Me, Myself and RSI
It was 6th grade, 1992, my teacher had brought in his own state-of-the-art Macintosh Classic II. It was a privilege just to type a document in ClarisWorks (aka AppleWorks), let alone play Math Blaster! From then on, I knew computers would be my future. Seventeen years later, with a Masters in Computer Science and a full-time programming position, you may be wondering, do I still love working with computers? Lets just say I would love it more if my damn shoulders and arms didn’t hurt.
I’ve been working full-time for 4 years now, Feb was actually my working anniversary month (yay?). I’ve been dealing with Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) for 4 years and counting. I began experiencing the very early signs of RSI after just a month of intense of computer work. At first, there was confusion. I could not comprehend why I was having aches and pains here and there. After all, I have been using computers all my life. All those college hours of Starcraft couldn’t have been any less ergonomical. Breaks? You can’t take a break in the middle of a 3 vs. 3! Well, the difference was that I could always stop playing games for a while, but work, work is perpetual.
It was not until 2 years later that I reached the high point of my symptoms. My shoulders were tingling like an army of marching ants whenever I assume the keyboarding/mousing position. Finally, I filed for worker’s compensation so that I can get some kind of treatment. I didn’t take any time off, because I did not want to admit defeat. As the youngest person on the team and one of the youngest in the entire company at the time, taking disability would not do good for my career.
Instead, I started seeing a worker’s comp-approved (crappy) doctor. The doctor was next to useless, but I needed his referral in order to get physical therapy treatment. I went thru about 15 sessions of physical therapy involving heating pad, electrical stimulation, soft tissue massage, and prescribed stretches and exercises. The treatment relieved my tingling shoulders to an acceptable extent, but I was pessimistic of a full recovery. If I continue to work as before, how can I guarantee that I won’t get into the same mess again?
Over the past 2 years, I have spent much effort in search of “the” solution for RSI. A solution that would rid me of pain in front of the computer forever. I have improved my home and work ergonomics by using different kinds of keyboards, mouse, chairs, etc. I have read books, tried voice recognition, and even took classes in Feldenkrais and Alexander Technique. All that contributed to my recovery, but none offered “the” solution, because “the” solution was so obvious. Pain is the body’s way of telling us to stop doing something and my body was telling me to get away from the computer.
But, for as long as I am dependent on the computer to make a living, I have come to realize that I can never achieve 100% recovery from RSI. However, it is not all gloom and doom. After all, I am still working at my programming job and I am writing this article and many more articles to come. My current condition? I would classify as “managed”; some days are aching and some days are close to pain free. On top of the things that I’ve already mentioned, I manage by taking breaks during the day, stretching, exercise and playing sports regularly. Am I satisfied with my current condition? No, but I am always looking to improve it. But for now, its just me, myself and RSI.
My daughter, now age 40, was diagnosed with RSI about 10 years ago. She was fortunate in that she was working for a place which had long term disability insurance. She has never been able to go back to work. The insurance company (UNUM) spies on her all the time. Her legal costs to be able to continue to receive disability payments have been very costly. As near as I know, she tells me there are no cures and that she will be disable and unable to work ever. She has good legal representation. Her monthly disability check is sufficient for now, but sadly, does not increase over time to compensate for inflation. Sometimes I wonder about her injury and pain and condition. Because I cannot see it, I wonder how real it is, how bad it is and if there aren’t some kinds of mental mechanisims that make it preferable to accept this condition as her “career” or not find a way to get around the pain and find something to do. But I don’t know, and so I don’t say anything and have to assume her pain and condition is ‘real’ and ‘permanent’, but it’s kind of sad. What a way to lead your life, not doing anything.
Bob, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s situation. I consider myself lucky to have gotten my condition under control, although it required much proactive efforts of my own. When RSI reaches disabling levels, such as the inability to pick up a bag of groceries (loss of strength to the hands), it can be difficult to recover from. However, I don’t believe that it is absolutely unrepairable. Given the right conditions i.e. removing the causes of the problem and getting the right medical treatments, I do believe that recovery, to some extent, is possible. The mind, however plays a huge factor in healing the body. If she is in a depressive state, that can be a barrier. It may also explain the lack of interest in pursuing alternative careers. I wish you and your family good luck.