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Preventing and managing RSI and/or other injuries (feddit.nl)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi fellow programmers.

How do you ensure to prevent RSI and/or manage RSI? Especially with your hands and arms.

For those who don't know, RSI is a disorder that occurs when repeating the same movements too much for a long period of time. This frequently occurs when sitting behind a desk and using keyboard and mouse the entire day.

I personally have a great (but expensive) chair with arm rests and have a slightly ergonomic mouse (it has a curve, to make it more comfortable for my thumb).

Honestly, I dislike having to disrupt my computer activities every hour, because I'm usually quite immersed / invested into whatever I'm doing. Whether that's watching a movie, developing an app or simply playing videogames. However, I'll probably have to start taking frequent breaks, in order to prevent RSI from taking a hold in my body. Unfortunately, we only get one body, one chance, so let's not mess it up with neglecting breaks and acquiring RSI.

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[–] ascallion 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A lot of people are talking about better ergonomics, which is great and helpful for preventing symptoms. But for me, what helped most to reverse my symptoms was performing finger extension exercises throughout the day.

Mouse clicking is all finger flexion so you need to balance that out by working the opposite muscles. Finger extension stretches (lifting one finger at a time off a table; stretches the flexor muscles), finger tendon glide, and finger spreads (spreading fingers apart with a resistance band; strengthens extensor muscles; my fav) have all been incredibly helpful in managing symptoms.

Ball squeezes on the other hand aggravate my symptoms because they work the same muscles and motions that clicking does. So don't do those.