Kathryn Bassett
kathryn at bassett.net
Wed Dec 2 19:06:59 CST 2009
JC said: > It is odd because I have been expecting issues for years and never had > any. How many thousands of > hours have we done this stuff? Now something is happening in the right > elbow. I can't say for sure > that it is computer related but given what I do... For over a year I was having a problem with my elbow. Dr diagnosed "tennis elbow". Took two shots of cortisone (about 4 months apart) to solve the problem and I've been ok for a couple years now. I've been asked how I've managed to avoid carpel tunnel since I've been into computers since 1978. I think it's because I'm constantly taking my hand off the keyboard/mouse and flexing/rotating my wrist. I am having problems now but it's because of the severity of my arthritis, not the computing. In fact, computing is the only time I don't have to wear my thumb brace. And I use the same Logitech Marble Man previously mentioned. In Feb or Mar, I went to ortho because of problems with my thumb. Xrays showed I have a bone spur in addition to the arthritis. Bottom line of that visit was "your thumb will let you know when it's time to remove the spur". Well, I did something while I was in Salt Lake that really exacerbated the problem so I had Dr appt yesterday. But it looks like I won't have to have surgery on my thumb, and least not right away. Yesterday's xrays showed that the arthritis has definitely degenerated since the Feb/Mar xrays, but before considering surgery he wants to try cortisone treatment. Got first shot while I was there. Of course the first 24 hours of that hurts like blazes so it's too soon to tell if it will help. I'm just so glad that the problems don't affect keyboarding/mousing, only everything else. Basically, my arthritis takes the form of degenerative joints (it's not rheumatoid). The bone spur is making it worse. However, surgery would be one of two things (besides grinding the bone spur) - fusing, or taking some tendon from someplace and putting it in to replace the cartilage. Since I keloid very easy, that has to be considered as well. So I hope the cortisone works. -- Kathryn Rhinehart Bassett (Pasadena CA) "Genealogy is my bag" "GH is my soap" kathryn at bassett.net http://bassett.net