Comments on: Maintaining Healthy Hands

By: worldengineer

worldengineer — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:52:12 +0000

It's still off-topic on the site proper. The blog is more...flexible.

By: glenatron

glenatron — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:23:37 +0000

Really useful, important stuff.

I asked a question about precisely this topic on Programmers.se back in the very early days. It was apparently off topic back then. Glad to hear it has become on-topic now.

I would also be interested to know if there is any research/information on reducing the likelihood of arthritic changes in the hand if we are using them for fine work over long periods.

By: Dean

Dean — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:49:48 +0000

I already had a repetitive stress injury before I started programming. I found learning the Dvorak keyboard layout was a huge help, since it reduces the amount of movement your fingers have to make.

By: Peter Sergeant

Peter Sergeant — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:54:50 +0000

One massive help for me – and others I know – has been software that enforces frequent breaks. There are two open-source ones I’ve used – AntiRSI on the Mac, and WorkRave for Linux and Windows.

Without a doubt, they are incredibly annoying and somewhat disruptive – being told to stop for 15 seconds every three minutes by a popup is rage inducing. However, it’s also allowed me to continue working as a developer, where that was really in potential doubt.