were prevented by just quick breaks to stretch and move around heh.

 

I agree exercise is important.

 

I have some back and neck issues due to a car accident a while back. I also work in an office and of course do my gaming as much as I can when I get home so I'm in front of a computer pretty often too.

There are many "ergonomic" devices and furniture that may or may not help you, depending on your individual health/pain issues. I have tried many of them and although some give temporary relief, the prolonged computer time still causes pain.

I have found that some simple stretching is a HUGE help. I tend to get the most relief when stretching the calves and hamstrings because when they tighten up, they seem to put tension on my back. But when they are loose, it relaxes my back muscles and this is a big help.

Another thing I like to do may sound strange, but it seems to help me. I take my shoes off and crack my toes by pushing down on them at the knuckles. Then, I take the tip of my thumb and dig into various pressure points on the bottom of my feet. If there is a spot that feels a little tender, I press on it (really hard) until that spot doesn't hurt any more. I do this to both feet and then put my shoes or moccasins back on. You wouldn't believe how much relief you get on the rest of your body when you work the kinks out of your feet!

Hope that helps.

 

Same, except I'm not so young. I'm 52 but I play ice hockey 3 - 5 times a week. Exercise is so important as you age.

 

System programmer here. I know the pain--had carpal tunnel, de Quervain's Tenosynovitis, peripheral neuropathy, the cold hands, etc. Trackball at work, mouse at home helps a little, but being one of those people who went into a career in computers because of a love of computers means that when I get home from work, I'm back on the computer again. Should've picked a career that wasn't my lifelong interest...

Knee chair and roller mouse sound interesting--never tried them. I'm also a big fan of stretching and yoga. Gyroscope photo is intriguing--I've studied/built gyros--the torque they produce is proportional to both the mass and the rpm, so these things must have to spin very fast if they are to be useful as exercise equipment. My grandmother used to use an old vibrating ball for her wrist arthritis--they had an eccentric, rotating mass and didn't work so well--she would have loved to have had one of these gyros.

Until VR/holograms with motion sensing interfaces become viable for complex computing using natural body motions, I don't know if there will be a good solution other than frequent breaks. The latest medical studies seem to indicate that sitting for long periods decreases lifespan which cannot be negated by adding additional exercise, and of course there are the associated eyesight issues from staring at a monitor for too long, bone health suffers due to lack of weight-bearing activity/sunlight, etc, and if you're a male, the prostate does not like to be compacted against hard chair seats for hours and hours, if you know what I mean.

Standing stations, lying down, mobile devices help somewhat, but they have their own issues. Taking breaks might work for many game players, but for programmers it is difficult, since stepping away from a complex problem for a few minutes might take you a half-hour to get back to where you were before, and this adds up over the day. Pain is just one part of the nervous system, as nerves affect other physiological systems, too. Myelin, needed for nerve health, seems to require B12, but this is hard to obtain from plant sources. Being vegetarian, I have to compensate for this to make sure nerve health isn't impacted which can obfuscate the problem.

I don't blame the computer, though. If we didn't have them, I'd be sitting at a desk reading and writing in a dimly lit room, so things would be pretty much the same. The existential problem is, that if we are to advance or get ahead in our time-critical society, we usually have to do something to the excess, yet the excess destroys us, a catch-22.

 

Indeed, the concept is ingenuous, the lateral axis of the gyro only starts when the main axis has enough torque to lift itself, then the balls takes on a sinusoidal semi-restrictive pathway through the lateral axis, this resistance permits the gyro to offer a lot of rotational inertia even at low speeds. This is very efficient to work all those small muscles that get neglected by repetitive mouse and keyboard actions, once the circulation is reestablished, the nerves heal themselves and the inflammation disappears.

I have brought one of those up to 14000 RPM... over 11000 RPM it becomes extreemly difficult to hold the ball in place and not let the gyro rattle against the shell (its still very very robust, can last years)... and every 100 RPM over 13000 seems like an impossible feat... the world record is much higher however

I am built on a very small frame, 6 foot 180 pounds of muscle... and I can only lift about 200 pounds on the bench press, but my wrist torque and endurance busts the charts thanks to this wonderful toy

 

I gota try one now Thanks for the confident tip on that one! I'd seen them, but never thought of trying one ~Time Lord~

 

We all need a new chair

 

I am 51. I go 4 to 6 times the week in the gym.
I try to do hourly some push-ups, squats or pull-ups.
An ergonomic office chair helps a lot. Even after an all weekend play session i am fit. No problems with mice / my hands so far.

 

40 (last day i can say)
Worked over 15 years in a Hospital and 7 as a Operations Assistent.
My back knows about it.
For about 9 years i am doing IT, first in the Hospital, since some month for the City gouvernment.
I'm somewhat to fat, but dont care that much.
Singleparent man with 2 dogs.

Walking with the Dogs in the Woods cures almost everything for me.

 

Check out some products from Blackroll, specialy the Blackroll Posture and the duoball helps alot. I have them in my office and use them to massage my back

 

As a canadian, i applaud you playing hockey at that age. But i also realize your not canadian, because you call it *ice hockey* lloll

 

Hahaha
Nice one.

Family from Burlington is coming to Germany on Sunday
My uncles Cousin played in Toronto semi professional, back in the 70ies.
I believe i still have some Gretzky Ice wine at home

 

I have developed back problems and carpal tunnel syndrome over the years. At a point I was working at UPS, Skateboarding(mainly Vert, but some street), playing guitar, and typing/gaming on my computer. All of this did not help my back/wrist situation. I still play guitar and, of course, game, but now I deal with back and wrist issues. For my wrists though I just fold up a couple of T-shirts and use them to get my wrists even with the keyboard/mouse. I also put rice bags under the shirts. I basically have them kind of cradle my arm. I think maybe something like memory foam or a pillow like material would help to relieve discomfort when typing and/or using the mouse. One problem I have is that I'm very heavy-handed when I type or am playing games. Especially when it's intense fighting in-game. If this is you, you have to really retrain yourself to calm down and use minimal force when playing intense games. First person shooters are the hardest for me to remain calm and not jam buttons or squeeze the mouse in a death grip. I still struggle with using a death grip when playing guitar. I think I developed that from learning Bar Chords. I'm getting better at relaxing a bit and not using so much force to play, although sometimes I still slip up(old habits die hard!) Self-analysis can really help you to see what may be causing your wrist pains and help you to find a way to alleviate it.

 

Me too. It is that desire for a clean tone and acoustics requires more pressure as well. I am really trying hard to break this habit.

 

Yep to the Acoustic! I have an '85 Fender Strat but that gets played nowhere near as much as my Ovation Acoustic/Electric. I put .12 gauge strings on it, which is pretty light for acoustic. Hand stretching before playing can also help, though I don't do that as often as i should.