Repetitive strain injuries - what to do next? 3

[tomaspin]

At the age of 40, I find myself in a potentially career limiting situation.

After 12 years or so CAD / and computer use, I have been diagnosed with osteo arthritis in my right hand, which is firstly painful, and secondly starting to restrict movement.
In the short term, my employers are being pretty helpful, and appoitments are being arranged with suitable medical specialists.

What concerns me more, is the long term situation. My job ( speciallist mechanical design U.K. based), requires the use of 3d CAD on a regular basis,and I see little realistic prospect of avoiding this type of computer use in my current role.

Has anyone else out there had similar issues, and how did you manage long term? How supportive was your employer?
Are there any alternative computer pointing devices that might help?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[PSE]

Take more frequent breaks from in front of the screen. If you can, adjust the layout or configuration of the station/workspace to improve the ergonomics. Do you have a splint or support that you wear,

Assuming your current pointing device is a mouse, you could try different shapes or perhaps a trackball device.

It can be a significant challenge, but you can set up your station to use your opposite hand. After a while you may end up equally adept with both hands to run CAD. Try to use your opposite hand as primary for more mundane types of tasks, (carrying things, opening doors etc), which gives your primary hand a bit of respite.

Surgery may provide improvement but unless the source of the strain gets addressed, would still provide only temporary relief. Repeat surgeries tend to become less and less effective.

Good luck and regards,

 

[casseopeia]

Reviewing your work station is a good start, but you need to address the years of damage that have already occured. Whether your company supports the cost or not, the first thing I would do is find a VERY good massage therapist. You need one that specializes in deep tissue work and Rolfing. But you need to be certain that the person is skilled in this area.

When you first start a Rolfing program, I think they recommend a minimum of 12 sessions. This will not be a typical ‘fluff and dry’ massage where you just feel relaxed at the end and it’s gone by the time you get to your car. Really deep tissue work HURTS and sometimes it leaves bruises.

I’ve been getting regular deep tissue massage for years because I dance semi-professionally. I would not spend the money nor put up with the agony if I did not see results. My body worker said he worked on a lot of architects for the exact reason you are having trouble. He frequently demonstrates stretches and exercises that anyone can do at work. Although I don’t draft by computer, I find myself sitting at one about 50% of my work time. I’m lucky to be in the field where I do stretches and little exercises on site.

I also get up all the time in the office to do stretches. I think I'll get up right now.....

I used to feel self conscious, but not any more. I now do them in line at the grocery store and anywhere I find myself with a few extra seconds of time. It makes a huge difference. I’d also recommend a regular exercise program and yoga.

Then, when you start to feel a bit better, I’d check into some Feldenkrais sessions, but that’s the advanced stuff. At 40, you are too young to lose your mobility. Keeping your range of motion is like keeping your own teeth. Sure there are appliances that will do the work for you, but it’s never as good as the real thing.

This isn't just career limiting. This will affect you the rest of your life.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[Ashereng]

Tom,

There are lots of pointing devices out there - you will need to investigate them. Perhaps talk to your occupational safety group, they may have some ideas.

In the mean time, PSE had the same suggestion that I had, try using your other hand. There are lots of lefties out there in industry, I am sure some of them use a left handed mouse/pointer/etc. I have learned to golf left handed when I got tennis elbow (yes, it's still called tennis elbow even if you got it from golf). It takes time, but doable. Since I didn't hit it as far, I also lost fewer balls - a definite gain in my books.

Good luck with re-hab.

On a completely different note. A physical handicap is not the end of a career. I know of a machinist who was getting on in years, and could no longer handle the physical part of the job - physically operating the machines, loading the materials, etc. The company instead of getting rid of this operator, got a "junior" operator to work with him instead. They are now a two man operator. The older gent tells the younger gent exactly what to do, what to look for, what to feel, how to tell when to do what, etc. The experience of the older operator is benefiting the company because he can do jobs others can not ... yet. The younger operator just gained one of the best mentor, and expert in the field, as his sole teacher. What do they do? They make specialty metal parts - a pretty physical job.



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[casseopeia]

tomaspin, I don’t want to scare you but I thought if you get into serious body work, I have to warn you that it gets a bit addictive and you have to expect some discomfort to get results.

Yesterday I had my usual massage appointment and decided to try something new that my body worker keeps suggesting, Myofascial Skin Rolling. One of the benefits, besides the breaking down of the fascia, is reducing the amount of cellulite and making the skin move better over the underlying muscles. They tout this treatment for its health benefits, but I really think it’s more cosmetic.

As a belly dancer, I thought it sounded good so I had him do the free sample treatment on my front torso. He offered to do more, but I couldn’t take it, and I've been getting regular deep tissue work done for the past 6 years. I’m pretty certain skin rolling was used during the Spanish Inquisition! I look like I’ve been attacked by a toothless ferret trying to get at my intestines. There are probably a hundred tiny bruises over my front side. I do bruise easily, though.

Good luck with your injury. Have patience and most important, keep with it. It might take awhile, but injuries can get better. I think it's a lot better than surgery where you risk permanent damage to your nerves.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[tomaspin]

Thanks to all, for your comments and suggestions so far.

On the subject of pointing devices, I have been using a vertical AirO2obic or Quill mouse, which you hand sits in, in neutral 'handshake' position. My employers bought me this about a year ago, and although not cheap at £60 ( or about $100), it has certainly helped relieve pressure on my wrist - so at least I don't have carpal tunnel damage to cope with as well! It did also help a bit with the finger joints for a while. It's only downside is the frankly crummy build quality, but I would still recommend it to others with mild wrist/finger mobility problems to give it a go.

I have dug out an old Logitech trackball, which is rather easier to control with my left hand than a mouse, so I will see how I get on with that route. A small amount of brain recalibration will be required here, but it seems to be not too bad so far.

Apparently the joints in my index finger are now quite worn and unstable, so I am not sure if rest will cure the problem now or not. Only time will tell.

 

[csd72]

Try to switch to something that is more inspection based. Surely these things that you design need inspection and quality control.
OR
Try to get into more of a project management role.
OR
Switch to a related field that is not so computer oriented.

 

[Heckler]

Or

train yourself to be left handed.

Years ago I trained myself to kick a soccer ball with my left foot. I play left wing.....it can be done

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right." -- George Best

 

[HgTX]

I came very close to tendinitis in my right hand doing too much point-and-click graphics work more than 10 years ago. I taught myself to mouse left-handed and also to be more careful and recognize danger signs. If it hurts or tingles, it's time to take a break and maybe even put on an ice pack. If the equipment hurts, it's time to change equipment. I came close to hurting my left hand on a very bad mouse that encouraged poor hand position, and bought a very ergonomic lefty mouse from Contour Designs. Since then I've learned to hold my hand better even on regular ambidextrous mice, move the forearm rather than the wrist, etc. (Most ergonomics advice will tell you not to use a wristpad with a mouse because it forces you to use the wrist and hand muscles where the arm muscles will do.)

The others are right--experiment with trackballs, stylus & tablet, trackpad, keyboard with little joystick in the middle, etc. You might even get a splitter and have multiple input devices connected for different purposes--I knew someone who had one mouse he'd position with his right hand and then a second mouse strapped to his left armrest that he'd use to click with.

Also you can reprogram your buttons. I found that reprogramming my right (or left in my case) click button to double click and the middle button to the much less frequent right click really helped cut down on how much clicking I did.

Hg


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[plasgears]

You've got the perfect alibi to get into supervision of the draftsmen, engineers or otherwise.

I always felt that draftsmen made the drawings and engineers directed them thru analysis and test. Times have changed; engineers are now expected to make design drawings. I have met several graduate engineers who have regrets about having been sidetracked into becoming draftsmen.

 

[TStaples]

I went through this back in my 20's as well. I ultimately taught myself to mouse left handed, and setup my workstation so that my left arm is supported properly. That takes enough strain off of my right hand that my inflammation issues died down. My doctor told me that if we didn't address it, it could lead to arthritis problems as I got older. I'm in my 40's now, and I still have to watch it.

The other thing that has been a real blessing for me, is the C-Trac. Someone finally got smart and decided the best way to help carpel tunnel problems was to stretch the ligament across the bottom of the tunnel, to allow it to open up, alleviating compression of the nerves.

http://www.ctracforcts.com

Don't know if it will help you at this stage, but others may benefit.

-Tony Staples

http://www.tscombustion.com