Best Mobile Computing Options For People With RSI? 178
gotfork writes "Several years ago I injured my wrists while typing at a poorly set up desk. I am now greatly recovered, and can work at a desktop computer for several hours each day as long as I wear wrist braces. I have avoided using laptops in the past because both TrackPoint-style pointing sticks and touchpads create a lot of strain on my wrists, but I'm ready to give it another shot. Is my best option a stylus-based convertible tablet/laptop (such as the Lenovo X series) or are there any lighter-weight devices that have ergonomic inputs?"
Dasher! (Score:3, Informative)
You might already get this a lot, but you should take a good long look at Dasher [cam.ac.uk], a novel form of text input that's suitable either as a short-term or permanent replacement for the keyboard. It can be used with a variety of different input devices, basically anything that points. This includes mice, trackpads, trackballs, styli, nibs, nubs, and even IR eye movement tracking (Dr. Hawking's preferred method).
I'm a keyboard junkie and even I have to admit Dasher is pretty badass. It's like Tetris, only instead of accumulating points you write things.
Some lightweight mobile - with an external mouse (Score:2, Informative)
Multi-part solution: (Score:1, Informative)
Use eye tracking for the mouse and colemak for typing. Learn to use ctrl+backspace instead of hitting backspace repeatedly when you make an error. Find a keyboard with low key depression force and distance, and software that autocapitalizes intelligently on the fly so you don't have to use shift so much.
Strengthening (Score:4, Informative)
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not advice, but have you tried strengthening exercises?
I have to use a very poorly designed desk for computing (think of like an 70s-80s era penpusher desk - now with computer, keyboard, mouse, dual monitor). This has led to some issues, although, not ever as bad as you have described. Recently a friend lent me a gyroscope toy, thingy. Basically you spin it, it provides some resistance and which will gradually build strength in your arm/hand wrist.
I've found it to be really helpful - now I can type without pain and I can even do pushups again. YMMV.
(cue the oblig wrist action comments:).
Re:Apple stuff is good (Score:3, Informative)
Learn not to hurt yourself. (Score:2, Informative)
From my own experience:
1) Low-pressure/frictionless keys/touchscreens can only make so much difference. Just not hitting the thing so damned hard makes a much more significant difference.
2) Don't sleep on your wrists. Seriously, don't put your arm under your pillow while you sleep. This has a deceptively catastrophic impact on the crucial healing period an all-day typist's wrists need during the their hands' sole extended immobility period.
3) Keep your wrists straight while you type. I can't emphasize this enough. Some people say ergonomic keyboards don't help. Some people say they do. Some people say don't rest your wrists on the keyboard. Some people say it hurts not to. The important thing is that you keep your wrists straight so that the tendons have as little friction as possible passing through your carpel tunnels during long typing sessions. If you have really wide shoulders it a split-style ergonomic keyboard might help you to keep your wrists straight. If you are a bit short or a bit tall changing your desk and chair heights can help too.
By the way if you also suffer from neck/back pain your monitor is probably not close enough to head level.
my RSI analogy (Score:5, Informative)
What does it take to have a setup so bad that you get RSI?
Here's a RSI analogy. Imagine that everyone reading this comment takes a match, lights it, and gently sets it on the floor (so that it's still burning). Some people will burn their house down, while others will watch as their match slowly burns out.
The difference is in what the person's floor is made of. Some people's floors are made of tile, while other floors are a bit more flammable (maybe they're covered with a film of cooking oil).
A predisposition for RSI usually isn't recognized until someone's set their body "on fire" (where the trigger is usually stress, poor workstation ergonomics, overuse, laptop keyboard/mouse, etc). The process to putting out the metaphorical fire is different for everyone. Some RSI sufferers benefit from improved workstations and other ergonomic equipment, others benefit from massage or other forms of hands-on therapy, while still others need anti-inflammatory pills or dietary changes or vitamin B6 or any of a thousand other interventions (many of which I've written about here on Slashdot - search my comment history or send me an email. :).
The "kindling" for my RSI condition was set a year before the symptoms emerged, when I knocked myself out and nearly drowned at the lake. The cramping and pain in my hands, forearms, shoulders, neck and spine started in the months after I got a Thinkpad my first semester at teh college. If I hadn't sustained that head injury the year before, I'm certain that the RSI never would have appeared, or at least would have gone away when I stopped using the Thinkpad.
Re:Get a kitchen timer (Score:4, Informative)
Get a kitchen timer and a laptop and a tablet. Set the timer for 30 minutes and bang away at the desk. When the bell rings, move the laptop to the top of the filing cabinet for 30 minutes. When the bell rings again, take it to the couch. Next time the bell rings, move to the other side of the couch and use the tablet. Then take a meeting and lunch. Start back at the desk again after lunch. Get up now and then. Take a walk. Evenings and weekends, pull some weeds play WII Fit for a half hour, then billiards and table tennis or whatever. Get different motions going on. RSI isn't about excess motion. It's about repetitive motion. Different motions help make it go away.
No, different motions help prevent it. Once inflamed, repetitive motion of any sort is more likely to aggravate it. If there's permanent damage, any repetitive motions will exacerbate it to the extent that motion uses the damaged parts, and trying to force use on other parts taking up the slack can irritate them. Changing positions between equally unsuitable orientations will in turn irritate the damaged part and stress the as yet undamaged. The position that uses the injured parts least and the uninjured maximally and proportional to their abilities will be least likely to cause strain, pain and more injury. Using that position with the mechanism requiring least effort is optimal.
Re:Apple stuff is good (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, you have symptoms of RSI.
To the original submitter: When I developed RSI many years ago, the initial conditions were tingling/pain in the tips of my fingers but would wander all over my hands and arms during day and night. Once I started to rest and not do as much typing/mousing, the symptoms would be much more pronounced as my body went over the hump and it could no longer repair the soft tissues. I then found normal keyboards and mice would exacerbate the symptoms since it doesn't leave my wrists in a natural position.
So I purchased a split keyboard from IBM and symmetric track ball, not the funky ones designed for one hand. I hope you realize the purpose of a split keyboard. The track ball permitted me to use either hand to do mousing and it rested in between the split of my keyboard. Through time, the tips of my fingers were not uncomfortable so I could use a track pad as well. It behaved somewhat like a track ball--either hand could operate it.
To this day I cannot use a mouse for more than 15 minutes of constant mousing. And my body is quite sensitive to how long I have been keyboarding/"mousing".
Since everyone is different, you will have to find what works for you. If you have access to physical therapy facilities, they often have lots of devices you can try. That's where I tried something like 5 different types of keyboards and pointing devices and I chose what I use now. I have 5 IBM M15s.
I can understand why you can't use a track pad because initially as your fingertips were sensitive, anything that touches those areas would feel aggravation. You should also be moving your entire arm while typing/mousing otherwise you would be putting excessive strain on your wrists. You should be able to use a track pad now after several years. But if you cannot, your work surface may be too high or you're not moving your entire arm while "tracking." Another thing that greatly helped me recover was to get a chair that have linear tracking arms. They supported my arms without impacting my nerves.
Good luck.
Re:exercise (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Get a kitchen timer (Score:3, Informative)
I like this idea. Also, here are the tricks I use to manage mine:
- Enforced break software like AntiRSI for the Mac, or WorkRave for the others
- Either lying in bed with a laptop or using a Natural Keyboard
- Regular shoulder dislocates
Re:keyboard and mouse combo (Score:4, Informative)
I'll second the vertical mouse. Here's how I've handled my RSI, and the degree to which I think each has helped my particular form of pain (different people hurt different tendons or nerves, so it's important to experiment).
1) A Kinesis Advantage Keyboard (not portable); I can type on a Kinesis for 12+ hours straight with no pain; a normal keyboard in QWERTY hurts after 1-2 hours. I cannot stamp my foot enough to emphasize the value of a true ergonomic keyboard for those prone to RSI. It takes about 4 hours to adjust to the new keyboard shape.
2) An Evoluent vertical mouse, with the thumb button set as a second primary button so I can alternate click fingers (semiportable). I work all day without pain on this mouse; a normal mouse hurts after minutes, due to the combination of the pinched wrist muscles to go flat an the extended-index-finger push. It takes less than half an hour to adjust to the new mouse shape. Trackballs never worked for my particular injury.
3) Switching to Dvorak layout (quite portable); It's nowhere near as effective as the above two, but when forced to use a laptop or normal keyboard I can type ~50% longer without pain per day in Dvorak (maybe 2-3 hours). For me, it's the far-stretch index-finger/pinky motions that are the problem, and there just aren't many in the Dvorak layout. It takes 2-4 weeks to adjust to Dvorak, and your pain often increases briefly while you learn, since you tense up while hunting and pecking.
4) Using a Droid for routine browsing. For me, my thumbs aren't part of my RSI, so click-based smart phones work great. Pinch to zoom hurts the moment I try it.
5) Sleeping with a wrist brace when the pain flares up. I don't need to do this often at all anymore, now that I do the other four, but it still helps on days where I've been bad and spent several hours on the family laptop.
Re:Dasher! (Score:2, Informative)
Solutions depend upon the exact nature of the RSI. Common locations are wrist or elbow, usually on the right.
One classic aid would be trackballs...
Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical (Silver)
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Trackman-Wheel-Optical-Silver/dp/B00005NIMJ/ref=sr_1_17?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1286280359&sr=1-17 [amazon.com]
Ione Scorpius 35PRO USB Mechanical Trackball Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Scorpius-35PRO-Mechanical-Trackball-Keyboard/dp/B000UC3EXI [amazon.com]
Another possible option is a "hulapoint" device, which is similar to a thumbpad. These tend to be popular in industrial and rugged applications, so may be expensive for home.
http://www.cyberresearch.com/store/lcd-monitors-displays-keyboards-kvm-switches/mouse-trackballs-pointing-devices-touchpads/OIX_4310-U_6096.2.htm [cyberresearch.com]
Another option would be a very different mouse:
3M Ergonomic Mouse
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ergonomics/home/products/ergonomicmouse/ [3m.com]
Another possible option is a frogpad (look at both right and left models).
http://www.frogpad.com/ [frogpad.com]
Re:Strengthening (Score:3, Informative)