Developers, watch your health...

[Bjoern]

Thanks to 3DS Max I've been continuously using the mousewheel for the past three weeks which now got me kind of a strain in my right index finger. I can barely click the left mouse button and have to use my middle finger for scrolling and clicking due to the pain. Fairly annoying. *Grr*

So to all devs out there, watch your health.

Modeling may be addicitive, but that snack or short break is more important than desperately trying to get that last dang vertex into the right position.

Lesson learned.

 

[Matt Wynn]

It's called RSI

I always get up every hour for 15 minutes or so and do something else... usually have a cigarette outside and a mug of coffee (For mug read; litre sized mug), also watch out for accelerators knee, move everything you can while stationary, legs, neck... get too stiff you'll do more damage and most of all take a break now and then... do it too often for too long and you'll end up like quasimodo...

But Devs.... don't stop work we really appreciate all the work you do.. so never stop, keep pushing forwards weapons in the aim to pick off any critics along the way :salute:

 

[Lotus]

Hope your hand gets better soon, it can be brutal I know.

Biggest hazard I've found is seeing one too many dawns consecutively, and from the wrong side of the sleep cycle. You go head down to work on "just one thing" before bed and then, after what seems like a few minutes, you start hearing the birds chirping outside. At that point you know your day is officially shot.... again.

-Mike

 

[krazycolin]

I use a big tablet. Makes it much easier and no pain....

 

[warchild]

i found a partial solution to the problem by using a small modified laptop mouse and a keyboard with a mousepad on it. I also have Dupytrans (sp?) which over time curls the fingers up into the palms so the tiny mouse has been a real aid to me..

 

[LonelyplanetXO]

I'm no modeller but have in the past painted FS aircraft and it's so addictive you can completely lose track of time. And yes, sitting there for extended periods sure aint good for your health, nor your relationships! My advice is make sure your setup is healthy - high back chair set upright, screen in good position so as not to hurt your neck. Swap your mouse from right to left hands every week or two - takes a bit of getting used to but really helps (I liked the tablet idea). Most of all take regular breaks. And keep your FS addiction in check - your significant other/children/cat/dog need attention too. Sometimes you need to switch it off and go do something with family or friends. It might be a nice day!

LPXO

 

[empeck]

I use a big tablet. Makes it much easier and no pain....

I've tried few times to use my tablet (Intuos3 A5) in modelling application, everytime I failed Beside ZBrush, I can't use a tablet to make any 3d work. How you do it?

Biggest hazard I've found is seeing one too many dawns consecutively, and from the wrong side of the sleep cycle. You go head down to work on "just one thing" before bed and then, after what seems like a few minutes, you start hearing the birds chirping outside. At that point you know your day is officially shot.... again.

-Mike

Hehe, just like me 'the wrong side of the sleep cycle' - love this quote

 

[spotlope]

I like Smoothie's style -- to avoid injury, get up every now and then for a smoke break. lol

This is the rarely-talked-about upside of mild attention deficit disorder. I can't sit in my chair and do any one thing long enough to hurt myself.

 

[Bjoern]

Biggest hazard I've found is seeing one too many dawns consecutively, and from the wrong side of the sleep cycle. You go head down to work on "just one thing" before bed and then, after what seems like a few minutes, you start hearing the birds chirping outside. At that point you know your day is officially shot.... again.

Oh, I know that too well.

I've skipped every lecture in the past three weeks and just went to anything with compulsory attendance. Nights were usually ended between 6am and 12am, when I got up it was usually dark again.
Today is the first day in a normal sleep cycle for me. I even attended the lectures at uni! :d
The problem with the whole thing is temptation. I can keep up with my studies pretty well, even with minimal attendance. So I've basically got a whole lot of time on my hands, which can end...not well...*Looks at damaged finger*
Let's hope I can keep the cycle up for at least the rest of the week.

I like Smoothie's style -- to avoid injury, get up every now and then for a smoke break. lol

"As long as you live, you shall smoke"
(From a whack german movie)

*Nods in agreement* :d

 

[Odie]

Also be sure to take a break for the eyes....I remember reading an article that a person blinks less when staring at a computer screen for long hours.

 

[MCDesigns]

Hope your hand gets better soon, it can be brutal I know.

Biggest hazard I've found is seeing one too many dawns consecutively, and from the wrong side of the sleep cycle. You go head down to work on "just one thing" before bed and then, after what seems like a few minutes, you start hearing the birds chirping outside. At that point you know your day is officially shot.... again.

-Mike

yep, that was me last night. I kept telling myself, one more vertice to move, one more unwrap UVW and the next thing I know I hear the birds outside my window and my GF is getting up for work, oh no!!

I don't smoke (never have), but seem to consume large amounts of mountain dew which often makes me wish the bathroom was alot closer to my computer room. As for the mouse, I have always used an optical trackball, so my thumb does all the work and I never have a cramp.

 

[koorby]

I can relate.

My autogen annotation days are over. I've had weekly visits to the physio for nearly three months now, with a daignosis of Tennis Elbow. I have to wear a strap on my right elbow when using the PC for any length of time, and some days it's just too painful to work at all.

Funny enough, I gave up smoking last October which stopped my coffee + ciggie breaks every hour.

Maybe the topic title should read "Developers keep smoking to avoid RSI!"

 

[mfitch]

I don't smoke (never have), but seem to consume large amounts of mountain dew which often makes me wish the bathroom was alot closer to my computer room.

As part of treatment for a neck strain, I started drinking a lot of water every day. The call of nature does help with both muscle and eye strain. On a day like today I arrive in my office before 8:00 am and won't exit the building until about 2:15 pm for my only class. This troglodyte life has definite problems.

I also use tablets (have one everywhere). I wouldn't model without one anymore. I find mine much more precise than any mouse or even the trackballs I use for general usage. Out of curiosity what did you find problematic empeck? One of my colleagues likes tablet pcs (screen is the tablet), but not add on tablets (hand/eye coordination thing for him).

RSI are definitely not fun. My first required deep tissue massage. I referred to the massage therapist as "the nice lady who hurts me." My second required prolotherapy which is too painful and gross to describe (it seems to have worked though).

 

[Javis]

I think what is very important here is your seat. F.i. does it have armrests. ( Bjoern ??... ) Is your mouse arm constantly and completely supported by an armrest, preferably ending at exactly the same height as your mouse pad ?

To quote our world famous soccer player/manager Johan Cruyff: 'Every disadvantage has its advantage'. ( and vice versa )

I have a bad back ( broken lower vertebrae ) and i have been mousing around all day and all of the night (to quote The Kinks) for about 20 years now without even a hint of RSI. All because i needed a good and adapted seat in front of my puter with adjustable back and armrests that perfectly match my puterdesk. If i'd use a normal 'office seat' with straight back and armrests that didn't match my desk or even no armrests at all, i wouldn't last an hour...

Because it was starting to fall apart just a couple months ago i finally traded my 'homemade' seat ( a comfortable car seat on a frame with wheels and armrests added, looked suspiciously like a pilot seat.. :d ) for one of those 'relax seats', again with the armrests perfectly matching the height of my desk. I can now even lay back behind my puter with my feet up and still my mouse arm is completely supported by the armrest. If i want to fly i'll change my mouse and pad for my AV8R and feel particular at home in an F-16 in this particular configuration. 15 G's, piece of cake.

cheers,
jan

 

[Lionheart]

Sorry to hear about your finger Bjoern.

I have a Apple Magic Mouse with 'intelligent touch sensitive surface' which reads slight finger-touches for mouse wheel movement. But...! It does not have 'mouse wheel click, which I use alot in Gmax. So that is its downside.

But.. for all mouse wheel work, this thing has been a HUGE improvement, as I can run my finger from just little 1/2 inch zones, to the entire stretch, from top to bottom, smoothly.... One awesome mouse.

I do have one issue with it, (perhaps thats number two including the mouse wheel 'click' issue) is that it jumps. No one else that owns these has this, so I must have a faulty Mouse or bad driver. (I use it in WinXP as well, but even in Mac OSX mode, it hyper-jumps often and that just really gets to me).


Bill

 

[empeck]

I also use tablets (have one everywhere). I wouldn't model without one anymore. I find mine much more precise than any mouse or even the trackballs I use for general usage. Out of curiosity what did you find problematic empeck? One of my colleagues likes tablet pcs (screen is the tablet), but not add on tablets (hand/eye coordination thing for him).

I don't have any problems with coordination, I use tablet almost everyday in Photoshop and ZBrush. I just don't like tablets pen buttons, without right and middle mouse button I can't model

 

[Bjoern]

I think what is very important here is your seat. F.i. does it have armrests. ( Bjoern ??... ) Is your mouse arm constantly and completely supported by an armrest, preferably ending at exactly the same height as your mouse pad ?

My computer chair had armrests but the were too uncomfortable to work with, so I removed them (IKEA...*Cough*).
I don't have a mouse pas as well. I find those things way too limiting and uncomfortable.

Raising the chair into a higher position isn't necessarily the best option as well since my desk and my thighs get into an unpleasant conflict then.

Maybe it's time to get a new mouse?
Although I find my standard MS Wheel Mouse comfortable enough in every other regard.



Oh well, I think the easiest solution would be not pulling many all-nighters with constant 3DS Max'ing in a row to give the index finger enough rest.