A bit concerned. Any other typists out there?

I'm a medical transcriptionist, so I do a lot of typing daily. Last week I started getting some pain starting in my left elbow. It came in waves and was a sharp pain that traveled from my elbow to my wrist, made worse when I typed for awhile. Over the weekend, it seemed to fade away, but Monday when I started typing again I started getting a deep aching sensation in the elbow that sometimes seems to radiate again down the arm to my wrist. It's not the same sharp pains I had to begin with.

Well it's really bugging me and making it difficult to work. The arm seems fine until I have been typing for awhile. There is no numbness or tingling or weakness to suggest carpal tunnel I don't think..

I feel my desk and keyboard are pretty ergonomically well set up. I have one of those split keyboards, in fact can hardly type on a regular keyboard anymore. I've tried sitting in different positions but nothing seems to help.

Anyone (especially perhaps other typists) have an idea what the problem could be? This is driving me nuts!

Try to adjust the chair height. That helped me.
I was resting the inner part of my forearm on the arm rest.
That was putting pressure on the nerves and muscles of my arm...
a small adjustment there saved me alot of pain!

Also, see if you can tilt the key board, I have and slide out
key board that I can tilt as needed..I was able to find a bit of relief by adjusting it......


good luck!

Having been a secretary for most of my natural life, try getting 'ergonomically correct' keyboards and chairs. You MAY have the beginning of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

See your doctor and maybe he can do an ex-ray to rule it out. It also could be tendinitis.

Good luck!

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I was resting the inner part of my forearm on the arm rest.
That was putting pressure on the nerves and muscles of my arm...
a small adjustment there saved me alot of pain!

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Hmm that might be my problem, Now that I'm thinking about it I notice that I do rest that arm/elbow on the arm rest more than I do with the right arm.

Thanks for the tips!

I would get it checked out ASAP. Before I got this job, I was in a sales office for SBC. There were so many people that had major issues from typing for so many years. In fact, a good friend of mine wound up having to get forced out of her job at only 40 years old because her elbow was giving her so much trouble. She had tendonitis. She then transfered outside to what I'm doing, and cracked her elbow. (Ouch!) Now, she's having a heck of a time finding another job that doesn't use a mouse or keyboard, no repetitive motion, and lifts less then 15 lbs.

Definitely get it checked out and look at the ergonomics of your work setup like the previous posters have said. The longer it's left, the longer it will take to heal.

You can use ice massage on your elbows to help the inflammation and pain. Get some polystyrene cups and 3/4 fill them with water and freeze. Take one out of the freezer and remove some of the polystyrene so the ice is exposed, and rub on your skin in circular movements for a minute or two until it feels cold, cold, cold. You can do that 2-3 times a day and I swear it helps. I do it on my elbows and wrists after cycling, and sometimes have it done on my lower back if I have back pain. The back ice massage is akin to torture and half the neighbourhood hears me scream, but the elbows and wrists are much easier to do :)

another thing you may want to look into is the way you 'brace'
yourself when you reach for the mouse.

I would bring my right shoulder up to reach for the mouse....that would put weight on my left forearm to support my body as I leaned in that direction....


Miss Meow,

Upon getting home from a ride I'd turn on the garden hose and rinse my calves and feet until they felt like they wouldn't cramp....

and who cares what the neighbors hear....:eek:

There is also a possiblity of OOS or RSI, so please get it checked out by a medical professional and soon. GOOD LUCK.

Thanks so much all for your tips and advice. I'm certainly going to take everything into consideration and see what I can do to hopefully improve my work station. I'll also probably go ahead and call the doctor just to be on the safe side. Thanks!

Just an update on this, as I went in to see the doctor today.

He believes I have ulnar neuropathy. When I came home and looked that up on Google. The symptoms described seem exactly what I've been having. He made a few suggestions of what to do, including making sure I sleep with that elbow straight and not bent, and some changes to how my arm rests when I type to alleviate pressure there.

Hopefully a few preventative measures will improve it. I'd rather not have to have surgery or anything. :(

In my life as an coorporate interior designer I've become quite well versed on ergomincs...
Try the following:
Get a GOOD keyboard tray that has an attached mouse platform... keyboard trays are best positioned when closest to your lap. this puts the arms, shoulders, wrists and elbows in what is called the neutral postion. It allows all the tendons and viens to be unpinched and relaxed, therefor no pressure or pain. NEVER tilt your keyboard toward you, it should be on what is called a negative tilt - leaning towards the desk or monitor. When it is tilted toward you, look at how your wrist bends. Then do the same thing when it tilts away from you. Notice how your wrist extends an bends hard when tilted toward you. Away from you, the wrist is in a more natural postion. You want your wrist to have an arch under it - this allows the tendons to be unrestricted and you could type much longer. You also want the keyboard tray lower necause it keeps your arms closer to the center of the body... if they keyboard is up high, you have a tendency to swing the elbows out - causing pain after long-term use. Please PM me if this doesn't make sense and I can go into better detail.

Second, you must have a chair with good back/lumbar supprt. You must ALWAYS have you feet flat on the floor and your back resting against the support. I know the tendency to is lean forward and wrap your anckles around the base... this is a no-no. You'll notice a difference within one day if you keep sitting properly.

Now, for the proper monitor position... sit with your feet on the flor, keyboard in position and put your arm out straight in front of you (don;t strech it, do it very relaxed.) Your middle finger should just touch the middle of your montior.

Also it is important to take at least a one minute break every hour - bathroom, watercooler, whatever. Just get up, walk around and relax for a minute.

Also about keyboard trays, those ones with the extra gushy gel pads aren't as good for you are people claim. Peole tend to feel comfortable when using them but continue their bad postional habits, therefor causing more damage in the long term.

PS: it sounds plain wrong to move the keyboard tray to where I'm recommending, but believe me, it works. I've had people fight, kick and scream that they won't do it. Then a few weeks later, I' get glowing reports of how their pain is gone and how much easier it is to type now! It just takes a little time to get usd to it! Oh, also, if you're short, then get a foot rest that rocks. Everything I'm talking about is in Staples or Office Max catalogs.

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Your middle finger should just touch the middle of your montior.

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I space it so I can GIVE the monitor my middle finger.

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Originally posted by RICHARD
I space it so I can GIVE the monitor my middle finger.

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I don't even know what to say to that one!! Many people feel the same way!

Thank God I didn't have anything in my mouth when I read that!

Thanks for all the tips catnapper! I know a few things I could improve on. I don't always sit as straight as I should I know that.

Since I have to use a foot pedal to play the wav files for transcription, there's no temptation of wrapping ankles around the base, but I know what you are talking about. I used to catch myself doing that at another job sometimes.

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I space it so I can GIVE the monitor my middle finger.

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LOL!! I can relate to that feeling :D