For the guys with office jobs...

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tri7/5

Posts: 570
Joined: May 5 2012

For the guys with office jobs...

Anyone else stuck at a computer all day long typing and clicking away at a mouse? It comes with the territory in my field and it's something I've always had frustration with in terms of guitar playing. Some days my hands feel extremely tired and slow thus making guitar frustrating at times. I stretch my hands during the day, wear a support glove on my mouse hand, take breaks etc. but find those things only help to an extent. I always find it amazing how much better I can play on the weekends when I haven't been at a computer. Anyone else have any good remedies for "computer fatigue"?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 12:45:11

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 12:52:59

Ricardo

Posts: 14806
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

Sorry man, this whole day job work thing "does not compute".

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 14:31:54

shaun

Posts: 176
Joined: May 11 2012
From: Edmonton, Canada

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

I don't find that any amount of typing or mouse clicking really affects my guitar playing after a day of work. A busy or stressful day of work, however, can make my brain sluggish which makes guitar playing feel like an exercise in futility. If I do some exercise between work and music, it all goes much better. But that's recognizing it as a mental problem and not a physical one.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 17:38:26

Escribano

Posts: 6415
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

I don't have a 9-5 job anymore, thank goodness. But I do spend many hours programming at home. Since switching to the Mac with the magic trackpad, I have had no mouse hand problems at all. I run Windows in Parallels for cross-platform work and the trackpad works in this mode very well. Highly recommended.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 18:02:08

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to Escribano)

+1 for the Mac magic trackpad.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 19:14:03

wedge

Posts: 34
Joined: Jan. 6 2013

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

I have my wrists elevated so my wrists are in line with my forearms; my fingers hang down similar to playing piano. The rest of my body is adjusted so this is a comfortable position.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 21:49:00

tri7/5

Posts: 570
Joined: May 5 2012

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

Good recommendation on the trackpad... need to check that out.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 31 2014 22:39:02

machopicasso

Posts: 973
Joined: Nov. 27 2010

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to Richard Jernigan)

quote:

+1 for the Mac magic trackpad.

+2 for a touch pad.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a mouse.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2014 8:16:12

Argaith

Posts: 481
Joined: May 6 2009
From: Iran (living in London)

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

quote:

Anyone else stuck at a computer all day long typing and clicking away at a mouse?

Yes. And it got to the point that my right hand was so soar all the time that I couldn't work, let alone playing the guitar.

I got my company to buy me a vertical mouse and an ergonomic keyboard. They have worked magic!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2014 11:45:06

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 1 2014 14:38:02

barblackmore

Posts: 22
Joined: Jan. 26 2011

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

I have an 8 to 18 office job...
It´s very frustating to have very little time to practice, but you`ve to e creative to find ways to make the most of the time. I always carry on the car a gym grip, so i can train my hands every time i have a red light
And on the computer, i have an excel filled with "color blocks" wich reppresents some very hard Paco Cepero´s bulerías that i´m trying to learn right now. Not the actual notes, but the accentuations, on very fast, hard, and full of changes bulerías. So everytime i have to made a phone call, on which you lose many minutes waiting hearing a waiting tone taht sounds like a muzak kenny-g elevator ****, i start practising those compases on my head reading the excel. Sounds like crazy!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 4 2014 12:34:07

Santiago

Posts: 18
Joined: Apr. 11 2011

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to barblackmore)

I would pay close attention to my body mechanics while at work. If you feel an ache or pain, understand why it happened. Regular therapeutic massages can help you get a good knowledge of which muscles you tighten during the week.
Frequently for guitarists, the problem areas are from the shoulder blade to neck and all through the chest, arms and hand.

I have also done what barblackmore says. Often on a work break or at lunch I would mentally analyze the notes or tabs and it greatly accelerated my playing and memorization.
Also save your money and invest wisely so you can retire young!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 12 2014 15:21:37

silddx

Posts: 570
Joined: May 8 2012
From: London

RE: For the guys with office jobs... (in reply to tri7/5)

I'm a qualified health and safety adviser, I deal with quite a lot of these kinds of issues at work. I train display screen equipment assessors too.

A key thing to note is that no matter how well you are set up ergonomically, if you do not take regular breaks you are putting yourself at risk. You need a minute away from your desk every 15 minutes, and 5 minutes every hour. Your legs help your heart pump blood around your body so walk about, do some filing, whatever. You need to get your blood circulation going to get the good stuff to your soft tissues.

You should not use a laptop for more than about an hour without a separate mouse, keyboard and monitor. The top of the monitor should be at eye level, the keyboard and mouse close to you with a few inches of desk to rest your wrists on when not typing. You could also use a laptop-raiser with a keyboard and mouse. Never stretch to your mouse and keyboard, you'll probably get shoulder and neck strain, and tennis elbow. Remember most of your soft tissues will not cause pain through injury, the pain comes from secondary issues that impact on your nerves, like inflammation.

Keep your wrists' position neutral when typing and using mice and trackpads - no flexion, extension, ulnar or radial deviation. This will cause injury over time. The Evoluent Vertical Mouse pictured in a previous post is excellent as it preserves the handshake position.

Make sure you set up your seat at the right height, you need lower back support and your thighs and forearms should be parallel with the floor. Don't slump in your seat as that can damage the discs in your lumbar spine.

Hope that helps a bit, it's general advice, it all really depends on the person's specific activities and whether they have an existing health condition. Whatever you do, if you get any pain, you need to do something about it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 15 2014 19:23:31