I was reaching into my pocket for my phone. That's it. Nothing dramatic, nothing heavy, just my phone from my own pocket. And something in my palm tore.
It burned. The pain was sharp and immediate. The kind that makes you freeze mid-motion because your body is screaming at you to stop. This wasn't the dull ache you can push through. This was a flare, bright and unmistakable. You just tore something.
Looking back, it didn't happen out of nowhere. I'd ignored three months of warning signs, telling myself each time that it would pass on its own. Spoiler Alert: it didn't.
As a developer, typing is everything. It's how I solve problems, how I build things, how I express myself. I never considered what would happen if my hands gave out. Now, I can't afford not to.
How It Started
About three months ago, my inner elbow started hurting. Golfer's elbow, I later found out. I was deep in projects at the time, coding for hours without taking breaks or stretching.
At first, it was soreness after long sessions. Then the soreness started leeching into the next day. I'd adjust my posture, try sitting differently, and keep working. "Surely it'll go away", I reasoned.
Then one day my outer forearm decided to join the party. A completely different pain in a completely different spot and now I had two problems instead of one. Not the kind of BOGO you ever want, but I just brushed it off. I was ok, I thought. "Just a little soreness".
The wake-up call should have been pushups. One day I tried and my body just refused. Not because I was tired, sick, or weak, but because the pain wouldn't let me. No negotiating, no toughing it out. "You're done".
I should have stopped then.
But alas, I didn't.
The Wake-Up Call
Fast forward a bit. Months of typing with no stretching, no breaks, no maintenance had left my tendons tight as guitar strings. One normal motion, reaching for my phone, and something finally snapped. Literally.
Here's what I didn't understand at the time. When one part of your body is injured, other parts try to compensate. My elbow hurt, so I unconsciously adjusted my wrist position. My forearm hurt, so I changed my grip. Each adjustment just moved the strain somewhere else. I wasn't solving anything. I was playing a game of whack-a-mole with my own body until something gave out.
Even small injuries completely reshape how you type. I press the spacebar with my right hand. Never thought about it until it hurt to do. Suddenly you're aware of every keystroke, every click, every tiny motion your hands make thousands of times a day.
Typing became painful. Typing became slow. The thing I loved doing became the thing actively hurting me. It was depressing.
Pain is information. It's my body telling me something is wrong.
What I Was Actually Dealing With
I'm not a doctor, but I've recently learned that this falls under repetitive strain injury (RSI). It's what happens when you repeat the same motions over and over without giving your body time to recover.
I ended up with three separate injuries: golfer's elbow (the inner elbow pain from repetitive wrist and finger motions), tennis elbow (the outer forearm pain), and eventually the tear in my palm from reaching for my phone. All from the same root cause, typing for months without breaks or stretching.
RSI shows up differently for different people. Some get carpal tunnel syndrome (numbness and tingling from nerve pressure in the wrist), others deal with general tendonitis from overuse, or thumb pain from constantly hitting that spacebar. Different names, same root cause: too much repetition, not enough rest.
RSI's can sneak up on you. You can easily downplay it and brush it aside. It starts as discomfort. Then soreness. Then pain, until one day something tears because the tissue has been strained for too long without recovery time, and you can no longer ignore it.
The Warning Signs I Ignored
Looking back, my body was screaming at me. I just wasn't listening.
Persistent aching that didn't disappear overnight. I'd wake up and my forearm would still hurt from yesterday's work.
Pain during normal activities. Pushups shouldn't hurt your elbows. Opening jars shouldn't make your wrist ache.
Soreness after long coding sessions that I convinced myself was normal. It's not.
Tightness in my hands and forearms. Everything felt stiff, like my muscles were constantly under tension.
I kept telling myself it would pass. That I just needed to push through. That I'd deal with it later. But your body doesn't work like that. If you don't rest, it will make you rest.
What I'm Doing Now
I'm taking a break. Writing this post is about the only typing I'm doing right now, and even this is in short bursts.
I remembered hearing Leon Noel mentioning Dr. Levi Harrison, an orthopedic surgeon who works with gamers and office professionals. Dr. Harrison's YouTube channel has stretching and mobility exercises specifically designed to prevent this kind of injury. I wasn't doing any of that before. Now I do them daily.
His exercises focus on the exact areas that take a beating from typing and mouse work:
- Finger stretches, individual fingers, thumb movements in all directions
- Wrist flexion and extension to counteract the constant typing position
- Forearm rotations to relieve tension
- Hand strengthening movements to build resilience
The routines take about 5 minutes and target the tendons and muscles that get overworked from repetitive computer use.
I'm taking actual breaks now. Not "I'll take a break after I finish this function" breaks. Real breaks where I step away from the keyboard, move my body, and let my hands rest.
I'm learning to listen to pain instead of ignoring it. When I ignored it, it didn't go away. It escalated into a tear.
I've started paying attention to my setup, desk height, chair position, keyboard angle, mouse placement. It's wild how much these things matter when you're at a desk all day.
Rest isn't what stops you. It's what lets you keep going.
Realization
You can't code if you can't type. That's where I'm at right now.
I ignored the warning signs for three months. Now I'm forced to take a break whether I want to or not. Turns out my body had the final say all along.
Where I Am Now
I'm healing up, taking it slow, and doing well. The pain is still there, but it's manageable when I'm not typing constantly. I'm doing the stretches I should have been doing all along. I'm taking breaks I should have been taking all along. I'm listening to my body instead of overriding it.
If you're reading this and you've felt any of those warning signs (the aching, the soreness, the stiffness), please don't do what I did. Don't tell yourself it'll pass. Don't tough it out. Don't wait until something tears. And definitely consult a physician if you're dealing with persistent pain.
If you don't rest, your body will make you rest.
Have you dealt with typing injuries or RSI? I'd love to hear what worked for you. You can find me on Bluesky or reach out through my contact form.