I've been thinking about what topic I should break the silence with. I ask myself what would be most useful for me and my readers?
The obvious answer is writing about my condition. There are not so many first-hand (pun intended) accounts written about RSI for obvious reasons. It is frustrating for someone with the condition to have to watch videos or listen to audio recordings in order to hear about the experience of other people who have suffered the same ailment.
Although mostly via subpar mediums, there exists lots of information about RSI. So I plan to focus on my specific experience so that I can be a unique data point rather than an echo. I will still mention what I consider the most important information I've learned from other sources.
I urge the reader to deeply consider everything I write in this series if they make a living with the use of their hands.1 I have reason to believe more people are affected by this condition than is reported. It is possible that people have nerve damage in their hands without having pain and paresthesia. It is also possible that people who have symptoms for RSI don't speak about it publicly for fear of losing their job or because they assume it's normal pain.
Take the warning seriously. I never thought “this could never happen to me” however I did erroneously believe my ergonomic chair and my ergonomic Microsoft keyboard were actually ergonomic. There are easy steps to take to reduce the load on your hands, and not doing so may come at a huge cost.
- i.e.everyone who doesn't play football. FOOTball. [↩]