mausitis
I went to the doctor yesterday for my first checkup in two years. Ah, the joys of being insured again! Among other things, we discussed the pain that's developed in my right arm this year and what might be causing it. Finally, we decided the most likely culprit is tendonitis brought on by excessive mouse use. My arm always feels worse after a bout reading blogs, and the place that's most affected is the tendon right below my elbow. (I hope she's right and that it's not RSI.) Dorothea and rabid Googling have further enlightened me.
So now I have instructions about ice and anti-inflammatories and a brace to wear around the house. And I'm wondering if I get some sort of Internet Researcher merit badge for this, or just a stamp of dumbassery for not realizing what the problem was sooner.
Comments
That *is* RSI, dear heart. Ice is good for relieving immediate pain; anti-inflammatories are likely to be pretty damn useless.
You may wish to look at the QuillMouse or the Evoluent equivalent. Google or ebay either of these; you'll find 'em.
I'm not sure what I think about my Evoluent yet. The hand posture is indeed nice, but it tempts me to lean on the side of my hand, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. YMMV.
Posted by: Dorothea Salo | September 22, 2004 2:39 PM
Oh. My doctor presented them as two very different things, but googling certainly seems to support your assertion. Hmmm. Further investigation is necessary. BTW - your archives are a fabulous resource on this.
Posted by: Krista | September 22, 2004 3:05 PM
Isn't insurance grand?
Sorry about the RSI - and personally, I think that you're qualified for the Internet Researcher Merit Badge, not . . . the stamp. I think it's something many of us earn as we go along. For me, it's not the bloghopping that does it - it's the paper-writing jags when major assignments are due (and the game-playing I tend to use as a "break" - maybe for my head, but not for the wrist!).
Posted by: Laurie | September 22, 2004 3:51 PM
And I got mildly to severely misdiagnosed twice by doctors before the physical therapist got it right. *shrug* Doctors don't know crap about RSI as a rule. I don't blame them; there's too much to know about the human body.
RSI is an umbrella term, covers all kinds of crud you can do to yourself with a keyboard or a mouse or any of several dozen other tools and implements. From your description, you could have some variety of tendinitis, or my old friend lateral epicondylitis.
Posted by: Dorothea Salo | September 22, 2004 7:09 PM