Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A Painful Decision

Literally. I have not been posting as frequently as I used to, or as I would like to. The reason is that I have been nursing an inflammed tendon in my wrist. The technical term for it is tendonitis. It's similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, but the tendon is on the inside wrist and my wrist and thumb hurt. They hurt badly.

You know how when you stub your toe you will involuntarily cry out or gasp? I had been doing that every time I moved my wrist or thumb in certain ways. I kept making those involuntary gasps or "ouches" while drying my hair, washing dishes, lifting a coffee pot - in short all the every day activities that I usually take for granted. Suddenly, they became very painful.

Since one possible cause of tendonitis is overuse, brought on by too much keyboarding, among other things, I am going to give my hand a rest for about a week or two in the hopes that it gets better. So far, I've been icing it and wearing an Ace brace, which seems to be helping.

I type a lot at work as well as coming home and blogging. So far, in the past week, with the assistance of some amazing co-workers, my keyboarding activities have been light as they've stepped in to help me. I also found that removing staples from items that I need to copy or scan in to my computer was an irritant. So, the person who opens the mail has begun using paper clips rather than staples to keep envelopes and attachments together. Then I just staple it all together when I'm done, using an electronic stapler. It's amazing the movements in an office environment, which we also take for granted, that can cause repetitive stress injuries.

Anyway, in addition to all those work place adjustments, I've decided to take some time away from my home keyboard to maximize the chances of getting this thing better quickly. So, I beg your indulgence while I take a needed break from blogging. I'll be back in about a week or two, and I hope you will still be here when I do return.

11 comments:

Edward Harrison said...

Karen,

I wish you well and take care of yourself and that hand. We want to hear what you have to say.

Get well soon.

Ed

Dan Geroe said...

Hope you feel better soon.

F.T. Rea said...

Anonymous Is A Woman,

Where else would we be?

Good luck with your rehab.

Karen Duncan said...

Thank you all! I miss it already :)

www.GettingAround.org said...

Karen,

i always advise Single Malt Scotch on the rocks with a twist (lemon not lime damn it - sorry).

drink the Scotch, suck the cubes, pour another drink, apply the original cubes liberally (of course) to your wrist.

works every time...

heal my friend, your voice is righteous!

b

Hokie Guru said...

Get Well!!

Thanks,

Hokie Guru

Karen Duncan said...

Thanks again to all of you. I really loved Bruce's remedy. I use Chardonay though.

It doesn't actually cure anything, but after a while, you don't much care:)

Anyway, I hope to be back with some posting by tomorrow or early next week - but I'll try to keep posts brief and probably won't do it every day.

It'll be a slow start but I do want to get back in the game.

And I've appreciated all the comments here!

Isophorone said...

Karen,

I am sorry you are experiencing pain and hope you get better soon. Have you looked into using voice recognition software? I might save on some of the typing.

Karen Duncan said...

Thanks, Iso.

The suggestion about the voice recognition sofware is a good one. I have thought about it.

I have always loved the physical act of writing with my hand and often joked that I think with my fingers. I don't know how well I'd adjust to dictating rather than typing. But it's something I might have to consider for the future.

Isophorone said...

The other thing I might suggest, if you have not done it already, is to make sure that your "typing position" is ergonomically maximized. Have a wrist rest, a foot rest, make sure that the monitor and keyboard are height and angle adjusted, that you have good resolution, etc.

I hope you feel better!

Karen Duncan said...

Iso, thanks so much. Those are all great, on target suggestions.

I actually had a complete ergonomic assessment at work, so I'm set there and I'm applying it at home too.

Again, thank you!