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
Hi Anthony,
I am using speech recognition on windows seven. This is pretty cool. As with you I am learning to speak slowly and clearly so that this program works at its best.
Anthony,
I have used it for years. I can only type as fast as I think when programming so I use Windows recognizer when doing non-programming documents. It works great.The only issue arrives when new words come up and in WUWT there will be a lot of “new” words. Also if you get a cold, the recognizer starts to go wacky.
Look at handheldspeech.com. The guy who wrote it worked on mobile apps back as far as the 90s. Greg Gadbois is his name. Very sharp physicist. That way you can blog via text to speech with a mobile device.
Had the surgery 8 years ago on my right hand. Haven’t looked back. No complications whatsoever.
Anthony,
I don’t have carpal tunnel, but have a similar problem. Symtoms present as cubital tunnel– the other three finger and part of the thumb. Most noticable at first was pain at the wrist, sometimes in fingers, slight lack of sensation in smallest fingers. Then burning and inflatmation in the wrist/forearm and pain at the elbow. Pain in the scapula.
The thing with nerve pain is that it can trigger other problems and it doesn’t always present at the source. Since I am in pain all the time, it’s hard to notice when I’m doing something that is irritating it or something else. Narcotics aren’t very helpful, but when I get that little bit of relief, I become aware of pain in other places that I neglect.
You can have small neck and shoulder problems that compound the wrist problem. Fluid pressure in the spine and also make you more sensitive.
Anyway, the things I’ve found that help:
Lots and lots of ice. Use ziplock bags, 1:2 alcohol:water, squeeze the air out, seal and then double bag. Makes a nice slush. You want crystals without freezing solid since the melting draws heat. Move the ice around to avoid burns. Try using ice at different places too, e.g. elbow, shoulder, and scapula. I’ve had relief and release in my shoulder when icing my wrist.
Yoga
Cranio-sacral therapy
If you drink, don’t over do it. Alcohol causes inflamation, can irritate the nerves, and acts as a nerve toxin. Best to avoid.
Anthony writes: “It isn’t the keyboard so much as it is the mouse clicking approving comments is very mouse click intensive.”
Had the same problem ten years ago. Switched to the trackball mouse and haven’t had the problem since. I was doing a lot of writing then and am also a general contractor (now semi-retired) who uses his hands alot. The track ball was a big help. A mouse pad with a nice soft gel pad to support the wrist also helps.
Hmmm…..”Of course Carpel Tunnel Syndrome can happen to anyone. It is a physical condition not a biological condition.”
There is a difference between carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and repetitive strain injury (a sort of tennis elbow). People from the Azores (somewhere near there…) seem to have a gene for CTS. Only one person in my family has not had CTS and it is definitely a physical condition. Thickening of the ligament ‘band’ holding the wrist together closes the hole for the nerve. Failure to ‘decompress’ the pinching leads to permanent loss of strength, constant tingling and pain up to the shoulder.
There is a classic test for CTS which is: hold the painful arm straight and rotate your wrist to turn your palm down, all the way around. This means: right hand rotates counter-clockwise to its limit. If you get immediate partial relief, you have CTS because this motion opens the nerve passage slightly. Typically the ring finger (4th) is numb or substantially less sensitive on the surface between it and the pinkie (if you have standard nerve distribution). This is easily checked using a pin-prick comparison with other fingers.
Carpal tunnel decompression is a very simply operation that takes about 20 minutes. It has the highest % of 100% success of any type of surgery. 99% of operations are 100% successful because is has a simple cause and relief method. It is pleasing to see so many people managed their wrist problems with a variety of methods. Chiropractors have always claimed to be good at treating it, in particular the treatment now known as ‘active release’. To me, it appears to treat the ‘tennis elbow’ version.
Did not have time to read all the comments so this may be completely redundant, but I would like to add a vote for the vertical mouse…there is a very large black plastic one, almost a rat, that cradles your hand in a vertical position. It does miracles for my CTS…without it I can’t work at all. You click the mouse sideways, and that makes all the difference for some reason. Good luck with it!
You might want to consult a “rolfer” also known as “Structural Integration”. It’s a form of massage that concentrates on ligaments and tendons as opposed to just muscles. I have cubital tunnel syndrome and it has really helps minimize it a lot. I almost don’t notice it anymore.
> It isn’t the keyboard so much as it is the mouse clicking approving
> comments is very mouse click intensive.
Just a thought about mouse clicks. Have you considered using an IPad or similar device (Android, Win7 or 8 or whatever). Using your finger instead of a mouse might be more comfortable.
Don’t know if it will be better, but it might be worth thinking about.
Anthony: I see Robert and Michael J. McFadden above have also recommended the trackball mouse. I use the logictech blue tooth one. The beauty of it is that you never have to move your arm. The intregrated wrist pad on the mouse pad (purchased seperately) supports the weight of the hand and arm and the thumb manipulates the cursor with the track ball. The index and middle fingers do the left and right clicking. Works for me.
I got the idea from a worker at the local construction permit desk . I saw she was wearing a wrist brace (she’d obviously been having problems) and using a track ball. I asked her about it and she swore by the trackball. Said it made a big difference. It did for me also.
Hello Anthony. I do not have carpal tunnel syndrome, but I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to do most of my writing. Dragon 11.5 is much improved over the earlier versions of the program. With training, I have gotten the accuracy up to 99+%. I can speak much faster than I type, and I find that I make fewer mistakes using Dragon than I do typing. (This probably says more about my poor typing that it does the abilities of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.) With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, editing is very important. I find that the READ THAT command is very useful in discovering errors. As usual, I wrote this reply using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Anthony,
As someone who has also had wrist problems (albeit minor ones) from excessive keyboard use on various occasions in the past I would suggest that you need a good holiday! A couple of weeks away from your computer would work wonders. (You should resist the temptation to take it with you or to check your email on a smart phone). If you cannot take time off then try and cut back on computer usage for two or three weeks and instead use the time for catching up on other things. These aren’t meant as alternatives to the suggestions from other people. Many of those look sensible too and I think you should take them up, but you need a break too!
Anthony – I’ll second ‘jeez’ suggestion. I had issues and moved over to a trackball 10 years ago. I am able to keep my hand, arm and shoulder relaxed as my hand simply rests on the trackball and forearm on the chair armrest. I got used to it in about a day. I’ve been trouble-free for 10 years now.
> Yet somehow I’ve managed to use a keyboard all day, every day, since 1980. I’m skeptical.
I know a guy who’s smoked for years, but never got cancer or emphysema. Plainly, only an idiot would say cigarettes are bad for you.
Coalsoffire,
Elbow splints help too. I wear elbow pads backwards at night. Puts pressure above and below to open up circulation and keeps it straight while sleeping.
Unfortunately, besides the ridiculous lags and tying up bandwidth, this web-bling fad has made the interenet very keyboard unfriendly.
The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), which is a form of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a single diagnosis, but the causes of it may be numerous and every person is different. Some of the major causes are reduced blood flow to the wrists caused by tension in the shoulders and the neck, very long term muscle tension in the wrist and arm muscles, improper posture and sitting position, improper keyboard and mouse placement, etc. And of course the keyboard and the mouse you are using are major factors.
I found that my CTS, which I’ve had for over 20 years, was helped by switching to a “buckling spring” keyboard and a properly ergonomic mouse. For a keyboard, I found UNICOMP (http://pckeyboard.com/) to have the best quality keyboards made to old IBM specifications. They are clicky, noisy, heavy things, but they are the most comfortable keyboards for my CTS. You may also find gouldtouch.com’s keyboard more comfortable because it can be adjusted exactly for your wrists, but I personally find their key tactility to be disappointing and very much inferior to UNICOMP’s.
For a mouse, someone already recommended Contour from contour-design.com. Another very good mouse is Evoluent, from evoluent.com.
And, of course, you may want to consult a physician who specializes in CTS and RSI.
…hot water.
I had the CTS release on both hands 20 years ago and it has not come back…..I’m careful so it doesn’t but the surgery was life changing…..think about getting it. The doc used a scope so there was just a small incission and only took 2 stitches to close.
Can I just sympathise, Anthony, and endorse Lear Dog’s recommended treatment.
Except to suggest an applicaton of anti-inflammatory gel like diclofenac rather than anti-inflammatory tablets especially if, as in my case, they upset the stomach.
For wife – modified a set of flight simulator rudder rudder pedals and universal castors and an optical mouse guts into a foot mouse. Worked OK for a while. Quit on a more durable model when she had successful surgery. The click part was easy and worked fine — may someone could fashion a remote foot clicker for your mouse whiilst retain desktop motion??
Sorry to hear about the carpal tunnel syndrome, Anthony. I managed to get it from using a six pound sledge to drive nails while barn building. Sleeping in braces helps when ever it acts up again.
It is great that the voice recognition software will let you rest the hand and still keep up the blog. Just do not over do and let others write more posts.
…forget the pills and surgery…use hot water…it is cheap and it works. Why do people go sit it hot climates and go to warming hot tubes etc ???? 🙂
…from someone older and wiser…
I just want to thank everyone for all the help – great suggestions. I had no idea that the problem was so common with everyone who visits here. I’m going to try and number of the suggestions listed in the comments above and I will let you know what works best for me.
New product coming on the market. Saw this on Gizmodo (I think). I have pre-ordered one for myself. It supposedly will replace the mouse and keyboard. Hopefully it will.
http://leapmotion.com/
Since you like electronics and such a new toy is always fun to try out.