Wear and tear on specifiers.

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Author Message Y. Lynn Jolley AIA CSI CCS CCCA Senior Member Username: lynn_jolley Post Number: 25 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 07:03 am:    Any advice to mitigate or attend to wear and tear on hands, wrists, backs, eyes, etc. resulting from working on the computer all the time? Jim Brittell Senior Member Username: jwbrittell Post Number: 48 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 10:54 am:    Find a good chiropractor - it worked for me. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 701 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 10:57 am:    Yes, see the other thread related to physical fitness. Get out and move around in your free time. No free time? Not an excuse, make some. Note a recent large scale study that looked at the age comparison at the cellular level of those that did very little to no exercise, to those that did as little as 3 hours a week. They were looking at the end of the cell - the part that slowly dwindles away until at the point where none is left the cell ceases to divide and dies. Cells of those with as few as 3 hours a week of exercise had cells 5 years younger than those with little or none. That said, since 1971 I have been in a typing job of some kind - in the air force typing out the transcript logs of radio intercepts - 12 hours shifts. 125+ words a minute, backlogged continually. From there to specifications, and doing constantly since 1976. Never a problem with anything related to wrists. Get up, walk around. Never type when your hands are cold. When I am not writing specs, at home I am online in Second Life where almost all communication/interaction is typing, keyboard movement and mousing. Even my sport is physically demanding of wrists and fingers, fencing (with weapons, not fence materials). No back problems, and no, I don't have a special chair, just a good chair at home and office. At the office, get up and walk around the office a couple times a day. You get a break, you get to see what people are working on, what's coming your way, and you get exposure such that people start to ask you questions that they should ask but might otherwise not. Make a reason for everything you do, and you will find it easier to take care of yourself. William Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 709 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 12:30 pm:    one thing that doesn't get mentioned enough, (I think) is drinking enough water. I had one doc tell me "just drink enough water that you have to get up to the bathroom every hour" --- that gets you moving around, but it also keeps your joints lubricated. I would agree with "find the chair that works for you" -- I tend to do better in a high backed chair with supportive arms, and so I have one of those both at work and at home. And, since my shoulders are often tight, a massage twice a month with concentration on neck and shoulders helps. when I was doing a lot of production work, I got a massage every week and was never sore. that was when I was self-employed, and took the massage as part of my self-funded "health plan". I can't afford that every week anymore. I think as much as anything, is to find something that forces you to stop thinking about work -- whether its a consuming hobby or a consuming sport -- the mental break probably does your body as much good as the physical break. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 491 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 02:13 pm:    Your elbow needs to be level with your mouse pad and if possible supported, there is a product whose name escapes me, it is essentially a padded arm that clips to your desk and allows your elbow to rest on it. Other than that, use ice for 30 minute intervals applied to elbow every two hours until the pain subsides; of course take an anti-inflammatory like Advil or Motrin or even Aleve with food if you can tolerate it and according to the drug manuf instructions. For your eyes, take breaks every hour and if necesary use eye drops to lubricate them. My wife is an ARNP in an office that treats Workmen's Comp cases, and this is what she tells her patients. For my two cents, power naps for 20 min to an hour work too, not so much on the joints, but on the eyes and mental health. Anne is correct about the water, though I prefer iced green or white tea, might as well get those anti-oxidants at the same time. Joel McKellar, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: joelmckellar Post Number: 14 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 04:01 pm:    I work in a rather large office (about 90 people in this location) and I was involved in the committee that planned our christmas party. We tend to throw a big party, and I couldn't help but think of how else the money could have been spent. The best idea I came up with was hiring a full time masseuse and turning one of our small conference rooms into a spa... with the size of our office, that would have almost yielded about a 30 minute massage EVERY week for the entire year... talk about a good lunch break. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 248 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 04:36 pm:    What works for me to revieve stress is single malt scotch whisky... Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 249 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 04:37 pm:    and it helps with spelling also <g> Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 711 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 05:30 pm:    my last office did have a chair massage person come in every two weeks; 20 minute massages were $15 (paid for individually). we used a supply room for the "massage room". Initially there was some giggling and resistance, but after a while, every single slot was filled every time she came to the office. (she was there from 10 am to 2 pm). a lot of the high-tech offices in the Seattle area had one or two days a week with a chair massage person, and it sort of came from that culture. the office was also right next door to the YMCA and the office had an arrangement for a discounted monthly dues. they didn't exactly encourage people to use the Y, but they didn't actively discourage it either. I also do use one of those curved "Microsoft Natural" keyboards -- I've been using one for so long, I forgot to mention it. it is slightly shaped to be more conducive to word processing and has a built in wrist rest. I'm not even sure I can type on a regular flat, rectilinear keyboard anymore. Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 06:38 pm:    can't drink whisky anymore it interacts with the anti-depressants. Christopher E. Grimm, CSI, CCS, LEEDŽ-AP, MAI, RLA Senior Member Username: tsugaguy Post Number: 121 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 - 08:36 am:    If you've never tried a trackball you might find a good one to be easier on the tendons than a mouse. For me, a good one is NOT the kind with the itty bitty ball you try to work with only the thumb. I have a Microsoft Trackball Explorer 1.0, and I alternate with regular optical mouse occasionally. Before I starting doing that I was definitely beginning to have a repetitive stress problem, even though I took breaks and did light stretching and massage of the area. Now the problem has about disappeared. A side benefit is two extra programmable buttons easily reached with the pinky and ring finger. I use them for page up/page down. Exercise is a must. I jog early in the mornings almost as often as I really should. Thanks for the tips on roaming the office, will have to do that more. Never thought about fencing, sounds like a great idea. Christopher E. Grimm, CSI, CCS, LEEDŽ-AP, MAI, RLA Senior Member Username: tsugaguy Post Number: 122 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 - 08:49 am:    On the eyes, use a new flat screen if at all possible. In fact, use a dual monitor setup w/ NVIDIA or other decent video card, and check this out: http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm Makes it easy to switch Word docs and other windows back and forth using Ctrl+Left/Right arrow keys. You might think that setup is only for CAD folks and the 911 call center, but it is really not that expensive, and once you try it you'll never want to go back. Makes comparing and copying bits from various documents and files much faster and easier. If you must use a CRT monitor, make sure you have your monitor's refresh rate at the max. This will greatly reduce screen flicker. Assuming you use Windows, right click desktop, click properties, settings, advanced, monitor, then click the dropdown at refresh rate. If 60 Hz is your max, click cancel to go back to the display properties box, and try adjusting the screen resolution slider to the left a bit, then go back to advanced, you might be able to get it up in the 90 Hz range. James M. Sandoz, AIA, CSI, CDT, LEED AP Senior Member Username: jsandoz Post Number: 27 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Friday, February 01, 2008 - 03:06 pm:    I have to agree with Mr. Grimm. Dual screens are great and the flat panel monitor lets me push it back farther on my desk so that I can use the top half of my bi-focals to see the screens. I received the same advice from my highly respected mentor that William gave and for the same reasons: get up and walk around the office at least once every day. Anonymous   Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 08:55 pm:    Computer glasses have been my solution to endless neck problems which no chiropractor could resolve. No more nose in the air to see through the bottoms of transitional lenses. Paired with my trusty magnifying glass, I can still read half-size drawings with ease! Still visiting the chiropractor, though. Four years ago, I switched to mousing with my left hand following a severe muscle/ligament strain in my right arm. I've found I'm much more efficient using the arrows and number pad. Both hands are more evenly balanced with their "responsibilities". I echo Anne's endorsement of the Microsoft articulated keyboard. I've used one now for 12 years, and could never go back to the rectilinear design. Forget a laptop, too. As for roaming the office....I do laps, 3-5 at the top of the hour for as many hours as the night is long. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 493 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 - 12:32 am:    Finally found the name of the forearm rest - ErgoRest - google it for more info.