Arm and Wrist Injuries Teach Scientists to Accept Limits

Courtesy of VistaLab TechnologiesMatthew Springer learned to take breaks and rest his hands after suffering two repetitive-motion injuries. "I ended up with two basically useless arms." In constant pain, he says, he could not type for more than a few seconds or do simple tasks like grasp a steering wheel.The injury sent him to physical therapy and he followed a prescribed regimen for a full year. He also practiced yoga, and learned to manage stress. With help from colleagues, who took over his m

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Courtesy of VistaLab Technologies

Matthew Springer learned to take breaks and rest his hands after suffering two repetitive-motion injuries. "I ended up with two basically useless arms." In constant pain, he says, he could not type for more than a few seconds or do simple tasks like grasp a steering wheel.

The injury sent him to physical therapy and he followed a prescribed regimen for a full year. He also practiced yoga, and learned to manage stress. With help from colleagues, who took over his manual lab work for him, and voice-recognition software, he presented a body of work that helped land him an assistant professor's appointment at the University of Califor-nia, San Francisco. He still takes anti-inflammatories. He still can't hold onto a phone.

Springer took action in time to save his wrists and arms. But many researchers do not. Studies provide only sketchy details about the rate and ...

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