[Closed] another injury ..wrist tendonitis ? over a year now worst using my laptop (RSI)

BTW forgot to say I have had tennis elbow too for pretty much the same time so together it's a real pain in the ar m !

The tendons in the back of the hand are attached to muscles that start at the outside of you elbow (pain here is commonly referred to as 'tennis elbow', pain on the inside is 'golfer's elbow') so there is may well be a link. Something you can try is changing the position of your hands when you type. A quick fix would be to place a rolled up towel widthways across the front of your keyboard so that your hands drop down onto the keyboard while typing.

Thinking longer term we know that repetive movements will cause this type of pain, so you can either not do it as much or start an exercise regime to begin strengthening the structures that are causing the pain.

For example:

How mobile are your shoulders? try deadhanging for as long as you can from a pull-up bar, do this a few times every day, start with partial bodyweight then go to full when you feel up to it.
This is probably the single best exercise anyone can do and may help with your wrist and elbow.
It worked for my golfers elbow.

Laptops are ergonomic nightmares. You shouldn't use one for longer than 30 min without a keyboard and mouse. I use a logitech bluetooth keyboard that's very slim so no wrist cranking when typing. I also use a mousepad with wrist support. And finally I switched hands to left.

This was after I broke my wrist in all three planes with a comminuted crush fracture and had a volar plate to try and put it back in some form of alignment. It takes a while to switch mouse hand, but is definitely worth it for the small movements you make.

I do admittedly sit on a sofa and use the laptop often for hours with a cranked wrist ( upwards ) if i don't remember. Perhaps I will try the rolled towel . I have also done a few deadhangs for yet another problem ( shoulders ) which certainly have improved.
appreciate the advice!

This is probably the single best exercise anyone can do and may help with your wrist and elbow.
It worked for my golfers elbow.

This would be an excellent solution if the problem stemmed from some specific types of shoulder malfunction such as excessive shoulder protraction resulting from tight pec minors however we are all different so it may not work for everyone! 🙂

I would also suggest that this exercise may have also been successful due to the strengthening of the extrinsic digital flexors (needed to hang from a bar) that originate from the common flexor tendon on the inside of your elbow, which is the source of the pain associated with golfers elbow

Apart from stopping certain activities completely how can I see a decent improvement?

Setup your laptop/keyboard/mouse properly. Don't ignore it, carpal tunnel syndrome isn't pleasant so look at http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Carpal-tunnel-syndrome/Pages/Whatisit.aspx and keep an eye on symptoms.

I've had tenosnyovitus once or twice and did have to rest for a few days but was told it could get much worse if i kept working, tennis elbow took a while to get rid of maybe a year but changing how i worked got rid of it.
Tennis elbow was painful

As a CAD Draughtsman I was constantly using a mouse 8-10 hours a day. Used to feel like the top of my wrist was burning sometimes. I was advised to buy a powerball and use that a couple of times a day to build up wrist muscles etc. It didn't eliminate the problem but it did keep the frequency of the pain down.
Hardly feel it anymore

Hardly feel it anymore

Because you have stopped that line of work?

Yep geta proper setup for any prolonged use. Desk, screen, keyboard and mouse. Trackpads are useless really, in the wrong place for any prolonged work and generally in the wrong place if you have the keyboard at the right distance from you.
Plenty of good ergonomic solutions out there which will also help with other issues - using the laptop on the kitchen table typing this and the screen is too low so my back is feeling it (from something else but it's telling me there is a problem)

Consider a tablet for sitting on the sofa if it's just browsing?

Because you have stopped that line of work?

Not doing the 8-10 hour stints any more , but today for example I was sat CADding for a good 5 hours and had no pain.

i think a tablet whilst surfing would definitely be a good idea or an app which stops the bad hand from being used somehow unless manually over ridden when you need 2 hands .