Some of you who have corresponded with me lately may have noticed that I have been brief with my responses. You may also have noticed a number of spelling and grammatical errors in recent WUWT blog postings. This is due to the fact that after over five years of blog posting, I have succumbed to a problem that plagues many people who use the computer too often -carpal tunnel syndrome.
During the last week the problem has gotten severe enough to interfere with my ability to use the keyboard and mouse, as I have constant pain in my right hand. So tonight I decided I would try something new.
That “something” turned out to be speech recognition in Windows 7, which until tonight I didn’t know existed. I started looking for a off the shelf program to do the job but in the Google search discovered that it was built into Windows 7. After going through the tutorial on it I am using the speech recognition utility to write this blog posting.
As with any new technology it takes some getting used to. But, I am getting the hang of it with continued practice. So far I’ve only had the correct about six or seven mistakes in the paragraphs preceding this.
Over the next few days I planned to take a little bit of a break in blog posting and I will use that time to get more familiar with the speech recognition software. Hopefully by taking a short break I will be able to improve the situation with my right hand. Of course, I also have to learn how to dictate more effectively as it is something I’m not used to on a regular basis. I will say that that dictating to the computer allows me to write faster than I have been able to for quite some time. Further, it seems the speech recognition software is quite good at picking up the nuances of my voice and inflection which results in an overall increase in typing speed.
For those of you that have Windows 7, you might want to try getting a USB headset with a microphone and practice learning how to use the speech recognition software -it may help you write better comments. One of the most interesting things I learned is that screaming at the headset results than nothing being typed at all – the computer gets confused. So, on the plus side if everyone use speech recognition for writing comments we would probably have less trolls because they tend to shout. 🙂 it even recognized when I said the emoticon in the middle of the last sentence.
In the meantime, those of you that wish to submit stories should use the submit story button on the WUWT menu. Please bear in mind that when submitting a story it should be submitted as if it’s actually going to be posted rather than as a tip or advice. Please use tips and notes in the menu for those sorts of notifications.
As always, thank you for your patience and consideration. -Anthony
Latest iteration of Dragon Dictate for an iMac user with CTS has worked really well.
Anthony,
Try 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 supplement a day. Vitamin D deficiency is very common that nobody seem know about. It’s a type of hormone steroid that does so many things in your body. FYI, daily recommended amount is only 600 IU a day based on badly outdated studies (a cup of milk contains only 100 IU). That should tell you something… There are tons of latest studies indicating that we need a lot more vitamin D but it’ll take 10-20 years before they finally “officially” announce the need for that much vitamin D (if at all, I’m not keeping my hopes up because of what I’ve seen for 20 years). They move so slow… Another thing, when sunbathing without sun block lotion and t-shirt, people with light skin will easily get 10,000-20,000 IU vitamin D from the sun after 15-30 minutes during 10am-2pm. Won’t work too good if too early in the morning or too late in the afternoon. Air pollution will also reduce the amount of UVB sunlight from reaching you in large cities. Most don’t do that due to jobs, comfort of house, etc. Not to mention sun scare which turned out to be like CAGW.
In short – Vitamin D at right dosage can do things
– fight cancer, virus, bacteria (very effective against cold and flu)
– keep organs function at optimal level
– prevent autoimmune like diabetes type one, asthma, etc and also improve conditions of existing ones (anti-inflammatory)
– too many to list
One very promising thing – prevention and treatment of autism. Basically no different than preventing Spina Bifida with folic acid.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/
Anthony, after many years online for 50+ hours per week and as an author constantly writing/editing/revising book drafts, I *VERY* suddenly developed the same problem last November/December. Rapid onset, quite severe, VERY worrying obviously. I was unable to hold my hand out in front of me and turn it palm side up, and any typing at all was torture. As soon as I realized it was more than a temporary “duh, I musta pulled a muscle” thing I started researching and asking around. I did eventually did four things and the problem completely disappeared.
1) Tried taking a break for a week or two, doing only the most essential typing and doing almost all of it with finger pickin’ with my left hand. My thinking was “I have an irritated tendon and it will quickly heal if I give it a rest.” Nope. Virtually no help: the problem immediately resurged itself on any return to normal attempts to use the right hand.
2) I borrowed a friend’s wrist brace and used it for several weeks. It seemed to help and may have prevented further damage before I incorporated 2 & 3. I do NOT believe however that it “solved” the problem at all.
3) Dragon Speak v. 11.5 as a Christmas present from my brother and his family. I’d tried Vista’s speech recognition several weeks into my problem and had enough trouble with it to find it very frustrating except as a last resort. The amount of time training and then STILL correcting mistakes for lengthy periods with each writing just wasn’t workable. I had tried Dragon just as a cute thing about five to ten years ago and had had a similar experience. The Christmas present turned out to be WONDERFUL however. Dragon 11.5 was AMAZING in comparison: VERY little training — it actually did better with 5 to 10 minutes of the intro training than Vista had done after multiple intense hours of training. It quickly became good enough that about the only reason I still use the keyboard is because I think better when I type! LOL! **HIGHLY** recommended! (One caveat, I have one online friend, an older man in his 70s/80s perhaps, who tried Dragon for the Mac and was so unhappy with it that he returned it… I have no idea if the problem was him or the program however.)
4) Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Here it is from Tiger for $39:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1515763&Sku=M17-1844&SRCCODE=GOOAPI59005304&TId=3&SF=1&gclid=CMKggYuj7rACFUff4AodQmloxg
and I got mine for $22 from someplace (although it came without proper docs) I credit this keyboard with 90% of my success in totally wiping out the Carpal problem. I had been afraid of a steep learning curve after decades of steady typing on a regular keyboard, but amazingly I found that I was typing pretty comfortably by the second day and within a week I found I would **NEVER** voluntarily go back to the old keyboard style. I had never thought of the old keyboards as being uncomfortable at all … but they ARE!!! The Carpal tunnel twinges (even with Dragon and the wrist brace I was still having problems) disappeared VERY quickly (within that first week or so!) and have never shown even a trace of returning no matter how much typing I do. I’ll still occasionally use Dragon for some of my extended less-formal work (E.G. sending someone a long rambling email where I’m not worried about even checking for the occasional small errors that sometimes pop up (Dragon makes a valiant attempt at automatic punctuation (very convenient: you don’t have to SAY “period,” “comma,” etc) but it’s not perfect), but other than that Carpal is now nothing more than a brief, although very bad and scary, memory.
Best of luck and hope your problems disappear!
🙂
Michael
P.S. Additional suggestion: If you’re currently using a mouse, try switching to an ergonomic trackball. I made the switch years ago and use a Logitech sculpted to fit the natural hand shape with the thumb track ball on the side and would never return to a mouse.
Thanks for the update Anthony and I hope your discomfort is gone soon. I’m struggling with golfer’s elbow, was ready to hit the links this summer but got sidelined by the driving range. I have a squeeze ball on my desk, wrist curls are great too and when my right hand starts twinging I switch to my left, pretty good with either now. There are many valid solutions to a problem and it looks like you have found a “sound” one.
Just wanted to tip my hat to you for the link about the supposed oyster crisis in the Pacific Northwest (Nov. 21, 2011). It seemed to shut down the propaganda machine on our climate forum, for now. “Ocean acidification *is* the last refuge of the global warming scoundrel.”
All the Best,
-Frank
An additional PS: Dragon will “type” at over 150 wpm for me with a pretty acceptable error rate for casual writing — and anyone who’s ever heard me speak will know that’s QUITE an achievement! LOL! The nuns used to take me out of class sometimes and try to make me speak with a tongue depressor or spoon in my mouth to help … nope, didn’t help. I *still” called them “Shister Shusan” and, if standing, would ask them if I could “sh*t.” etc. And don’t even get me started about chasing cwazy wabbits or my Brooklyn/Irish accent!
:>
MJM
Anthony,
Sorry to hear about your condition, and it’s good news that you are already dealing with it. As someone who spent 25 years chained to a keyboard, I have to be very careful about mouse usage. The fact is that the standard mouse puts strain on your wrists immediately – your wrist is rotated at 90 degrees from its rest position (think how your hands are when your let your arms down by your side). So getting an ergonomic mouse (one that makes you rest your hand on its side when you use it, and NOT on your palm) will help hugely.
Check out these guys – they are Dutch but I’m sure you can buy equivalents in the USA
http://www.ergo2work.eu/index.html?SetLanguage=ENG&SessionKey=PVFXZXJKWGQ0Sm5k
To overcome physical problems with constant use of computers at work and home, I do the following:
Change all “select” features to ‘one-click’ instead of the usual double-click; this reduces by half the operation of the index finger. Some people use pistol-grip style mice. A wireless mouse give more freedom for a comfotable position.
Sit upright, there is a tendendcy to crouch over a computer screen. Have the display in a position that you can comfortably see it without bending your kneck. Use the mouse on a surface/table/desk that allows your elbow and forearm to rest on it while using the mouse.
Get up and walk around every 30 minutes or so.
Hi Anthony
I suffered from wrist and arm pain for 11 years and had got to the point where I could only use a keyboard and mouse for a few minutes before the pain became worse. Then I was given the book Clique2 mentioned earlier: The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies. I traced the pain back to trigger points/knots in some neck muscles. Four days of massaging those muscles later I was pain free and have been for the last four years. I can work all day on the computer without pain.
I had been to various doctors/specailists/physios etc for the problem and not one of them looked at anything except where the pain actually was. However pain can be referred from the cause to different parts of the body. I strongly recommend either gettting the book or seeing a massage therapist who specialises in trigger points. It certainly changed my quality of life.
All the best. First time poster. Great site.
Brian
Variety is the ticket. Buy a number of DIFFERENT input devices and cycle between them.
Pad with pen, trackball, ergonomic mouse and so on. Don’t be cheap on your health.
I switched my my mouse to the left side years ago for CTS pain. I convinced my wife to switch her mouse when she was having shoulder pain. She did and the pain went away.
Funny story on this theme. The software company that I worked for over 20 years finally agreed that the workstation environment that they provided for a guy 6’6″ tall, with a 36″ inside leg, and arms 2 inches longer than is usual for someone of my height, was not what it might have been.
I had for some months been working form home, so insisted they sorted out my working are before I returned to the office.
So – they raised the desk on blocks. They extended the desk with a block on top so that I could rest my forearms comfortably. They got me a nice big monitor for my dodgy eyes. They got me a seat made. It didn’t do at all. I suggested one of these – I had one at home, and it was superb – http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/work-chairs/aeron-chairs.html – but they wouldn’t stump up. So my chair was rebuilt. No good. Once more – thigh support was not sufficient for my great long legs.
Finally, they fixed the chair.
Next week, they made me redundant. I wanted to go, as I’d been there too long anyway and was close to walking anyway – but now I got paid. And they had a desk and chair which were of no use to anyone!
My sympathy Anthony, get better! Did you try one of the split ‘ergonomic’ keyboards? So long as you can touch type, it does wonders for your hand and wrist placement. Puts them in a neutral position. Highly recommended for everyone!
Hello Anthony,
I switched to a trackball when my mouse hand, arm, shoulder started to act up and the pain went away and never came back. Much less movement with a trackball over a mouse. I don’t know your exact situation but it is an inexpensive thing to try.
Here’s something you can try.
http://ergo.contour-design.com/
It’s widely used by staff in Swedish hospitals.
Best wishes, Fredrik.
Anthony; I doubt any one of us out here would even imagine anything at all would stop you.
My admiration, sir!
Thanks for the tip on speech recognition on Win 7. I will give it a try.
Try this set up for your computer station. Move to a corner. It helps to be a carpenter.
I set up my ‘desk’ by using kitchen counter tops and run 8 ft along two walls with the junction in a corner of the room. Core drill door knob holes for convenience. Sit in the corner and the monitor is in the corner with the laptop folded closed in front of it. External USB keyboard can be placed on slide at either side (or use 2 separate keyboards @ur momisugly $9 ea). Powered USB hub from Wmart @ur momisugly $18 for all USB conn is convenient. By rotating my chair 90 degrees I can rest either arm on the desk. The monitor can easily be slid to different position depending on which way I want to face. Usually just stays in the corner. For counter top support I used a very small (12″) wide cabinet in the corner set at angle. For the ends I cut an upright ‘entertainment center” in half. “L shaped” counter top just sits on top of the cabinets. Easy to customize desk height. Lots of desk space and could be placed in front of window.
I’ve never been very fast with a keyboard and when my bird dog stepped in a coyote trap this past Jan and I stupidly used my hand rather than my foot to release the trap while she was fighting it. Well the little girl jerked my hand away and ripped the tendons from my index finger. I now have little/no use of it (points straight out and doesn’t want to type). Had to keep hand elevated after surgery and the “L shape” really helped.
Hope this helps in some way. Hey, I hear Willis pounds nails and probably has a saw!
Mark says:
June 26, 2012 at 11:54 pm
> Yet somehow I’ve managed to use a keyboard all day, every day, since 1980. I’m skeptical.
I heard a report of a study of runners in their 50s and older who never developed foot and knee problems. The goal was to find what these runners did differently than runners who had problems. The conclusion was that the uninjured runners were different, not that they ran differently.
Congratulations on not being injured, don’t assume that means other people are doing something wrong.
Also – you say you “use a keyboard.” Do you use a mouse too? Mice are evil.
Another anecdote – some researchers were looking for people with carpal tunnel problems. They went to a newspaper and watched people going in and out. Those who pushed open the door with a forearm instead of a hand were the people they were looking for.
Newegg has Dragon for $50 after rebate.
A lot of years ago I had carpal tunnel syndrome in my left wrist. The doctor supplied me with a wrist brace that worked very well and the problem soon abated. The brace had an “AMF” logo… it was a bowling wrist brace. Insurance covered all the costs, but I always wondered how much the doctor charged the insurance company for that brace that I could have purchased at the bowling alley for $15.
This is typed with 2 fingers. My wife was terrified when she was diagnosed, carpal tunnel in both wrists, best to do surgery on both at same time. An old wag of a friend noted that although she was Presbyterian, not Catholic, she was going to a Catholic Hospital. The friend said “Colleen, you know, when you wake up your two hands will be bandaged together, then you will find it more comfortable to hold them in a prayer position, where there is a danger that they will graft together. Then an old Priest will visit you to ask how your knees are, to see if you can genuflect ….”
When she was in recovery afterwards, an ancient priest came wandering by and vacantly said to her “Have I already spoken to you today?” In her post-op haze, all she could think of was the mischief of the old friend who scared the pants off her.
It sounds like carpal tunnel syndrome…but make sure. If it persists then surgery is the answer. In the hans of someone who does this procedure often, it is a short procedure and recovery is not too long
I had a bad problem a few years back. Here’s how I got cured:
1.) No typing for 3 weeks. Got someone else to do the urgent typing.
2.) Squeezed a tennis ball every minute that was practical.
3.) Saw my doctor who gave me two injections, a month apart, into my elbow.
That’s it.
I switched to using mouse pads with wrist supports and buying the Logitech 5000 series (BT) Keyboards with mice combos on our systems. No more cheap keyboards and mice when using the computer 12 hours a day…
The 3M wrist support Mouse pads are here.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ergonomics/home/products/MousepadsWristrests/
I use the MW310LE. I takes a while for the recovery — but it does work.
Good tip on the speech recognition — I will try it again. I have used it in my ASUS Transformer tablet and was pleasantly surprised.
… one step closer to being The Bionic Man, Anthony … just want to take this opportunity to thank you again for WUWT and the effort you put into it. 73 for now. _Jim
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As a freelancer, I’ve had carpal tunnel, and here’s what worked for me. A splint will really help–you can get one at most pharmacies. Mine leaves your fingers free, so I can punch the keyboard while I wear it. I also use capsaicin cream; I get the kind that comes in a bottle with a self-applicator so you don’t have to get it on your hands. It doesn’t have a scent. The other thing I do is pop a lot of lemon balm in my green tea. It’s a grandmotherly remedy, but it still holds; lemon balm is great for inflammation. Normally I don’t talk about physical stuff, but did so out of gratitude for the work you do and just in case any of this might be helpful to you. My CT actually got better as I got older. Can’t figure that one out.