The mouse that killed my doublepole - a warning

My problem is slightly off-topic, but it's going to have a major effect
on my ability to use a ski pole, so I'm sounding the warning:

I've been having problems with my shoulder - it's mildly painful to
raise my right arm above the horizontal. It hurts to put weight on it,
such as sleeping on that side. It's made upperbody workouts out of the
question.

I went to see my doctor two months ago. He prescribed a physical
therapy exercise for me to do twice a day. He says that if these don't
help I should get a cortizone shot. There was no attempt to find the
cause, really. He did ask if there had been some event that caused it,
and I'd been unable at that time to think of one.

Then it started hurting at work too - when I'm using the computer
mouse. I'm a software engineer, and have done that since before the
mouse became popular. I'm a heavy user of the mouse - I probably use it
as much or more than the keyboard. I'd treated myself to an ergometric
keyboard years ago, and one way it was 'better' was that it spread out
the keys farther - moving the mouse further than normal to the right.

My company has about 40 software engineers, and when I asked around, I
learned I wasn't the only one feeling shoulder problems. One co-worker
traded her keyboard for a really small one - like a laptop KB, but in a
separate unit with no numberpad, so her mouse is much closer to the
centerline. She did that a few months back says she's feeling better.
Our office admin is keenly interested in ergonomics, and she showed my
several options. I'm trying out a pointing device that sits in front
of the KB and can be used with either hand - I figure my problem is
severe enough that I'm trying to use my left hand mostly. This thing
will take some time to retrain myself, but I gotta try!

If you're a heavy mouse user, think about your setup.

Erik Brooks, Seattle

see a good physical therapist. There is a good chance you may have some
scapular muscle balance problems that are easily remedied. Seeing a good
physical therapist is not the same as doing physical therapy exercises
prescribed by a doctor, chiropractor, etc. A good guess for someone who
keyboards and uses a mouse a lot would be that you have anterior shoulder
girdle tightness, particularly involving the pecs (pec minor most
specifically). This leads to a poor shoulder blade position. Your rotator
cuff muscles originate on your shoulder blade and if the shoulder blade
isn't positioned properly because of tight pecs, the rotator cuff won't do a
good job of keeping the humeral head (ball of the shoulder joint) in the
glenoid fossa (socket of the shoulder joint), and impingement of the
shoulder results. In addition to stretching the pecs, you might need to
stretch the shoulder capsule, and strengthen the scapular retractors and
rotator cuff. All of this is just a guess. A good PT can evaluate you and
determine what you need to do.

Hope this helps.
"erik brooks" wrote in message
oups.com...
My problem is slightly off-topic, but it's going to have a major effect
on my ability to use a ski pole, so I'm sounding the warning:

I've been having problems with my shoulder - it's mildly painful to
raise my right arm above the horizontal. It hurts to put weight on it,
such as sleeping on that side. It's made upperbody workouts out of the
question.

I went to see my doctor two months ago. He prescribed a physical
therapy exercise for me to do twice a day. He says that if these don't
help I should get a cortizone shot. There was no attempt to find the
cause, really. He did ask if there had been some event that caused it,
and I'd been unable at that time to think of one.

Then it started hurting at work too - when I'm using the computer
mouse. I'm a software engineer, and have done that since before the
mouse became popular. I'm a heavy user of the mouse - I probably use it
as much or more than the keyboard. I'd treated myself to an ergometric
keyboard years ago, and one way it was 'better' was that it spread out
the keys farther - moving the mouse further than normal to the right.

My company has about 40 software engineers, and when I asked around, I
learned I wasn't the only one feeling shoulder problems. One co-worker
traded her keyboard for a really small one - like a laptop KB, but in a
separate unit with no numberpad, so her mouse is much closer to the
centerline. She did that a few months back says she's feeling better.
Our office admin is keenly interested in ergonomics, and she showed my
several options. I'm trying out a pointing device that sits in front
of the KB and can be used with either hand - I figure my problem is
severe enough that I'm trying to use my left hand mostly. This thing
will take some time to retrain myself, but I gotta try!

If you're a heavy mouse user, think about your setup.

Erik Brooks, Seattle

I got a bunch of elbow pain a few years ago when I started doing two
things -- using poles on pavement and doing more graphic/web design
work with a mouse.

Among the steps I took to fight the pain were learning to use the
mouse with my other hand. It wasn't easy but was worth it -- now at
work I use a mouse on one side and at home (on a computer I share with
my wife) the other. That splits the load and is a big help.

JT

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Eric, the symptoms you describe sound a lot like what I've had on both
sides for several years, impingement syndrome. It's a form of rotator
cuff dysfunction and for me started with skate rollerskiing and
eventually was felt at the keyboard. The winter I spent working at x-c
ski resorts there were days that using my car's gear shift to get to
work was screamingly painful. I did get two cortisone shots to get by
that winter. A shot can be helpful to jump start the process, but w/o
PT it doesn't mean much. Whatever it is, a good sports orthopod would
diagnose this, maybe even seeing it in x-rays and a scan, and then send
you to a PT. Sometime later I asked for a good shoulder one and it
worked out well. I could suggest some specific stretches and
strengthening exercises (very light weight, like 1 lb), but I hesitate
w/o a good diagnosis.

Gene

erik brooks wrote:

My problem is slightly off-topic, but it's going to have a major effect
on my ability to use a ski pole, so I'm sounding the warning:

I've been having problems with my shoulder - it's mildly painful to
raise my right arm above the horizontal. It hurts to put weight on it,
such as sleeping on that side. It's made upperbody workouts out of the
question.

I went to see my doctor two months ago. He prescribed a physical
therapy exercise for me to do twice a day. He says that if these don't
help I should get a cortizone shot. There was no attempt to find the
cause, really. He did ask if there had been some event that caused it,
and I'd been unable at that time to think of one.

Then it started hurting at work too - when I'm using the computer
mouse. I'm a software engineer, and have done that since before the
mouse became popular. I'm a heavy user of the mouse - I probably use it
as much or more than the keyboard. I'd treated myself to an ergometric
keyboard years ago, and one way it was 'better' was that it spread out
the keys farther - moving the mouse further than normal to the right.

My company has about 40 software engineers, and when I asked around, I
learned I wasn't the only one feeling shoulder problems. One co-worker
traded her keyboard for a really small one - like a laptop KB, but in a
separate unit with no numberpad, so her mouse is much closer to the
centerline. She did that a few months back says she's feeling better.
Our office admin is keenly interested in ergonomics, and she showed my
several options. I'm trying out a pointing device that sits in front
of the KB and can be used with either hand - I figure my problem is
severe enough that I'm trying to use my left hand mostly. This thing
will take some time to retrain myself, but I gotta try!

If you're a heavy mouse user, think about your setup.

Erik Brooks, Seattle

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
I got a bunch of elbow pain a few years ago when I started doing two
things -- using poles on pavement and doing more graphic/web design
work with a mouse.

Among the steps I took to fight the pain were learning to use the
mouse with my other hand. It wasn't easy but was worth it -- now at
work I use a mouse on one side and at home (on a computer I share with
my wife) the other. That splits the load and is a big help.

JT

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I've been doing this for some time as well. It really makes a big
difference.
The other 'work related' issue I had was carrying a pager or cell phone
on my belt. I brushed my arm against it enough that it aggravated the
facia around a couple of muscles on the inside of my arm.

Marsh

In the days before mouses I once had a 'frozen' shoulder.
We had a rollski race round Aviemore Centre in Scotland in the hot
August sun and in the lunch break I fell asleep under a tree.

When I woke there was a physio lady sitting nearby quietly reading.
She asked if I had a bad shoulder as every time I'd turned over I winced
as if in pain.
I did her test, left arm went up the back between the shoulder blades
but the right arm only went just above the waistband. I didnt realise it
was that bad. Of course I was then conscious of it when double poling!!
She showed me a range of stretches and exercises and gave a reassurance
that even if I didnt do her routine it would be gone in about two years
and it did.
That advice cost me a pint of Guinness at the prize giving later that day.