MTHealth Maintenance of MTs

11/4/96, from hummer:
I have a great little program called Stretch Break. You can set it to whatever interval you desire and then it pops up with a series of exercises for you to do at your desk. You determine the number of exercises and the number of repetitions. Cost was about $25 or less. STRETCH BREAK (TM) , Para Technologies , P.O. Box 1109 Costa Mesa, CA 92628-1109 Voice line: 714-546-8619 FAX line: 714-546-4607 E-mail: 72317.726@compuserve.com

10/10/96, from Joi, birdsong8@aol.com:
Has anyone else gone through this? For the last 8 years I've been transcribing at home, and most of my accounts have required afternoon pick-ups & morning deliveries, so I've tended to work through the night. That was fine, even after the children came, but has become a problem since my daughter started kindergarten & I've gotten more involved in her school. Now I finally have some great work which is available to download 24 hours & I can really manage the daytime schedule that I want.

So how do I do it? No matter what I do, it seems, my body just doesn't recognize morning & won't become productive until the evening hours. Thus I stay up later to finish what I need to get done & still get up early to keep to my goal of changing my schedule, and, naturally, I feel half dead all the time.

From Mitzi Ponce:
When I travel, I follow the advice of seasoned travellers (depending on whom you listen to!). One school of thought says that regardless of how your body feels, you should retire at the regular local time where you land and wake up at the regular time the following morning. Another school of thought says as soon as you land, if tired, you go to sleep and then arise at a regular time the following morning (local time, again). I follow the first school of thought.

This has worked for me over the years when I've changed from morning to night or from morning to swing shift, or whatever other changes (night to day) I've had to make. I force myself, tired or not, to retire at a reasonable time for the new shift and arise at a reasonable time for the new shift. Even if I'm out of sorts for a while, I just keep doing this until my rhythms finally get synchronized with the new requirements.

The real challenge, I think, is to fool your body into ignoring its own rhythms. You have done that in the past, working night hours. Now, you just need to work with your body to get it to recognize and obey normal circadian rhythms again. Maybe you should try making certain that your work space receives plenty of natural daytime light and that you retire to absolute darkness, if you can. Those natural cues may ease the transition for you. I'm a reformed nightowl, so I sympathize. Hang in there, your body will kick in soon enough.

From Kay:
Joi...I went through the same thing many years ago. When I got out of nursing school, the best paying jobs were at nights, my kids were little, etc., so for years I worked at night, slept during the day. When the kids were older and I wanted to start working days, IT WAS HORRIBLE. I don't know what to tell you except that it really does take time for your body to totally turn around its metabolic cycle. I don't want to discourage you, but it took three years for me to finally feel normal being awake during the day. Now, I am so "normal" that I find it hard to transcribe or do anything but vegetate after about 8:00 at night. And I am always in bed by 11:00 (boring). But I am much more productive. I don't want to get in trouble for prescribing without a license, but try Ginkgo Biloba, Royal Jelley or Bee Pollen, some Vitamin C and extra B vitamins in the mornings with some good herbal tea for a quick pick-me-up. Caffeine will end up dragging you down if you drink too much of it. (I used to drink six LARGE cups q.a.m.) And try to resist staying up at night watching reruns of Baywatch or doing that last little bit of transcription. Make yourself go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning...and whatever you do, don't take those tempting NAPS in the afternoons. Anyway...good luck.
From Su-Laine:
"Chronic pathological nightowlishness" has a medical name: delayed sleep phase syndrome. It is a common and treatable biological rhythm disorder. Often people don't seek medical attention for it, because it's just normal sleep at the wrong time, but it can be extremely frustrating and difficult. For more information, see http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1123/dsps.html. And if the doctors you're working for have never heard of it (most doctors got about 20 minutes of lecture on sleep in medical school), please tell them!
From Mary:
My suggestion is to take short naps. Sailors on ships are often on four hours and then off four hours, and eat four meals per 24 hours. Marines learn to take quick naps, taking turns during battle. Young mothers survive on them! I've heard it is also a key to survival for POWs.
8/96, from Tracy Hughes:
Just read a short article in Home Office Computing, Aug. 1996, that mentioned "negative tilt keyboards" as the new thing to combat carpal tunnel syndrome. Negative tilt keyboards slope away from you, allowing your wrists to slant downward. The article mentioned one called ProFormix that has a big price tag of $250 (800-973-2739).

The article also mentioned two online sites for information on ergonomics:
Cornell University Web site at http://ergo.human.cornell.edu//

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at http://www.cdc.gov.niosh/homepage.html (or 800-35-NIOSH)
8/96, From Allen Langley:
I have used the MS NKB keyboard for about 4 months. Can't go back! I have customized my board to the point that it is very very comfortable. First, I cocked the keyboard up in the back. This keeps my wrists at even keel and NOT resting on the pad. It is not good to rest the wrists while using the tendons in stroking keys. Secondly, because I operate in DOS from Win95, I found myself striking the WINDOWS key and sending the program into Windows. I took that key off and broke off the contact point. Disarming this key has helped a lot. The left key is intact and, if and when needed, I know to hit it. Thirdly, I have found that the reaches on my keyboard a somewhat different from a straight one. I found a fix in using "tactile" touches. I have placed Velcro pieces on various keys to help with reaches that are awkward. F4 is the indent key for WP51, sets next to the Help Key which in a fast reach gets triggered... F4 now has a tuft of Velcro on it. As does CAPS, BACK -SPACE, and HOME. I can no longer type comfortably on a flat keyboard as I feel my hands are shoved together and I have to actually look at the keyboard to do any good at all.

8/96, from Gail Hall:
Proofreading in larger print:
WordPerfect 6.x in DOS and Windows allows you to zoom the view onscreen to whatever size you want. One of the settings is "length of line" so that whatever size you font is, the view of the entire line will show. If you really need the large print to see spelling, etc., you will need to just select a large font for proofing and change it back for final copy if they want a small font.

WordPerfect 5.1/5.1+ are in "text mode" so the size of the letters onscreen are always the same. If you have WP5.1+, you can use the Screen Extender software that comes in that pacakage. Forget Stedman's electronic dictionary if you do, though. For "no extra cost" you can simply set the display pitch to something like 10 pitch so that the entire line will fit on the screen. This DOES NOT affect the printed copy at all.

Display pitch feature in WP5.1 is accessed through the Format command: Format {Shift+F8}, Document, Display pitch. Set to pitch size that will show shorter lines. This is for display only and will not influence how the documented prints out. To see how the document will appear in print, use Print {Shift+F7}, View. See Display Pitch in the WP reference manual.

8/96, from Bill Bentzen:
Re: Bifocals impossible for computer work.
I have a special set of glasses which I use specifically for transcribing. I sat in my office chair in the same position and distance from the computer screen as I do when working, then I had someone measure the distance from my eyes to my screen. I had my eye doc figure what prescription the glasses needed to be so I could focus precisely from that distance. This way, I can see through any part of the glasses and still have the same focus as I do when I'm using my bifocals and twisting my head backwards to look through them. Works for me! (This also allowed me to raise my monitor to such a height that I'm looking directly at the middle of the screen while sitting. I've reduced the whining from all of those little cervical vertebrae which used to act up so!)
6/96, from Mitzi Ponce:
I'm spending more and more time at my desk and keyboard. I ache. I've been researching the ergonomic question, got "typing gloves," bought a natural keyboard (slowed me down at first, but I'm okay now--except for the darned six everyone has been talking about!), readjusted my chair, and had someone check me over for body positioning and relative positioning to equipment. I still ache. I'm considering a few options and wondered if anyone had any input:

1. Switching to the Dvorak keyboard. Has anyone done this successfully without a huge initial loss of speed/productivity?

2. Hiring an ergonomic consultant to come in and make suggestions. Anyone done this? Know somebody who did? Have any idea about costs/effectiveness? Certification or just a PT? Maybe a work conditioning specialist?

3. Finally, goofy questions. I'm a self-taught typist, never took a course, and have done relatively good reaching cruising speeds over 90 wpm and in testing situations doing considerably more. However, sometimes I think that perhaps I missed some things along the way. For instance, I only ever tap the space bar with my right thumb. This right thumb region is also where I'm experiencing most of my pain. Am I doing this wrong? Should I be alternating space bar as I do shift keys, etc? Also, I learned to type from an old Baron's manual. It spoke not at all to computers. I wonder if there are specific recommendations made in real typing courses regarding proper use of function keys, position keys, number pad, etc. Also, what about mice? I really feel that some of my problem comes from constant right-reaching for mouse, number pad, and position keys. What I really need is a floating mouse pad above my number pad. Anyone ever hear of such a thing?

This week I have ached from my elbows to my wrists and thumb pads pretty consistently. The midupper portion of my back is crampy. I keep catching myself clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth. This after all the changes I have made. Any input would be really gratefully accepted. I don't want to over-use-syndrome myself out of a career!

From Robin Merica:
I think you are describing "transcriptionist's syndrome". Every symptom you describe I've got, and I attribute it all to spending time on a keyboard. I've been transcribing for 13 years and if I've learned one thing, it's that I have to take care of my body as the most valuable piece of equipment I own. So I invested in a paraffin bath for my hands... it cost about $130 and is worth every penny. You can purchase it at a medical equipment sales company.

Also, I have a dental splint (fits over my bottom teeth) to help with the headaches that I get from the muscle tension through my neck and shoulders. It dissipates the tension in my facial muscles, which give me that "clenched teeth" feeling. That helps a lot and I never transcribe without it.

Although I have at times been treated by a massage therapist for weekly massages (concentrating on my neck, shoulders and back), the best thing that I can suggest is some type of exercise... moving! I don't do it nearly enough, but getting out regularly and walking and swinging my arms does a terrific job of unknotting all those muscles in my neck, shoulders, back and arms (and face). A regular program of walking or some other type of moving exercise... tai chi, yoga or stretching... has done more for me than all the Motrin, Ben-Gay, and heating pads combined. A physical therapist or some other type of "movement therapist" could probably help you a lot. Even a video tape or television program (they've got a yoga program on public TV here in Maryland) would probably do the trick. The secret is doing it, and as I said before, I don't do it nearly enough!

From Patti: Our job is such a sedentary one, what do you do to get/keep in shape? I've found weight training is very helpful, particularly certain exercises that work the areas we stress the most, such as back and shoulders. I've recently added wrist curls to my routine as well. Being a female MT is a great contributor to osteoporosis if we don't do something about it. So, what do you do?
From Mary: I walk in the evenings (but not enough!). I stretch a lot while working and do arm exercises when waiting for modem to dial, etc... I do ankle circles with my free foot while working. I'm getting a "hospital table" that will enable me to stand up and work, push a button and lower the desk, then sit down and work, etc., anytime I choose. Arrives in a week, should make a big difference. On family vacations, I hold and carry 8- to 25-pound weights called grandchildren. I pull wagons, push tricycles and mop floors, and dance and run with the kids too.
From Julie V:
I walk on a treadmill three to five times a week. I once read (about a million years ago it seems-actually only two or three years ago) that activities that impact on the long bones (legs!) help build or prevent loss of bone mass.

A local hospital in my community just started using a new machine to do bone density scans and they offered to let some of us have a free scan just for being guinea pigs. I've been walking on my treadmill for two and one-half years now and the ladies were amazed at my bone density. They said I had the best density that had seen that day (first day they were using it)! So, maybe we should all jump up and down while waiting for the modem to dial (see Mary's post)! Just Kidding!

From Mary Morken:
In this technology and communications revolution, I think one can burn out on constantly learning new things. I find I have to take a break from constant learning and stick to my established routines once in a while. At the moment, I'm carefully planning my next learning project so it won't overwhelm my regular production. I think this is one reason we are cautious about new programs or resources--we have to decide if it's worth the extra energy it takes to learn something new.

What do you think? When things are changing so fast, do we have to adjust to more constant new learning? Can we take it? One way I've tried to limit it is to spend just about a tenth of a work day on new learning and spread it out over time. But when you get a new computer or a new program, you need a few days it seems.

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