Typing. Typing on keyboards. Whether you're still in school or studying at some university,
or perhaps working full-time, you probably type on a keyboard almost every day. Even when chatting with friends online
or just browsing the web, you type. It's no secret that society currently thrives on computers
and is strongly dependent on them. And it doesn't seem like it's going to
get any less dependent anytime soon. So, you're probably going to be
typing away for many years to come. I grew up with computers and technology. My father introduced me to PCs
when I was just around five years old, and I've used computers for homework and assignments ever since I was in third grade. In middle school, I became interested
in game development, which meant programming and mathematics,
which meant more typing. And for many years, that's how it went. I tapped away on a keyboard in school and continued to do so when doing homework and assignments. And now, large parts of my spare time were dominated by typing as a consequence of my increasing interest in programming. Then, a few years later... Everything changed. Not instantly, but gradually, and I was
too young and naive to deal with it. Over time, I started to feel more
strain and discomfort when typing. I brushed it off, invested in some pressure gloves
and kept going. That was a terrible idea. One day, it was as if something in my hands just snapped. My muscles and tendons in my arms
felt as though they were on fire. The act of simply touching a key burned from the tip of my finger to my shoulders. I couldn't even lift a plate from the sheer amount of pain it caused in my forearms. I had passed the point of no return. I had gotten RSI - a repetitive strain injury. I had nothing to do besides sitting at
my computer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But doing so was painful... I had just released my first game on Steam in early access that I had worked on for over a year with a few friends, and we were already building a small community of people who seemed to enjoy our work, and... they obviously expected updates. But I couldn't type, and I was the only programmer working on the project. The only other people I worked with were an artist and a level designer. I was in for a very boring and depressing many months. I was afraid that all the work that we had put into our game would go to waste and that we would have to cancel the project. But my artist did not agree, and he kept working despite my absence. I spoke to my doctors who simply told me to spend as little time on the computer as possible. Easier said than done when you're a hobbyist game developer who also studies computer science in university, and when you're also not allowed to go outside. I was worried, lonely and bored. I fell behind in my studies. What if this pain
wasn't going to go away? I had read online that RSI can become permanent if not dealt with in due time and... ...wasn't that exactly what had happened to me? I started to hate myself for not listening to my body, and for being so ignorant. Time passed, and I was constantly in self-inflicted pain. Worried that I would fail all my exams and never get my software developer dream job. Worried that I would let down all the people who were eagerly awaiting updates to the game I was leading development on. The first many weeks after being diagnosed with RSI was one of the hardest periods in my life. When so much of your time is spent
on one thing that you genuinely enjoy, it suddenly bringing you immense pain feels as though you've lost part of your identity. I wasn't a software engineer or a game developer. I was just Patrick with no hobbies, stuck inside with nothing to do. I want to take a step back. Let's think for a moment. How often do you use your hands for carrying out day-to-day chores, writing, working, playing games or anything else you enjoy doing? Now imagine if all of that brought you pain or felt discomforting or straining in some way. I learned the hard way to appreciate what we otherwise take for granted because I suddenly lost it. I eventually went to a physical
therapist who provided me with exercises to strengthen my tendons - it helped
a little. Weeks went by and exercising the tendons every other day eventually allowed me to carry light things again without being in pain. But I still couldn't type without the
feeling of flames engulfing my arms and hands. Fortunately, at university, I was assigned to a semester project with some very kind people. They understood what I was going through, and they gave me little to no tasks that involved writing. Instead, they simply talked to me, and they consulted me when they needed my expertise in programming. That way they improved, and they
didn't force me to correct their mistakes. I really appreciated that. Finally, I was able to
avoid typing thanks to the care of my peers and I was so grateful My physical therapist eventually
gave me exercises that focused on the muscles in my hands rather than the tendons in my arms. I carried out those exercises with discipline, never skipping a day, despite it being mundane and boring. My father had purchased a new keyboard for me. A supposed ergonomic keyboard that made you position your hands differently when typing. I got used to it surprisingly quickly and thanks to the efforts of my peers at university and the hand exercises, I was eventually able to type around
an hour a day. The soft low profile rubber keycaps combined with a weird shape made for some very comfortable typing. The keycaps were very smooth and they required little effort to press. Perfect for someone whose fingers were so sensitive. And for a while, that was my life. Typing just a little and doing those exercises every day. It was repetitive and I wanted more than anything to just go heads down in code and work on my game for hours non-stop or play video games with my friends, but... I had to restrain myself from doing so. I was able to get just enough work in on the game that the project could carry on. Not at the same pace that I had originally envisioned, but little progress is better than none. Patience and persistence. Those words defined my life now more than ever. It paid off. Slowly, but surely, my arms and
hands felt less and less fatigued from typing. But it wasn't a linear curve of slow improvement, and that's why RSI recovery can be so difficult. You see, strain injuries healing follows a different curve. Something more like this constantly swinging up and down. One day you barely feel it, and a few days later, it feels almost as painful as when you first got the injury. This is frustrating and more importantly it adds to the already large amount of self-loathing imposed by such an injury. You're constantly blaming yourself for not taking it seriously and for feeling worse now than you did a few days ago. It's an evil spiral that only time will let
you escape. And that eventually occurred to me. So I let time pass, and I only typed when I had to. But RSI doesn't give up that easily. While my hands were starting to heal, I started noticing pain occurring in my shoulders and wrists previously overshadowed by the pain in my hands fingers and tendons. In an absurd turn of events, it became
the mouse that was the most painful to use, not the keyboard. But, now I had the experience and knowledge to tackle it. Initially, I invested in a few different types of mice like a trackball a vertical ergonomic mouse. But nothing helped more than when I discovered that i had been holding the mouse incorrectly my entire life. While searching for touchpads for desktop computers, I stumbled upon an article that went into detail about how wrist pain from using the mouse was often caused by gripping it too far down, which is exactly what I did. The article explained that you're supposed to rest your palm on the center of the mouse. I decided to try it. I simply moved my hand up just slightly and everything just clicked. It felt awkward at first but l stuck with it for a few days, and... eventually my wrist pain was gone, and it started to feel natural. I had gotten so far. Only mild pain remained in my fingers and hands which seemed to gradually improve over time if I just kept my computer usage low. Only the pain in my right shoulder remained. That's when I realized that the supposed ergonomic keyboard I was using was the problem. Ironic. What had initially helped me heal
was now the last obstacle to overcome. More specifically, it was the width of the keyboard caused by the numpad that forced my right shoulder into an unnatural and straining position when using the mouse. A few weeks prior, my friend Jack had introduced me to a very bizarre looking keyboard by ZSA called the Moonlander. It's a very expensive keyboard split into two halves. I did a lot of research on the keyboard and ultimately I gave in, and I bought it. The next few weeks, I would wake up every morning, like a child on Christmas morning, eagerly checking my emails to see if my order had shipped. Eventually it did, and before I knew it, the courier was at my door with my new keyboard. But this wasn't just a fancy keyboard.
It was an investment. An investment in my health. Since the keyboard was already really difficult to use, I decided to go full cold turkey and learn a new keyboard layout known as Colemak. Specifically, a variant of the layout that was adjusted to be more comfortable on matrix keyboards like the Moonlander. Learning to type on such a radically different keyboard with a completely different layout from what I had used my entire life was frustrating and tedious. For the first many days, I typed at 10 words per minute, an incredibly low speed compared to my average QWERTY speed at around 110 words per minute. I was constantly being lured by my old keyboard to speed up my now pitifully slow workflow. But I knew I shouldn't. If there was one thing
that I had learned of the past many months, it was patience and persistence. It was a constant mental battle. I didn't enjoy using the computer anymore because even the simplest tasks like logging in on a website took several minutes. I wanted to go back. But I didn't, and, it paid off. My shoulder pain was gradually eliminated, and I was able to position the mouse in the center of the keyboard while using each half at shoulder's width. Typing was slow and awkward,
but comfortable. Time went by, and I was able to gradually build muscle memory by practicing on websites like monkeytype and keybr, the latter of which was extremely helpful as it only teaches you
a small subset of letters and bigrams at a time. I wrote this entire script on my Moonlander keyboard using the Colemak DHM layout, and it wasn't frustrating or painful. I've still got a long way to go before I can type as fast as I used to, but I know I'll get there eventually with patience and persistence, as always. I still get pain in my arms and tendons every once in a while if I've worked for a long time, but now... Now I listen. I take a break and come back later
when the pain is gone. Sometimes that's a few minutes, sometimes it's an entire day. The point is, I always put my health before work or university So, I ask of you, dear viewer, to listen
to your body. Whether it's mental or physical pain, nothing is more important than your health. you certainly don't need to purchase the same keyboard as me, or switch to a different layout, Nor do you need to buy the most expensive and ergonomic chair on the market. But don't be afraid of doing so if you feel like it could benefit your health. And never keep on working if your body is begging you to take a break, even if you feel like you can push through it. I don't think enough people are aware of, or care about, the dangers of spending too much time at the computer. I made this video because i wanted to help spread awareness, so hopefully someone out there can benefit from my experiences. Consider doing the same by sharing this video with those you care about. Thank you, and take care of yourself. Before it's too late.
