RSI (repetitive strain injury): My experience

Presented at .Net Meetup Louisville 10 minute Lightning talk

1. RSI (repetitive strain injury) Aka tendonitis. * FAST TOUR. * I am not a doctor

2. Who am I? Sunny Gulati Software Engineer @ igNew Pounding on Keyboards since ’83 (Buffer Overflow)

3. Hope Maybe this helps you now Maybe this helps you later Maybe you know more and can help me

4. What Happened? EARTHDATE 2016.03.18 SUNNY’S LOG It appears .. I.. cannot.. Use.. My.. Right.. Hand.. Anymore? 2 days later, left hand also in jeopardy. My attempt to keep typing after finger failure

5. Muscle Fibers , Tendons, Fascia Muscles heal fast (2-3 days) Tendons heal slow. (3wk +) Muscles transition to tendons which then attached to bone. Muscles are bundles of cables of ropes of threads of muscle fibers. Body adapts and bypasses. SKIP

6. Over time, stages

7. My Paths To Recovery Drugs: MethylPREDNISolone Dose Pack (6 days tapered)

8. The Things My PT Uses Different quality levels of PT. I would hope your PT would use as many modalities on you. No-Insurance: $65/visit. (I had insurance: $15/visit up to x/ yr )

9. Iontophoresis Anti-inflammatory with positive ions DC current Flows from one terminal to the other Not jiggle. Topical application Instead of oral

10. Ultrasound: Gloopy gloop bzz gloop Barely hear some buzzing Sometimes feel warmth JIGGLE

11. Electric Muscle Stimulation All you need is a strong buzz. More is not better. Pain is right out. JIGGLE

12. Jiggle = loosen things. “Push Inflammation out”. Debris / byproducts of healing Cold=“squish” like wringing sponge into blood Also other things. Lymph. Heat=refill with fresh yummy blood . Lots of Water -> Kidneys filter better. Ice, then Heat

13. Dynamometer Measure strength 5 different widths = 5 readings = bell curve Left = 2x better than right (4/20) Chart progress. (extensor and contractor correlate)

14. Cold Laser: ML830 Controversial? Stimulate mitochondria in cells (reboot?) Beep beep beep Awesome shades, not needed for arms.

15. Stretches & Exercises PT: Roll’em up Banded 4 way 2 stretches – up & down DO NOT GO PAST STRETCH POINT Chiro: Scalene / neck / don’t clamp down those nerves! Other: @ mobilitywod next

16. Icing & Heating at Home Icepacks too small. Double-Sink method 50F 115F Keeps wife happy: fresh ice in freezer.

17. Result: Getting Better! 30-60 seconds with right hand 4/18/2016 2-3 more months of letting it heal, maybe? Getting by at work.

18. Getting By At Work Time Off (10 days) no keyboards Ultimate in Ergonomics Voice Don’t Type as much (Pair programming?)

19. Ergonimics : My Best So Far

20. Voice

21. Don’t Type As Much 1/3 Go Slowly and make every keystroke count Intellisense , etc Make it a game. Monitor Progress (or violations!) Mousotron : Me: 2000-4000 keystrokes Coworkers: 30,000-40,000

22. Don’t Type As Much 2/3 Figure out what you’re typing, and use a utoHotKey to set up shortcuts for those things. Resharper Clipboard Ring

23. Don’t Type As Much 3/3 When your finger-muscles are shot, switch to thumb-muscles. iPhone Teamviewer controlling my Desktop. Thumb keyboards?

24. Lessons Learned Don’t tense up and fire. Rest hands few seconds. By your side. All the way to relaxed. Don’t just type. Think, then type, you should. Listen to your body. If its sore If its weak If it hurts under pressure. “Healthy tissue doesn’t hurt”

25. The End I hope this was helpful. There is a solution, though not convenient It is very avoidable. Just like speeding tickets.

26. Contact @ sunjeevgulati geekygulati.com Louisville.Io slack