Health & Physical Well-Being of the Writer

[Tarin]

The last issue of Writer's Digest included an article entitled "The Healthy Writer" (or something like that), which I was a bit disappointed to discover dealt only with insurance options. So I thought I'd ask you all if you had any "health" tips for the rest of us. For example, tips on preventing carpal tunnel, back pain, vision impairment - all those lovely things that tend to creep up on us writers.

Can you share anything?

[Tommie Lyn]

To help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, I make sure I take a multi-vitamin with high percentages of the B vitamins. I've been doing strenuous typing and mousing for over 20 years now (12 to 14 hours a day at times) and I'm thankful I haven't had a problem with carpal tunnel.

I fall down in other areas, though. Sometimes I get out and walk, other times, I'm like a slug -- can't move from in front of the computer when I'm in a "flow" moment.

[Ransom v. Unman]

Yeah, I figured our biggest health risk came from us participating in a profession that absolutely requires us to sit on our rears for an untold number of hours each day, doing nothing more than moving our fingers about and watching words appear on a screen.

Does anyone have any obesity or general fitness statistics pertinent to writers? :o

[Phy]

I have two tips, one fairly obvious, and the other radically different than conventional wisdom.

Lean back - it's good for you
I spent four years writing on a keyboard that was far too low, and I had to bend my wrists in order to type. I nearly wrecked them. Since then, I've learned to recline back a bit and raise my keyboard so that my wrists are straight. In light of new research, science has my back...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20061128/sc_livescience/newadvicedontsitupstraight

Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.comTue Nov 28, 5:15 PM ET

The longstanding advice to "sit up straight" has been turned on its
head by a new study that suggests leaning back is a much better
posture.

Researchers analyzed different postures and concluded that the strain
of sitting upright for long hours is a perpetrator of chronic back
problems.

Using a new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers
studied 22 volunteers with no back pain history. The subjects assumed
three different positions: slouching; sitting up straight at 90
degrees; and sitting back with a 135-degree posture—all while their
spines were scanned.

"A 135-degree body-thigh sitting posture was demonstrated to be the
best biomechanical sitting position, as opposed to a 90-degree
posture, which most people consider normal," said study author, Waseem
Amir Bashir, a researcher at the University of Alberta Hospital in
Canada.

I have a good Aeron chair at work, and a similarly good chair at home.

Stretch your legs to avoid blood clots
Deep Vein Thrombosis affects many people who are sedentary for long stretches of time. The solution is simple--get up and walk around every hour or so, even if just to get a drink of water. I've been drinking a lot more water in recent months, and I need to stretch my legs every hour or two anyway. I think of it as killing two birds while saving one writer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_vein_thrombosis
http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-Deep-Vein-Thrombosis&id=480141

[mahatma]

I want to be a disciplined writer :D and keep myself in shape! I go to the gym a few times a week, early morning, before I write. I write a few hours and then I work in the yard a few hours. I force myself to go outside frequently and walk a bit on the beach or so ... which is easy I guess when you live in SoCal... Walking is great to clear your head and talk with the Holy Spirit for guidance and inspiration. Furthermore I declare divine health over myself regularly... just happy to be in His service :D
Oh yeah.... I do not eat while at the computer.... (no snacking, sorry, I am one of those yoghurt and whole wheat freaks). :D

[lynnmosher]

Some things I do that you might want to try. Raising the height of the chair helps. Switching positions occasionally to keep from getting sore shoulders from the same old position. A padded wrist-rest keeps your hands level. Try using a small footstool to raise your feet. Also, the height of your screen is important, especially if you wear glasses. Oh, and very important...look at your screen straight on, in front of you. If your keyboard is front of you but your screen is to the side, you will end up with nasty knots in your shoulders! Yuck! They hurt!

[Tarin]

After a week of strenuous typing, my wrists have really been acting up. Naturally, I'm afraid I'm looking at carpal or a precursor thereof. Anybody have any suggestions for combating this? Other than those mentioned below, of course. (I'm already taking a B vitamin supplement.)

I'm esp. wondering about splinting my wrists. I've always assumed that this was the proper response, but I ran across an article that said wearing constrictive/tight sleeves could cause carpal. Seems to me that a brace or splint would cause the same problems as a tight sleeve cuff.

Any insight on this? Anybody out there with carpal problems who can offer some advice for banishing this problem before it gets any worse?

[TropoGurl]

Yeah, I would like to know how take care of my vision because I know that reading books and looking at a computer screen all day can't be good for me, I get headaches all the time, stupid addictive books.

[righter1]

Hi, Tarin!

Personally, all of Phy's suggestions are good... I wish I could get my chair at work back to 135 degrees! I think a lot of back pain could be avoided.

Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to give this advice. I don't use a desktop to write, so if you observed me writing on any given day, I would be curled up in the cab of my pickup, laying down to write on my back, and sitting in my recliner or on my couch with the laptop on my lap. I rarely get wrist pain, and I'm at a computer as much as 10 - 12 hours a day, Mon - Fri. Trying to keep your wrists level would be my best advice. Don't let them bend as much. I don't know how old you are, and I know I'm young (25), so maybe that's why I don't have any pain to my wrists or hands.

You may also try doing strength training. On the poster I have that I work from (when I remember to get up early enough to exercise before rushing off to work) there are exercises for wrists. I know when I'm toned for that, it helps.

[lynnmosher]

Tarin, if you missed my suggestion about a wrist-rest, please consider getting one. It's a cheap solution that just may work for you...I pray it does. !thumbsup!

[Tarin]

Thanks, lynn. My keyboard has a built-in wrist rest, so I'm good there. I agree - it is a great help. My mousepad also has a gel wrist rest, but for some reason or another, it seems to hurt me more than it helps. :( I think maybe it's too skinny and it's poking the sore tendons instead of pillowing them... Interestingly enough, some of my Internet research on the subject indicated that mouse wrist rests are actually detrimental. Until I can get to town to buy a new pad, I'm just going without it.

[lynnmosher]

Tarin, I know...I tried one of those mouse contraptions...ha! Drove me nuts! Didn't take me long to toss it! Good luck in your search! :D