Help someone with RSI who has to click a bunch
April 22, 2021 1:12 AM Subscribe
I have managed RSI for a long time, but need to be able to do a repetitive daily clicking task. I've tried a foot pedal, voice control, and all have had issues. Looking for advice on what forms of input might be healthy and sustainable long term!
For the time being, I need to do a task which requires clicking a single button about 2000 times a day. For the purposes of this question, I don't really want to consider giving up this task. If I absolutely have to I will, but I want to explore every other possible alternative first. That said, by the end of the year I'm hoping it'll be down to <1000 clicks (for the curious it's Anki reviews, which might seem trivial, but again, don't really want to have to justify this)
For general background, I've been managing RSI for the last decade. It's pretty serious, but I'm lucky in that, for general computing, as long as I pay really close attention to my body and how I use computers, I am fine. I use a standing desk because, due to my body's geometry, it's been impossible to sit in a normal chair and be able to position my keyboard at the proper angle (if I sit with my thighs parallel to the ground and my arms at right angles, forearm parallel to the ground, the keyboard would have to be inside my thigh :/). That said, standing itself has never been an issue. I had some back issues last year but they ended up being related to something else and have been sorted out. I pay a lot of attention to posture, both at and away from the computer.
I use a kinesis split keyboard (set-up at an 80 degree angle to the ground, so almost vertical but not quite) and a trackball mouse (honestly I probably need to find a better mouse but this setup has been fine). I have a monitor at the right high. I'm super rigorous about how I use computers, though of course welcome advice. I use break software (3 minutes every 22 minutes). I walk an hour every day, and have tried various household exercise routines but haven't found one that felt like it made a difference.
The repetitive clicking, though, is sort of juuust beyond my body's capacity to handle.
- Keyboard.
This is by far my ideal way of doing the task...but over time I start to get RSI issues. Right now while I sort this out this is what I'm doing and it's fine, but I'm afraid it won't be, thus looking for alternatives. I will say that I'm open to advice about how to "click repetitively" in a more ergonomic way, if such a thing exists. As is I largely use my thumb to click the space bar. The key I have to press is configurable, and I can use any finger and any key, but this is what has been the lowest strain in my experience.
- Foot pedal.
Last year I had an RSI flareup and spent some time on alternatives. Honestly, the foot pedal worked great! Until I started getting RSI pain, located in the back of the knee, the area where the calf meets the thigh :( I'm very curious if there might be a more ergonomic way to use a foot pedal...I tried to find information online and couldn't find anything. As is I sit in a chair with my thigh parallel to the ground, then my calf at a 90 degree angle to my though (and the ground). My heel on the ground and the ball of my foot on the pedal. I don't need to apply a lot of force to do the click. I'm very curious if there might be a better position for this as the foot pedal solution worked pretty well, but I have no clue. Maybe there is a better way that won't strain that particular part of the knee so much? I don't know.
Heck today I even tried some alternative methods of pressing the pedal, like gripping a pull and pushing down and stuff but that seemed to be more aggravating to my RSI than just...using the keyboard.
- Voice control.
Voice control is extremely aggravating. In theory it's ideal, as it's portable! But I tried out Talon last year and found it very frustrating. I invested in a very expensive mic recommended by Talon (thankfully returnable!), but it didn't matter. I was mainly interested in using the noise-control (still in beta I think) as that theoretically puts no strain on your throat. I am open to trying voice control agian, but it has to be no-strain and have very high fidelity. A somewhat common issue for people using voice control is throat strain (has to do with how people talk to computers). It's possible to deal with, but I am prone to throat strain already and using voice control I felt it almost immediately, which is why I need a no-strain option. My iphones voice control is actually pretty good on fidelity, but a bit slow and doesn't have control using "noise" as far as I know.
- Mobile phone.
Anki has an iphone app, but also this is by far the worst for my RSI. I can use phones to browse here and there, but if I use them too much, it's really awful for my RSI. Texting even a little is really bad. Something about touch screens really aggravates my RSI...I've also tried styluses and whatnot, but thus far haven't found anything that works--they all aggravate my RSI.
- ???
I'm open to anything, really (except being told simply not to do this task!). I am open to trying things again, I'm open to advice about how to use things more ergonomically (though again I've put a lot of effort into my setup and paying attention to my body, but especially when it comes to clicking repetitively and/or using foot pedals I imagine there is space for improvement). I'm willing to spend money on this. I'm a programmer, so I'm able to adapt things. I use a mac but have windows running in a VM, so can use pretty much anything for any platform.
RSI is such a fucking downer. I really despise it. While my main goal is Anki, it'd be nice to play video games (nope) or even just play virtual novels (also nope, for same reason). Coming up with a healtheir way to click would be a real game changer!
Oh and if anyone wants to suggest physical therapy...first off, I 100% don't live in an area with access to a physical therapist who knows anything about this stuff. I've seen a ton of medical experts about this in the past (physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors and so on) and no one really cracked the nut, I've already read a number of books (though if there are any newer ones that seem good I'd be open to recommendations), and figured out my current setup through a mix of research, consultation, and trial and error. I know that exercise helps, and I know that maintaining good posture is extremely important, so I am certainly open to suggestions about good exercise routines...but I think that even if you do all of that, there is a mechanical component that can be optimized. I mean, at one point medical experts (though not experts in RSI issues!) told me what they tell a lot of RSI suffers, "oh you're gonna have to change careers," when in the end working on posture and getting an ergonomic setup let me use computers again. The problem with RSI in my experience is that since it's such a complicated area with relatively poor research, there is a lot of snake oil, a lot of ignorance, a lot of camps etc...
For the time being, I need to do a task which requires clicking a single button about 2000 times a day. For the purposes of this question, I don't really want to consider giving up this task. If I absolutely have to I will, but I want to explore every other possible alternative first. That said, by the end of the year I'm hoping it'll be down to <1000 clicks (for the curious it's Anki reviews, which might seem trivial, but again, don't really want to have to justify this)
For general background, I've been managing RSI for the last decade. It's pretty serious, but I'm lucky in that, for general computing, as long as I pay really close attention to my body and how I use computers, I am fine. I use a standing desk because, due to my body's geometry, it's been impossible to sit in a normal chair and be able to position my keyboard at the proper angle (if I sit with my thighs parallel to the ground and my arms at right angles, forearm parallel to the ground, the keyboard would have to be inside my thigh :/). That said, standing itself has never been an issue. I had some back issues last year but they ended up being related to something else and have been sorted out. I pay a lot of attention to posture, both at and away from the computer.
I use a kinesis split keyboard (set-up at an 80 degree angle to the ground, so almost vertical but not quite) and a trackball mouse (honestly I probably need to find a better mouse but this setup has been fine). I have a monitor at the right high. I'm super rigorous about how I use computers, though of course welcome advice. I use break software (3 minutes every 22 minutes). I walk an hour every day, and have tried various household exercise routines but haven't found one that felt like it made a difference.
The repetitive clicking, though, is sort of juuust beyond my body's capacity to handle.
- Keyboard.
This is by far my ideal way of doing the task...but over time I start to get RSI issues. Right now while I sort this out this is what I'm doing and it's fine, but I'm afraid it won't be, thus looking for alternatives. I will say that I'm open to advice about how to "click repetitively" in a more ergonomic way, if such a thing exists. As is I largely use my thumb to click the space bar. The key I have to press is configurable, and I can use any finger and any key, but this is what has been the lowest strain in my experience.
- Foot pedal.
Last year I had an RSI flareup and spent some time on alternatives. Honestly, the foot pedal worked great! Until I started getting RSI pain, located in the back of the knee, the area where the calf meets the thigh :( I'm very curious if there might be a more ergonomic way to use a foot pedal...I tried to find information online and couldn't find anything. As is I sit in a chair with my thigh parallel to the ground, then my calf at a 90 degree angle to my though (and the ground). My heel on the ground and the ball of my foot on the pedal. I don't need to apply a lot of force to do the click. I'm very curious if there might be a better position for this as the foot pedal solution worked pretty well, but I have no clue. Maybe there is a better way that won't strain that particular part of the knee so much? I don't know.
Heck today I even tried some alternative methods of pressing the pedal, like gripping a pull and pushing down and stuff but that seemed to be more aggravating to my RSI than just...using the keyboard.
- Voice control.
Voice control is extremely aggravating. In theory it's ideal, as it's portable! But I tried out Talon last year and found it very frustrating. I invested in a very expensive mic recommended by Talon (thankfully returnable!), but it didn't matter. I was mainly interested in using the noise-control (still in beta I think) as that theoretically puts no strain on your throat. I am open to trying voice control agian, but it has to be no-strain and have very high fidelity. A somewhat common issue for people using voice control is throat strain (has to do with how people talk to computers). It's possible to deal with, but I am prone to throat strain already and using voice control I felt it almost immediately, which is why I need a no-strain option. My iphones voice control is actually pretty good on fidelity, but a bit slow and doesn't have control using "noise" as far as I know.
- Mobile phone.
Anki has an iphone app, but also this is by far the worst for my RSI. I can use phones to browse here and there, but if I use them too much, it's really awful for my RSI. Texting even a little is really bad. Something about touch screens really aggravates my RSI...I've also tried styluses and whatnot, but thus far haven't found anything that works--they all aggravate my RSI.
- ???
I'm open to anything, really (except being told simply not to do this task!). I am open to trying things again, I'm open to advice about how to use things more ergonomically (though again I've put a lot of effort into my setup and paying attention to my body, but especially when it comes to clicking repetitively and/or using foot pedals I imagine there is space for improvement). I'm willing to spend money on this. I'm a programmer, so I'm able to adapt things. I use a mac but have windows running in a VM, so can use pretty much anything for any platform.
RSI is such a fucking downer. I really despise it. While my main goal is Anki, it'd be nice to play video games (nope) or even just play virtual novels (also nope, for same reason). Coming up with a healtheir way to click would be a real game changer!
Oh and if anyone wants to suggest physical therapy...first off, I 100% don't live in an area with access to a physical therapist who knows anything about this stuff. I've seen a ton of medical experts about this in the past (physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors and so on) and no one really cracked the nut, I've already read a number of books (though if there are any newer ones that seem good I'd be open to recommendations), and figured out my current setup through a mix of research, consultation, and trial and error. I know that exercise helps, and I know that maintaining good posture is extremely important, so I am certainly open to suggestions about good exercise routines...but I think that even if you do all of that, there is a mechanical component that can be optimized. I mean, at one point medical experts (though not experts in RSI issues!) told me what they tell a lot of RSI suffers, "oh you're gonna have to change careers," when in the end working on posture and getting an ergonomic setup let me use computers again. The problem with RSI in my experience is that since it's such a complicated area with relatively poor research, there is a lot of snake oil, a lot of ignorance, a lot of camps etc...
As a physical therapist, I would say the clue is in the name. Repetitive action = repetitive strain/overuse injury. So the key is novelty. You will have to sacrifice speed most likely, but keep on changing :-
Your position
Your hand and wrist position
The method you use (cycle through the above methods and add new ones in)
The finger you use
The hand you use
The other body part or tool you use (homers dialling wand springs to mind)
Other stuff?
Limit yourself to 100 clicks of each thing, and find 20 novel ways to hit it. Then maybe do 40 novelty ways and 50 max clicks.
Be aware of obvious things like over extending your thumb at weird angles, also do opposite action stuff (I grip a lot with massage, so do finger lifting exercises to provide opposition, how could you use your opposite thumb muscles to strengthen those and relax the overused ones?). Also golf ball to do selfmyofascial release of tissues in the hand (Google hand mob ball/hand mobility exercises) and forearms (where the flexor and extensor muscles for your fingers live).
Happy clicking!
posted by eastboundanddown at 1:31 AM on April 22, 2021 [5 favorites]
Your position
Your hand and wrist position
The method you use (cycle through the above methods and add new ones in)
The finger you use
The hand you use
The other body part or tool you use (homers dialling wand springs to mind)
Other stuff?
Limit yourself to 100 clicks of each thing, and find 20 novel ways to hit it. Then maybe do 40 novelty ways and 50 max clicks.
Be aware of obvious things like over extending your thumb at weird angles, also do opposite action stuff (I grip a lot with massage, so do finger lifting exercises to provide opposition, how could you use your opposite thumb muscles to strengthen those and relax the overused ones?). Also golf ball to do selfmyofascial release of tissues in the hand (Google hand mob ball/hand mobility exercises) and forearms (where the flexor and extensor muscles for your fingers live).
Happy clicking!
posted by eastboundanddown at 1:31 AM on April 22, 2021 [5 favorites]
Another option is HeadMouse... wear a tiny target on your forehead, and the camera can track your head movement and use that to move the cursor. Then you can map one of your keyboard's buttons to act as mouse click.
posted by kschang at 1:35 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by kschang at 1:35 AM on April 22, 2021
Or one without a camera, using gyroscopic sensors only, the Quha Zono / Zono2, wear it on your glasses or head.
posted by kschang at 1:39 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by kschang at 1:39 AM on April 22, 2021
Maybe DwellClick? I haven’t tried it myself, but it will automatically click when you stop moving the mouse. It’d take some getting used to for web browsing and general computing use, but you could also turn it on just when doing flash cards.
posted by pocams at 4:27 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by pocams at 4:27 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Have you tried a stylus? Like a lot of old timers in animation, I drew with a wooden pencil for many years without issues. Wacom products are the standard these days and nearly everyone who's doing any sort of work in animation is using one. A Wacom pad can be set up to control one screen or mapped across multiple screens. There's a thumb button that can be set up for right clicks, or option key, whatever. A good thing is that you can fully rest your hand on the tablet in a way you can’t do with a mouse or trackball. A smaller tablet (or setting it up so a portion of the tablet controls the whole screen) would mean you have to shift your arm less but that can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the person. The other end of the scale is a Cintiq where you draw on the screen surface but that introduces issues with posture and reach that might cause you more problems. Looking at their current products, the Intuos comes with a smaller, all plastic pen that feels more like a wooden pencil whereas the “Pro” models have a soft rubber grip, which I now use but have never found as natural to hold.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:29 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:29 AM on April 22, 2021
I use an Evolute vertical mouse because of mild RSI I suspect it would be good for high quantity clicking. It has multiple buttons everywhere that you can program to do the same thing so you could could cycle through the fingers you use to do your clicking.
https://evoluent.com/
posted by jmsta at 5:54 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
https://evoluent.com/
posted by jmsta at 5:54 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Hi there, I am you, except my RSI has been going on for 20+ years. I've tried many of the things you have, and as you are learning there is no magic bullet. Voice control is garbage for clicking, forget that. Agreed that phones are also bad.
Personally a vertical mouse that can be switched between right and left has been the best for me. Currently I use the Oyster mouse.
What I do for a repetitive task is 1) vary the input method, 2) do very short sessions. Frequent interruptions keep you from zoning out and not noticing the pain coming on. In your case I would start with no more than one minute at a time, and switch input methods each time between mouse with left hand, mouse with right hand, keyboard, foot pedal, and maybe stylus?
posted by medusa at 6:36 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Personally a vertical mouse that can be switched between right and left has been the best for me. Currently I use the Oyster mouse.
What I do for a repetitive task is 1) vary the input method, 2) do very short sessions. Frequent interruptions keep you from zoning out and not noticing the pain coming on. In your case I would start with no more than one minute at a time, and switch input methods each time between mouse with left hand, mouse with right hand, keyboard, foot pedal, and maybe stylus?
posted by medusa at 6:36 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'd strongly agree with what eastboundanddown and medusa said. The solution for me was variety. That is, to minimize the R in RSI. I always have at least two mouse/pointer devices on my desk and always one for each hand. My RSI went from debilitating to an occasional annoyance.
posted by kc8nod at 6:48 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kc8nod at 6:48 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Rotate through all those clicking options each day if any given one of them is unsustainable. You could increase your rotation options by switching the key assigned for keyboard clicking between hands and between fingers (for my personal ergonomics, my hands would prefer to use index finger than thumb, but every body is different). For a different foot pedal postures, can you do it standing? With the pedal under your heel instead of your toe? (I'm totally going to try my foot pedal under my heel today!) For clicking with an actual mouse, I find the Penguin mouse to be by far the most comfortable mouse I've ever used for all actions and is conveniently ambidexterous (but again, every body is different).
posted by Advanced_Waffler at 6:57 AM on April 22, 2021
posted by Advanced_Waffler at 6:57 AM on April 22, 2021
I've been struggling with RSI for only a couple of years however I've tried many of the things you mention in your post, and can relate to your frustration. I'm also using various SRS websites (Wanikani and off shoots) hands free so your question about Anki made me curious
It's not clear to me if you need to move the mouse pointer or just click. If you need to move the pointer, an alternative to the expensive devices marketed for accessibility is a cheap gyroscopic air mouse attached to a hat or headband. I use a $22 device called PB2 Remote+ rubber banded to a hair clip. Since it's fairly cheap it's a good way to see if a head mouse will work for you. I also have a Tobii 5 eye tracker ($220) which I use in conjunction with Talon, which has built in mouse control using the tracker. Since you mentioned Talon you might already be aware of this option, but I find it quite useful in conjunction with the noise control (the "pop" sound for clicking does not strain my voice much, although I did need to buy a Blue Yeti mic and place it as close as possible to my mouth, which reduces false positives and also makes it possible to trigger it with a very soft sound. I often use this just to trigger a click without the eye tracker). Talon also supports "hiss" and these are now in the public release, not in the paid beta. If you're using a Mac one option might be Talon's use of Apple's face control (recognizes things like sticking your tongue out and opening your mouth), I haven't experimented with this yet, but it seems promising as it doesn't use your voice or noise at all. There's a video on the Talon developer's twitter (lunixbochs)
Regarding noise control, another option would be Parrot.py. This software is a bit rougher around the edges, and I wouldn't recommend it except you said you are a programmer. It's meant for gaming so uses noises to be very low latency, and you can customize it by recording your own noises. I successfully used it along with the gyro mouse to play Hades and Pyre. I eventually stopped because I was straining my voice, but if you're using it just for clicking flashcards you might be able to pick a better less stressful noise. The developer of Parrot.py is active in the Talon community slack and was helpful when I was setting it up (you need to record and run through some steps to train a machine learning model, so it's a bit fiddly). Generally even if you don't use Talon I do recommend this community slack as there's lots of folks there dealing with similar issues
Since you mentioned video games, and are already using a standing desk, something to explore might be a DDR style dance pad. I've used it successfully to play turn based games like Octopath Traveller. You could conceivably wire it up to do a click, if all you need to do is click and not move the mouse, or combine it with a head mouse (briefly I played Pyre like this). Everyone is different but I found that large muscle movements like stepping on the pad are much easier than fine motor stuff, but I haven't tried something like 2000 clicks/day. Finally one other option you could experiment with as a device called Makey Makey. it's an educational device that allows you to do things like turn bananas into capacitive controllers (lots of videos on youtube of people doing stuff like this) and you might be able to find some combination of things that's less stressful than a foot pedal (I've wired one up underneath my desk with aluminum foil panels for the purpose of RTS-style WASD camera movement and strategy games)
Sorry for the wall of text, I signed up for metafilter to post this, after being a long time lurker... I hope it's helpful
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:24 AM on April 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's not clear to me if you need to move the mouse pointer or just click. If you need to move the pointer, an alternative to the expensive devices marketed for accessibility is a cheap gyroscopic air mouse attached to a hat or headband. I use a $22 device called PB2 Remote+ rubber banded to a hair clip. Since it's fairly cheap it's a good way to see if a head mouse will work for you. I also have a Tobii 5 eye tracker ($220) which I use in conjunction with Talon, which has built in mouse control using the tracker. Since you mentioned Talon you might already be aware of this option, but I find it quite useful in conjunction with the noise control (the "pop" sound for clicking does not strain my voice much, although I did need to buy a Blue Yeti mic and place it as close as possible to my mouth, which reduces false positives and also makes it possible to trigger it with a very soft sound. I often use this just to trigger a click without the eye tracker). Talon also supports "hiss" and these are now in the public release, not in the paid beta. If you're using a Mac one option might be Talon's use of Apple's face control (recognizes things like sticking your tongue out and opening your mouth), I haven't experimented with this yet, but it seems promising as it doesn't use your voice or noise at all. There's a video on the Talon developer's twitter (lunixbochs)
Regarding noise control, another option would be Parrot.py. This software is a bit rougher around the edges, and I wouldn't recommend it except you said you are a programmer. It's meant for gaming so uses noises to be very low latency, and you can customize it by recording your own noises. I successfully used it along with the gyro mouse to play Hades and Pyre. I eventually stopped because I was straining my voice, but if you're using it just for clicking flashcards you might be able to pick a better less stressful noise. The developer of Parrot.py is active in the Talon community slack and was helpful when I was setting it up (you need to record and run through some steps to train a machine learning model, so it's a bit fiddly). Generally even if you don't use Talon I do recommend this community slack as there's lots of folks there dealing with similar issues
Since you mentioned video games, and are already using a standing desk, something to explore might be a DDR style dance pad. I've used it successfully to play turn based games like Octopath Traveller. You could conceivably wire it up to do a click, if all you need to do is click and not move the mouse, or combine it with a head mouse (briefly I played Pyre like this). Everyone is different but I found that large muscle movements like stepping on the pad are much easier than fine motor stuff, but I haven't tried something like 2000 clicks/day. Finally one other option you could experiment with as a device called Makey Makey. it's an educational device that allows you to do things like turn bananas into capacitive controllers (lots of videos on youtube of people doing stuff like this) and you might be able to find some combination of things that's less stressful than a foot pedal (I've wired one up underneath my desk with aluminum foil panels for the purpose of RTS-style WASD camera movement and strategy games)
Sorry for the wall of text, I signed up for metafilter to post this, after being a long time lurker... I hope it's helpful
posted by okonomichiyaki at 9:24 AM on April 22, 2021 [3 favorites]
I remember my feeling of profound disappointment when the ergonomics expert at my office told me kindly, "there is no action you can do hundreds of thousands of times without it causing damage". So, variety as it's been said. I really like the spacebar option that you're already using, I do something very similar and it's easy to vary between hands/fingers/standing/sitting...
The other thing is, it sounds like your repetitive stress injury is already bad enough that it hurts you to do lots of things including normal motion. If you can take a week or two to just stop and let it heal, you really need to. Once it's inflamed, even normal stuff is going to make it worse.
My specific recommendations are to see a physical therapist if you can afford it or get it covered by workers comp, and either with or without that to ice it, tape or wrap it if you can find a way that gives relief (google is pretty good at bringing up ideas and should also have instructions on how to ice safely), and try braces for whatever part of your body is hurting.
posted by Lady Li at 11:30 AM on April 22, 2021
The other thing is, it sounds like your repetitive stress injury is already bad enough that it hurts you to do lots of things including normal motion. If you can take a week or two to just stop and let it heal, you really need to. Once it's inflamed, even normal stuff is going to make it worse.
My specific recommendations are to see a physical therapist if you can afford it or get it covered by workers comp, and either with or without that to ice it, tape or wrap it if you can find a way that gives relief (google is pretty good at bringing up ideas and should also have instructions on how to ice safely), and try braces for whatever part of your body is hurting.
posted by Lady Li at 11:30 AM on April 22, 2021
I set up an 8bitdo zero2 with a keymapper to do Anki reviews.
It does sound like you have trouble with RSI with videogames, so maybe a videogame controller (xbox, playstation, nintendo) isn't any better for you, but at least you can have a more varied set of arm/wrist positions available to you.
The zero2 is tiny and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for ergonomics, but there are a bunch of options out there.
A more expensive option would be putting something together using the Microsoft adaptive controller and accessories, and trying out various options (using your knee or elbow to hit the switches, or even getting a bite switch and using your mouth).
posted by that girl at 12:15 PM on April 22, 2021
It does sound like you have trouble with RSI with videogames, so maybe a videogame controller (xbox, playstation, nintendo) isn't any better for you, but at least you can have a more varied set of arm/wrist positions available to you.
The zero2 is tiny and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for ergonomics, but there are a bunch of options out there.
A more expensive option would be putting something together using the Microsoft adaptive controller and accessories, and trying out various options (using your knee or elbow to hit the switches, or even getting a bite switch and using your mouth).
posted by that girl at 12:15 PM on April 22, 2021
Massage your forearms and change it up after max 45 minutes.
I have an upright mouse. If i had 1-2,000 clicks to deliver per day I'd be using AutoHotKey, Selenium or Cypress to advance each page after a set number of seconds (per page if you're willing to capture the wait time).
But definitely move around get some warmth into your muscles and massage your forearms and the muscular pads of your hands.
posted by k3ninho at 2:42 PM on April 22, 2021
I have an upright mouse. If i had 1-2,000 clicks to deliver per day I'd be using AutoHotKey, Selenium or Cypress to advance each page after a set number of seconds (per page if you're willing to capture the wait time).
But definitely move around get some warmth into your muscles and massage your forearms and the muscular pads of your hands.
posted by k3ninho at 2:42 PM on April 22, 2021
Also if repeated small actions are going to incur damage, you need recovery time.
And (said hoping it's helpful not totally inappropriate in case you have other mobility restrictions) if tapping a button uses very few muscle sets many times, is there a range of activities, say that break a light beam with a mug of tea, medicine ball or free weight, to move the work into major muscle groups in traditional everyday actions or strength-building resistance work?
posted by k3ninho at 2:49 PM on April 22, 2021
And (said hoping it's helpful not totally inappropriate in case you have other mobility restrictions) if tapping a button uses very few muscle sets many times, is there a range of activities, say that break a light beam with a mug of tea, medicine ball or free weight, to move the work into major muscle groups in traditional everyday actions or strength-building resistance work?
posted by k3ninho at 2:49 PM on April 22, 2021
Ok, I've had various RSI related issues a few times. Things that have helped:
Mix up how you do things. Mouse right handed sometimes, then use a mouse or trackball in your other hand. Mixing mouse and trackball in your dominant hand can work as well (best is of course, mixing that with both hands). Be careful with your off hand: It is VERY easy to injure it as well when you start using it in place of your dominant hand as it isn't as used to doing things.
If you can mix in feet (preferably both feet) with both hands, now each is doing 1/4 the load they were each doing before.
I found Dragon worked OK for voice control, but it wasn't fun, last time I used it. Which web browser I was using and what program made a LOT of difference in how well it controlled (totally different animal in chrome vs Firefox. Could never get the Firefox plugin to work though.) As a secondary device I could use when my hands got fired though it was fine.
posted by Canageek at 8:20 PM on April 22, 2021
Mix up how you do things. Mouse right handed sometimes, then use a mouse or trackball in your other hand. Mixing mouse and trackball in your dominant hand can work as well (best is of course, mixing that with both hands). Be careful with your off hand: It is VERY easy to injure it as well when you start using it in place of your dominant hand as it isn't as used to doing things.
If you can mix in feet (preferably both feet) with both hands, now each is doing 1/4 the load they were each doing before.
I found Dragon worked OK for voice control, but it wasn't fun, last time I used it. Which web browser I was using and what program made a LOT of difference in how well it controlled (totally different animal in chrome vs Firefox. Could never get the Firefox plugin to work though.) As a secondary device I could use when my hands got fired though it was fine.
posted by Canageek at 8:20 PM on April 22, 2021
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posted by kschang at 1:28 AM on April 22, 2021 [1 favorite]