Digital Arts Service Corps - RSI

Field Report #5: How To Make the Most Out of Not Having Any Hands

Morgan Sully — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:49:32 +0000

well, almost...

Been a bit rough with the limited use i have of my hands due to some RSI catching up with me, but in the meantime, i have been learning a buttload about assistive technologies and alternative ways to navigate around the computer without use of my hands (or at least drastically reduced - typing is still troublesome though).

I'm a pretty avid Firefox user and have reprogrammed a few of the keys on my keyboard to open tabs, close tabs, click on links with just my voice, go back a page and go forward a page - he most basic and oft used actions one does when online.

if you're interested, you can read more about my findings here:
http://www.ctcvista.org/node/1097

Anita Lie also made a great post to the wiki on other assistive technologies here:
http://www.ctcvista.org/node/1098

Sitewise, my workplan has a adjusted a bit to compensate for less typing/web work so i have been on the phone a lot gearing up for our upcoming conference in October. I've had the wonderful opportunity to talk with media artists and arts org directors from around the country regarding their 'positive core stories' of the media arts field - some have been working with video for nearly 30 years!

I'm essentially collecting images to add to our Media Arts Movement Timeline. Feel free to browse and/or add stories here:

http://mediaartsmovement.org/index.pl?task=timeline_view

that's it for now. must. stop. typing...

Repetetive Strain Injury and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - two different things

Morgan Sully — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:10:26 +0000

(image source: http://www.rsiwarrior.com)

"A repetitive strain injury (RSI), also called repetitive stress injury, cumulative trauma disorder or occupational overuse syndrome, is any of a loose group of conditions from overuse of the computer, guitar, knife or similar motion or tool. It is an occupational overuse syndrome affecting muscles, tendons and nerves in the arms and upper back; hence it is also known as work related upper limb disorder or WRULD. The medically accepted condition in which it occurs is when muscles in these areas are kept tense for very long periods of time, due to poor posture and/or repetitive motions.

It is most common among assembly line and computer workers. Good posture, ergonomics and limiting time in stressful working conditions can help prevent or halt the progress of the disorder. Stretches, strengthening exercises, massages and biofeedback training to reduce neck and shoulder muscle tension can help heal existing disorders.

The most well known repetitive strain injury is carpal tunnel syndrome, which is common among guitarists as well as assembly line workers but relatively rare among computer users: computer-related arm pain is generally caused by another specific condition.

Many of these disorders are interrelated, so a typical suffering person may have many of these at once. For other people, no specific diagnosis is possible. In these cases it is often best to treat RSI as a single general disorder, targeting all major areas of the arms and upper back in the course of treatment."
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury)

Links:
http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/disabilities/rsi/index.html

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

http://www.ergonomics.org/

http://www.carpaltunnel-cure.com/carpal-tunnel-exercises.php

Field Report #4

Morgan Sully — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:01:32 +0000

This past week's been a bit bumpy. I was feeling some pain and tingling in my wrist and fingers and had to go and see a doctor. I went to specialist in RSI (repetitive strain injury, as that's what I thought it was) and was turned off immediately by finding that it would be $150 for the initial visit, up to $100 for each consecutive visit and that 10 to 15 visits would be needed. AND Seven Corners did not cover it. So... I went and got a wrist brace, visited and acupuncturist (which i paid for out of pocket) and made a visit to UCSF. Which happens to be in my neighborhood and is also one of the top medical schools in the nation. I was given a prescription, suggested a stronger wrist brace and given some exercises to do.

The same day, i went and saw an acupuncturist who did AMAZING work on me (I live bordering a very culturally rich Chinese neighborhood). It was actualy in conjunction with acupressure where the nerve medians on your body are stimulated by intense pressure. The guy was really good and i felt pretty relaxed afterwards...

Back at the office, they've been very supportive, ordered a new keyboard and today, I'll be looking for a new chair. I've also gotten some anti-inflammatories for my arm which help with the pain until I heal. All visits to the doctor + anti-inflammatories were covered. The acupuncturist however, was not.

Consequently, on Saturday I had to go to the emergency room for getting bitten by a wild mouse. Was seen by a nurse, than doctor, given a shot (for tetanus actually, rabies is pretty rare in SF and even then, mostly transmitted by bats) and a prescription for some antibiotics. All this was covered, save for a $25 emergency room visit co-pay.

In the meantime, I found some great resources on RSI/ergonimics. Check em out here:

http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/disabilities/rsi/index.html

http://www.ergonomics.org/