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https://github.com/melling/ergonomicnotes

Ergonomic keyboards and mice, programming by voice, RSI, and standing desks.
https://github.com/melling/ergonomicnotes

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Ergonomic keyboards and mice, programming by voice, RSI, and standing desks.

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README 

          
# RSI



Menu: [Ergonomic Keyboards](keyboards.md) | [Ergonomic Mice](mice.md) | [Programming by Voice](programming_by_voice.md) | [Standing Desks](standing_desks.md) | [Blind Programming](blind_programming.md)



Table of Contents: [[#automation)[Automation] | [[#books)[Books] | [[#ergonomic-chairs)[Chairs] | [[#editors)[Editors] | [[#exercises)[Exercises] | [[#eye-tracking)[Eye Tracking] | [[#gesture-computing)[Gesture Devices] | [[#nerves)[Nerves] | [[#posture)[Posture] | [[#rsi-articles)[RSI Articles] | [[#stretches)[Stretches] ([[#stretching-videos)[Stretching Videos]) |



Please note that there is no agreed upon cause of RSI (repetitive stress injury).  Dozens of people have blogged about their problems and their cures, or lack of.  These notes are here to facilitate your own research. Rest (most agree on rest) and consult your doctor to decide what's best for you. 



## Checklist - Various Things People Have Tried



|Technique|Comments|Other|

|---------|--------|-----|

|Acupuncture|||

|Alexander technique|https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_technique||

|Biofeedback|Identify muscle tension and reduce it|||

|Exercise (various)|e.g. weightlifting||

|Hot bath/shower|Some say it provides temporary relief ||

|Mind Body Approach|Mind causes oxygen deprivation?||

|Nerve Flossing & Tensioning|||

|Posture Adjustments|||

|Pushups|||

|Physiotherapist|https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_therapy|||

|Standing Desk|eliminates bad posture?||

|Stretching|||

|Swimming|||

|Switch Keyboard Layout|[Dvorak](http://xahlee.info/comp/dvorak_keyboard_layout.html)/ [Colemak](http://colemak.com)|Fingers move less.  Home row contains frequently used keys||

|Switch Keyboard|Mechanical/Kinesis/Split/Tented|[Introduction to Ergonomic Keyboards](https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/the-model-01-an-heirloom-grade-keyboard-for-serious-typists)/ [The Most Comfortable Ergonomic Keyboard](http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/comfortable-ergo-keyboard)||

|Switch Mouse|||

|Trigger Point Therapy|Treat knots in muscles|Physiotherapist treats||

|Yoga|||



## Inbox



- [OptiKey](http://github.com/JuliusSweetland/OptiKey/wiki)

- [Work-related repetitive strain injury and leisure-time physical activity](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17394178)

- [reddit - Effects of keyboard tray geometry on upper body posture and comfort](http://www.reddit.com/r/RSI/comments/3efbj1/effects_of_keyboard_tray_geometry_on_upper_body)

- Hot-cold contrast baths 1 to 4 times a day.

- [Classical Musicians Suffer for Their Art](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117020048251292936) (wsj)

- http://www.healthline.com/health/tenosynovitis#Causes2

- [HN User Recommends Blue Switches](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8485497)

- http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/comfortable-ergo-keyboard/#Ergonomics

- [HN - One year with the Truly Ergonomic keyboard](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9605262)

- http://matt.might.net/articles/preventing-and-managing-rsi

- http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/jon/sorehand.html

- http://blog.evanweaver.com/2012/09/05/a-programmers-guide-to-healing-rsi

- http://timboontech.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/preventing-rsi-part-1.html

- [OctoMouse](https://github.com/Takohi-Jona/OctoMouse) open-source application for MAC OSX that measures your mouse and keyboard activities

- [Overcoming (and preventing) RSI](https://github.com/madeleineudell/homepage/blob/master/lifeskills/rsi.md)



## RSI Articles



- [How I stopped the RSI pain that almost destroyed my programming career](https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/11/18/rsi-solution/)

  - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12986759

- [We have an epidemic of bad posture](https://levels.io/rsi/) (2016-07-26)

  - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12166415

- [Episode 50: Accidental Clicking](http://techdistortion.com/podcasts/pragmatic/episode-50-accidental-clicking) (techdistortion.com) (2014-12-23)

   - John Siracusa is the guest

   - At 26m explains that it's really hard to get a diagnosis for the actual problem

   - At 27m explains how the problem might not even be in your hands, it could be in your shoulder, for example, but you might feel the pain in your hands.

   - At 1:16:25 keyboard discussion

      - Mechanical keyboards have 2mm actuation and bottom out at 4mm

      - IBM buckling spring actuation force is 65g.  2.3mm to 3.7mm actuation

      - Alps/Mitsumi - 3.5mm travel distance 

   - At 1:19:25 Mac keyboard actuation force is 65g, actuation distance is 1-2mm. Scissor switch over rubber dome. pentagraph

   - At 1:26 Keyboard layouts

   - At 1:36:10 Is it all in your head?

   - At 1:37:10 http://ergocanada.com/products/keyboards/fingerworks_lp.html - Fingerworks Touchstream

- [What to do when typing hurts](https://medium.com/@benjiwheeler/what-to-do-when-typing-hurts-e0ac3456a712) (2015-11-20)

- [Look No Hands](http://looknohands.me) (looknohands.me) (2014-12-28)

- [Don’t Push Through the Pain](http://24ways.org/2014/dont-push-through-the-pain/) (24ways.org) (2014-12-06)

- [Severe Hand RSI Pain and Recovery](http://markmcb.com/2014/10/13/severe-hand-rsi-pain-and-recovery/) (markmcb.com) (2014-10-13)

- [Dealing With RSI - John Ousterhout](http://www.stanford.edu/~ouster/cgi-bin/wrist.php) (www.stanford.edu) (Updated: 2016-01-13)

- [A programmer’s guide to healing RSI](http://blog.evanweaver.com/2012/09/05/a-programmers-guide-to-healing-rsi/) (blog.evanweaver.com)

- [An Affray with RSI](http://www.drbunsen.org/an-affray-with-rsi/) (drbunsen.org) (2012-08-26)

- [Avoiding RSI](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/avoiding-rsi.html) (googleblog.blogspot.com) (2006-04-21)

- [Preventing Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) on a Mac](http://chrisltd.com/blog/2012/02/preventing-rsi-mac) (2012-02-14)

- [Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Strain Injury, and Yoga](http://www.will-harris.com/yoga/yoga_and_carpal_tunnel-rsi.html) (will-harris.com)

- [Celebrity Programmers with RSI](http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_hand_pain_celebrity.html) (ergoemacs.org)

- [Computer Related Repetitive Strain Injury](http://rsi.unl.edu) (rsi.unl.edu)

- [Handling repetitive strain injury](http://matt.might.net/articles/preventing-and-managing-rsi/) (matt.might.net)

- [Healing RSI through Exercise](http://www.rsitips.com/healing-rsi-through-exercise/) (rsitips.com)

- [How do I know if have RSI or carpal tunnel?](http://stackoverflow.hewgill.com/questions/191/5.html) (stackoverflow.hewgill.com)

- [Swimming as RSI Therapy](http://neckandshoulders.blogspot.com/2006/01/swimming-as-rsi-therapy.html)

- [Topic: mechanical keyboard vs regular keyboard.(hand fatigue)](http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=27940.0) (geekhack.org) (2012-02-27)

- [Advice for RSI sufferer](http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=18306.0) (geekhack.org) (2011-05-23)

- [How I Beat Repetitive Stress Injury](http://henrikwarne.com/2012/02/18/how-i-beat-rsi/) (henrikwarne.com) (2012-02-18)

- [Jason Rennie's Wrist Tendonitis and RSI Pensieve](http://qwone.com/~jason/log/tendonitis.html) (qwone.com) (2006-07-21)

- [Musicians and Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) — How to Practice Hard and Stay Healthy](http://blog.discmakers.com/2012/04/musicians-and-repetitive-strain-injuries-rsi-how-to-practice-hard-and-stay-healthy-2/) (blog.discmakers.com) (2012-04-10)

- [My experience with RSI](http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arora/RSI.html) (www.cs.princeton.edu) (2007-08-01)

- [my wrists and welcome to them](http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/wrists.html) (www.jwz.org) (1999-01-01) [Jamie Zawinski]

- [Programmer, looking for advice on wrist RSI](http://www.reddit.com/r/RSI/comments/22ge19/programmer_looking_for_advice_on_wrist_rsi/) (reddit.com)

- [Repetitive Strain Injuries](http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~cahn/rsi/meditations) (alumni.media.mit.edu)

- [Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Prevention] (http://ux.mit.edu/atic/rsi) (ux.mit.edu)

- [How James beat RSI](http://www.howibeatrsi.com/how-james-beat-rsi/)

- [Repetitive Strain Injury](http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~cscott/rsi.html) (web.eecs.umich.edu)

- [RSI Treatments](http://www.rsi-therapy.com/treatments.htm) (rsi-therapy.com)

- [RSI: What you absolutely need to know](http://ux.mit.edu/atic/rsi/needtoknow) (ux.mit.edu)

- [Hello, this is RSI. Nice to meet you.](http://articles.marco.org/161) (marco.org) (2005-10-16)

- [My Experience with Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)](http://blog.yitang.uk/2015/07/19/repetitive-strain-injury) (2015-07-19)

- [Dealing with RSI... Push-ups](https://josephhall.org/nqb/archives/000277.html) (josephhall.org) (2004-05-14)

- [Look, Ma, no hands! Coping with Repetitive Strain Injury - Trey Harris](https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/lisa99/practicum/harris/harris.html/) (usenix.org) (2000-01-10)

- [Deborah Quilter's RSIhelp.com](http://www.rsihelp.com)



#### The Mind Body Approach - Dr. John Sarno



 - The theory says that your mind is restricting blood flow to other parts of your body to deal with stress, for instance. Just the fact that people learn this is usually enough for them to stop their minds from doing this.

 - [The Mind/Body Approach: What is RSI?](http://www.rsi.deas.harvard.edu/mb_what_is.html)

 - [How I Cured my RSI Pain](http://aaroniba.net/articles/tmp/how-i-cured-my-rsi-pain.html) (aaroniba.net) (2010-03-09)

 - [My Back Pain Story](http://www.pgbovine.net/back-pain-guest-article.htm)

 - [20/20 Segment](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vsR4wydiIBI)

 - [Rachel's RSI homage to Dr. John Sarno](http://podolsky.everybody.org/rsi)

 - [My battle with RSI](http://www.wilforbis.com/pages/rsi.htm) (2012-08-30)

 

## Editors



### Misc



 - [How do Emacs, Vim, and various other text editors compare in terms of RSI impact?](http://www.quora.com/How-do-Emacs-Vim-and-various-other-text-editors-compare-in-terms-of-RSI-impact)



### vim



 - [How to remap keyboard to avoid RSI in VIM](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11443012/how-to-remap-keyboard-keys-to-avoid-rsi-in-vim)

 - [ErgoVIM Key Mappings](http://www.hxa.name/articles/content/ergovim-key-mappings_hxa7241_2010.html)

 - Remap/Avoid ESC Key

   - [Reddit - How to avoid ESC](https://www.reddit.com/r/vim/comments/2b1nnd/how_do_you_avoid_esc)

   - [Vim: How to Remap Escape Key?](http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/vi_remap_escape_key.html)

   - [Other ways to exit Insert mode besides Escape](http://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/300/other-ways-to-exit-insert-mode-besides-escape)



### Emacs



 - http://xahlee.info/kbd/banish_key_chords.html

 - http://ergoemacs.org/misc/ergoemacs_vi_mode.html

 - http://xahlee.info/kbd/efficiency_of_keybinding_emacs_vs_vim.html

 - [god-mode](https://github.com/chrisdone/god-mode)



 #### Emacs Pinky

 

   - [HN - Emacs Pinky](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2610467)

   - [StackOverFlow Question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/52492/what-is-the-best-way-to-avoid-getting-emacs-pinky)

   - [How to Avoid the Emacs Pinky Problem](http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_pinky.html)

   - [Reddit Question](https://www.reddit.com/r/emacs/comments/44c0ed/emacs_pinky/)



## Books



- [The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief](http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/B005DH854I)

+ http://www.alexandertechnique.com/at.htm

- [It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!: RSI Theory and Therapy for Computer Professionals](http://www.amazon.com/Its-Carpal-Tunnel-Syndrome-Professionals/dp/0965510999)

- [Dr. Pascarelli's Complete Guide to Repetitive Strain Injury: What You Need to Know About RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome](http://www.amazon.com/Pascarellis-Complete-Repetitive-Strain-Injury/dp/0471388432)



## Exercises



- Push-ups

  - [the hundred push ups training program](http://www.hundredpushups.com/) (hundredpushups.com)

- Push-ups Plus - Exercise serratus anterior

  - http://youtu.be/jpjn0JM_mi4

  - http://youtu.be/ALzFr2GT-Is

- Pull-ups

  - ring rows to pull-up



## Stretches



- [Neck Stretches](http://www.stretchnow.com.au/resources/exercises/neck-exercise) (stretchnow.com.au) 

- [Take a Break and Stretch](http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_desk_stretches/stretches_graphic.html) (shelterpub.com)

- [Rehabilitation of neck/shoulder muscle pain (RAMIN)](http://www.arbejdsmiljoforskning.dk/en/projekter/rehabilitering-af-muskelsmerter-i-nakken--ramin) (arbejdsmiljoforskning.dk)

- [Stretches](http://www.rsiwarrior.com/stretches.html) (rsiwarrior.com)

- [How To Undo The Damage Of Sitting At Your Desk All Day](http://www.refinery29.com/desk-job-health-fixes#slide-1) (refinery29.com)

- http://lifehacker.com/this-video-shows-hand-exercises-for-gamers-and-heavy-co-1714892737



### Stretching Videos



- [Brachial Plexus Stretch - Rehab Exercise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLAOxIHK5ko) (TheWellnessClinic)

- [Quick Exercises for Wrist Pain aka RSI](http://youtu.be/6N7lR7ykxQI) (Tien Le)

- [Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Exercises](http://youtu.be/B5goXA9MqCA) (TheProactiveAthlete's channel)

- [Top 3 Exercises for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome] (Madden PT)(http://youtu.be/gTxQqu9USC4)

- [exercises for tendinitis (tendonitis) and carpal tunnel (cps)](http://youtu.be/hUyMNyrOHJQ) [David Kuckhermann](http://worldpercussion.net)

- [Remedies For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome](http://youtu.be/vLvYYYJhR2w) (MyYogaOnline)

- [Yoga Stretches for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome : Desk Posture to Relieve Carpal Tunnel](http://youtu.be/xAKOpnqvttI) (expertvillage)

- [Yoga for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome : More Finger Stretches for Carpal Tunnel](http://youtu.be/-IJC0bckKBY) (expertvillage)



## Nerves



- Flossing and tensioning the nerve



### Ulnar Nerve Exercises - pinky + ring finger - funny bone nerve



 - Ulnar nerve entrapment

    - [@5:04](https://youtu.be/BHfKutz21do?t=5m4s) | [From Beginning](http://youtu.be/BHfKutz21do)

 - Waiter plate exercise.

 - Mask and tilt side-to-side - [Video](http://youtu.be/d85QKyWvrbI)

 - tai-chi motion



### Median Nerve Exercises - thumb + next two fingers



 - [@2:30](https://youtu.be/BHfKutz21do?t=2m30s) | [From Beginning](http://youtu.be/BHfKutz21do)



### Radial Nerve Glide Exercises - Extensor muscles -  hand opening motion



 - [Video](http://youtu.be/gPXMX4nGNJI)

 - [Stretching Video](http://youtu.be/fdD7CgN5FGg)



## Hardware



### Eye Tracking



- [SmartNav](https://asstech.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/smartnav/) (asstech.wordpress.com)

 - http://www.naturalpoint.com/smartnav/

- http://www.tobii.com

- http://eyefluence.com

- [Precision Gaze Mouse](https://precisiongazemouse.com/)



### Gesture Computing



- [Intel Real Sense](http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/realsense-overview.html)

- [Leap Motion](https://www.leapmotion.com) (leapmotion.com)

- [Myo - Arm band for gestures](https://www.thalmic.com/en/myo/) (thalmic.com) 

- [Google's Soli chip - 2016](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0)

- [FingerIO](http://fingerio.cs.washington.edu)

- [Sixth Sense - MIT](https://www.media.mit.edu/research/highlights/sixthsense-wearable-gestural-interface-augment-our-world)



### Misc



- [Roost Kickstarter Project - Laptop stand](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/86285180/the-roost-saving-your-neck-and-back-from-your-lapt)

- [Story of Roost](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1fkxg1/lost_ability_to_type_on_a_keyboard_at_age_26/) (reddit.com)

- http://www.nouse.ca 

  - technology that allows users to work with a computer hands-free using only a webcam and the movement of their nose

- http://www.cameramouse.org/index.html

- http://dominicwilcox.com/portfolio/finger-nose-stylus/

- [10 Pack of Pink, Blue, Purple, Red, Black Stylus Universal Touch Screen Capacitive Pen for Kindle Touch, iPad, iPhone](http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Stylus-Universal-Screen-Capacitive/dp/B0075XYS4E/) - Cheap and effective styli.



## Ergonomic Chairs



- Steelcase Leap



## Posture



Often shoulder and neck exercises can help with the problems.



Shoulder shrugs

5. Shoulder abduction - 

One arm row - back exercise



Reverse flyes 



## Wrist Braces



- (http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Fitted-Wrist-Brace-Medium/dp/B0027VGB4Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F5BJ2ESYP1QH03HVA60)[Mueller-Fitted-Wrist-Brace]

- http://www.amazon.com/Imak-Smart-Glove-Thumb-Support/dp/B001G7QUUU

	



## Tools



- [Dasher](http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/DasherSummary.html)

- [MoveKey - Karabiner mappings for moving the cursor](http://github.com/0942v8653/movekey)



## Automation

- [windows-dwell-clicker](https://code.google.com/p/windows-dwell-clicker/)

- [Sikuli Script - Automate Anything You See](http://www.sikuli.org)

- [AutoHotKey - Scriptable Desktop Automation with Hotkeys](http://www.autohotkey.com/) (Windows)

- [IronAHK: Cross platform rewrite AutoHotkey scripting for desktop automation](https://github.com/polyethene/IronAHK)



### Misc



- https://code.google.com/p/autokey/

- http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/mar/HQ_04093_subvocal_speech.html

- [Muscle Sensor v3 Kit](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11776) (sparkfun.com)



## BEGIN_COMMENT



Better predictive type in sublime?

http://rsi.unl.edu/providers/newyork.html



https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8450459

Plover - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8510409



https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1269951

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1270462

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1911039



# "just an area of soft tissues suffering from mild oxygen deprivation."



http://www.rsi.deas.harvard.edu/handout.doc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FingerWorks



# "just an area of soft tissues suffering from mild oxygen deprivation."

# http://www.rsi.deas.harvard.edu/handout.doc



# https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8511158 - my comments about doctors



Advil - ibuprofen 



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/22/text_injury/



flexor tendinitis

http://www.rsiaction.org



xwrits typetime=5 breaktime=0.5 +mouse &

http://www.lcdf.org/~eddietwo/xwrits/



http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_outlet_syndrome

http://www.thehumansolution.com/click-less.html



http://www.howtogeek.com/54752/preventing-repetitive-strain-injury-the-geeky-way/

http://www.livinghealthy360.com/index.php/tips-for-preventing-wrist-repetitive-stress-injury-5-49019/

https://hand2mouth.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/lightio-touchless-touchpad-review-not-bad-for-the-time-being/



http://lifehacker.com/5922956/how-i-beat-repetitive-stress-injury-rsi-with-a-few-minor-adjustments/clone of Henri's article



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Medi-active-wrist-brace-medium-black-left-/221419318052



Casey doesn't have abducted thumbs in his braces



### Keyboard layouts



- http://lifebyexperimentation.com/2013/08/learn-dvorak/?

- http://xahlee.info/kbd/dvorak_and_all_keyboard_layouts.html

- http://www.anandtech.com/show/7125/kinesis-advantage-review-longterm-evaluation

- http://www.anandtech.com/show/6819/truly-ergonomic-computer-keyboard-review-one-month-with-the-teck



### ErgoDox



- http://jjt.io/2013/11/25/why-any-developer-should-check-out-the-ergodox-keyboard/

- https://gist.github.com/datagrok/8130501



 Cherry MX browns, which are very quiet at the point of actuation. They will click from the keys bottoming out and from releasing the key

#+END_COMMENT



https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8808059

Diffuse RSI - Means they can't find a medical reason



http://tiledtext.com



(http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=421768)[For RSI - Thumb or Finger Trackball?]



http://henrikwarne.com/2012/02/18/how-i-beat-rsi/|great article with great comments



I had a bad RSI about 15 years ago with several sets of symptoms that

was not any of the tunnel syndromes. I finally got rid of it by

stopping working and going into poverty.



Before that I tried over 20 doctors, physical therapy, occupational

therapy, tie-chi, tens, stretching, exercise, rest, and all kinds of

pills. They altered the pain, but didn’t get rid of it. I probably had

several different problems, and that masked the arthritis that came on

later, until it couldn’t be hidden any more.



The state disability program is mostly good for creating stress and

anxiety.



There are a few things I still can’t do with my hands, but they’re

things I rarely do anyway, like using a scissors for over 10 minutes.



---

Cold Laser Therapy?

http://www.rsitips.com/cold-laser-therapy/

http://www.brooklinephysicaltherapy.com/page4/page18/



#+END_COMMENT