I know it's probably both reviewing and general internet use... But lately I've switched from using my right hand to use the mouse (and keyboard while reviewing) to my left hand.. Because I've had some serious pain in my right wrist.

But now, just after about a week of using my left hand... yes, my left wrist is starting the hurt (right is 'better' at the moment but I don't want to overdo that).

It's actually hurting the most while reviewing (very repetitive I guess), so much that I'm getting distracted by the pain... ~_~ I've been reviewing kanji + sentences + words for ehm, over 18 months now, and I clearly don't want to give up because of RSI ...

So, what do you do to avoid pain? What do you do to deal with RSI when you have it (I know some exercises but it doesn't seem to help much (I know it takes some time)).

I'm really quite annoyed with this... But in the end, I do think my health is more important than even Japanese... If it gets worse I might have to find a different way of reviewing, maybe even offline... (But that would be so inefficient ...)

So, any ideas? ... It might have something to do with using a laptop keyboard... Would it help at all to buy a usb keyboard and use that? ... Meh.

And am I the only one with this annoying problem? ^_^;

Hmm, that sucks. The only thing that comes to my mind is, well...you could ask the developer of Anki to implement voice control features. Like, "one", "two", "three", "four" for "again", "hard", "good", "easy" and so on. There are also shortcuts (1, 2, 3, 4) that might help. Have you tried using them? Wikipedia has some good tips as well I guess, but only in the German edition.

Does your laptop have a pointing stick? Maybe it would help...

Use a remote for reviewing like I do.

RSI has more to do with how your workstation is setup than simple over-use of a computer. Make sure your chair is at the proper height etc. You might also want to work on strengthening your wrists with something like a powerball gyro.

You can:

1. Take more frequent breaks
2. Use an external usb mouse/mousepad-with-wrist support
3. Use the keyboard only

I tend to do 2. and 3. - a mousepad with wrist support helps tremendously.

While reviewing I almost exclusively use the keyboard... My sister told me that the keyboard of a laptop is more likely to give you RSI than a normal keyboard though - but I don't know if that is actually true.

If it is though, I'm certainly willing to get a USB keyboard... But if it doesn't make any difference and I'm wasting money on that... You know :/

And I'm using a normal mouse (I never liked touch pad, too much trouble)...

Thanks for the replies so far!

what mouse are you using?

turn off windows mouse acceleration, it gives an unnatural feel to mouse coordination such that you almost need to use more muscle and effort to get a mouse to where it is (even though you are technically moving less compared to zero acceleration). Every pro gamer uses no moues acceleration because it feels good ingame.

and yes savara, i think you are right
keyboard laptops are so uncomfortable.

Savara Wrote:And I'm using a normal mouse (I never liked touch pad, too much trouble)...

Then maybe all you need is a cheap mousepad with gel padding like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8E262-BLK-...234&sr=8-2

Try various brands out in a store. I used to have write issues before using one of these.

Also, a cramped notebook keyboard with keys that don't have much travel can also cause fatigue - add repeated motions and it's even worse.

Ultimately, you need to take frequent breaks and exercise/massage your hands/wrists.

You can't get RSI in a week. It's impossible. You've got something else. You should probably see a doctor, though, whether it's RSI or not.

I agree that in my left wrist it's probably not RSI... Most likely just that I'm not used to using my left arm/hand for much. But my right wrist, I'm pretty sure it will be RSI because ehm, well I've been using the computer a lot for years, so yeah.

I will see a doctor if things get worse - I already know what exercises to do for RSI (which is basically all the doctor can tell you anyway except for "Use the computer less, take more breaks")... But yeah if it gets worse I will see a doctor, don't worry.

Was just wondering if people might know some tricks to keep reviews from being so... repetitive for you wrist (... well, I know, that's the whole point of reviews xD repeating, just not so good for your wrist, I guess...)

Thanks again for the replies.

Maybe too much masturbation.

I understand how you feel because I have the same problem. I think it's due to using a laptop as well, but I don't even use a mouse. Maybe that's bad? I suggest stretching maybe? Or not doing it so much really. Your health is more important.

I saw a doctor about this too btw.
Most useless co-pay ever. He didn't help at all.

kfmfe04 Wrote:

Savara Wrote:And I'm using a normal mouse (I never liked touch pad, too much trouble)...

Then maybe all you need is a cheap mousepad with gel padding like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8E262-BLK-...234&sr=8-2

Try various brands out in a store. I used to have write issues before using one of these.

Really? I have one of these. I find it irritating, and I've actually turned it around so I'm not using the pad.

I have issues with wrist pain too, from writing too much, using the mouse/keyboard too much. Also, holding something the same way for a long time, like a game controller.
I had it checked out a couple years ago and the doctor said it was myofascial pain syndrome.

It hasn't been bothering me much lately, and I wonder if it's because I strengthened up my arms and wrists from sculpting and carving. I had a job carving styrofoam for a while and the first week my arms hurt so much, and then it just got better. Like working out.

Quote:Workrave is a program that assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). The program frequently alerts you to take micro-pauses, rest breaks and restricts you to your daily limit.

I hope it helps you.

I write the kanji during reviews, and write with the same hand I type "space"/"y"/"n" with, and that ends up giving me a nice range of motion during the reviews; certainly much more pleasant than my day job, which is heavily keyboard bound.

wccrawford Wrote:You can't get RSI in a week. It's impossible. You've got something else. You should probably see a doctor, though, whether it's RSI or not.

"RSI" is a very vague term covering a whole pile of different underlying causes (some of which aren't actually really very well understood yet). It's perfectly possible to have a situation where you put some extra stress on your wrists and it goes from 'didn't really seem to be a problem' to 'ow, this hurts' in a week.

Exactly what causes this kind of thing is very individual and generally depends on what your personal balance of mouse/keyboard use is and what your posture's like and your workstation setup and all the rest of it.

I would suggest:
(1) if in pain, cut down on computer use as much as possible
(2) try to be aware of your posture; are you hunched up, peering into the screen, are your wrists at a funny angle to the keyboard?
(3) try different things and see what helps; external keyboard? different mouse? move the keyboard/mouse? trackball? etc

If you've got some sort of PDA/mobile/whatever device you could run anki on then that might be worth trying.

(I'm not very good at taking my own advice, but I can usually keep the RSI down to a background 'dealable with' level...)

When I had RSI in my right wrist, I switched to a trackball. Pretty fast my pain went away. Problem solved.

You definitely need to be careful with both wrists (the pain in your left is probably because you're not used to using it, but the last thing you need is pain in both). I first had pain in my right wrist a year ago, from writing my lecture notes on desks that were too high for me, and too much typing, and am still finding writing very difficult (Kanji is actually easier than Roman characters, perhaps because of the flow of the strokes). The doctors admitted that they didn't have a clue what was wrong >_<. They did suggest a gel wrist support, a smoother pen to write with, and most importantly, to make sure I was sitting properly (I also use my eee PC for lectures, though this probably wouldn't help you if the problem is caused by typing. I have small hands, so the keyboard is comfortable). Mainly, though, it's been improved by rest. You might want to try bandaging your wrist, to give it a little more support - your doctor might be able to give you a proper splint for it.

[ファブリス]

Savara Wrote:While reviewing I almost exclusively use the keyboard... My sister told me that the keyboard of a laptop is more likely to give you RSI than a normal keyboard
though - but I don't know if that is actually true. (...)

Two possible reasons for wrist pain maybe the alignment, that you have to bend the wrists too much when resting the hand on the mouse or keyboard; and maybe pressure, that the flow of blood is not good while your wrist lies flat on the table.

Using the wrist support pads for both keyboard and mouse could help. The blues ones filled with some kind of gel, for the mouse you have half-moon shaped pads. "Everglide" sells some nice mousepads which has a space for the gel pad (so you can replace the wrist pad and keep the mouse mat).

I switched some months ago to a sweet Apple "aluminium" keyboard on PC and since it is much thinner, I couldn't use the wrist support anymore. So instead I have folded a "napkin" in two under the bottom of the keyboard, and I have another one folded at the lower end of the mousepad.

Thinking of it, I've had some pain around the wrist before, but it was more because of the pressure of the wrist lying on a hard surface, I think that's more important than the alignment. If you bend your wrists more than say, 20 degrees from the forearm, then you should look at that too.