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#60695 03/12/02 01:19 AM
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Jackie Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Bingley has asked me to post this for him. One of the reasons he hasn't been posting much is due to difficulty in typing. He has a condition similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, but the doctor says, based on an EMG (electromyography)(sp?), that it is due to irritation at the root of a nerve in his neck.

He would like to know if anyone has any knowledge of such a thing. He can of course read PM's and the board, but replies may be brief.



#60696 03/12/02 01:44 AM
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I know of one person who have suffered from something similar. She was diagnosed as suffering from "le nerfs d'Arnolde." Translated this would be Arnold's nerve but I am not sure if that is how it would me translated in medical lexicons.

She also suffered from nausea and headaches though so it may not be the same thing.

Please give Bingley my best, and tell him I wish him a speedy recovery. Two kisses from Canada.


#60697 03/12/02 01:57 AM
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There is a surprising amount of information about health problems on the Internet. It helps a lot if you know the terminology of the disorder. For instance you might find some things under Carpal Tunnel,or you might do better to look for Repetetive Motion Injury. There are other names that I can't think of at the moment, particularly UK terms. We have three members in active practice who ought know a lot more. I hate to say it, but a neurological disorder could be much harder to treat successfully than RMI, which is bad enough. Maybe Bingley ought look into Voice Recognition software. I don't know how much keyboard use is required with it.


#60698 03/12/02 04:27 AM
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For a little info, try...

http://199.178.214.240/ortho/html/library/spine/nerve.htm

Depending on which nerve is involved, other symptoms such as cough, nausea and headache could also be present.

Try Arnold's neuralgia for "le nerfs d'Arnolde". This refers to the involvement of a particular nerve - the recurrent laryngeal if you must know.

I certainly hope I wasn't included in the 3 members in active practice...


#60699 03/12/02 12:00 PM
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Jackie Offline OP
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Thanks, doc_ and all. Barring something specific such as a herniated disc, I was wondering if a change in posture might help.
Any info. would be much appreciated. His work is being a translator, and that requires--guess what--typed documents. Dr. Bill, his office is looking into voice recognition--excellent suggestion.
bel, considering the cirumstances, I will allow other kisses...but only temporarily! [grr in spite of myself e]


#60700 03/12/02 12:23 PM
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The British term to look for is RepetitiveStrain Injury or RSI

get well soon

the Duncster


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#60701 03/12/02 01:53 PM
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Hi Bingley (I can't help but think of you in italics) ~

For a while, I was exhibiting symptoms of Carpal Tunnel, and I was able to reverse it through deep-tissue massage and adoption of a split ergonomic keyboard with a touch pad in place of a mouse (in my case, the mouse seemed to be the bulk of the problem). Being that your issue has been identified as neural, deep tissue work would be more likely to aggravate than help.

*However* - on the subject of keyboards, it's fascinating what ergo-engineers (Is that a coined word I see before me?) have been able to come up with. Apart from the split keyboard, there are a million other options: bowl-shaped keyboards for one-handed typing, bowl-shaped splits for two hands (see http://www.dmb-ergonomics.com/kinesis.jpg), and a one-hand, handheld chording keyboard called the Twiddler that requires relearning typing to some extent - I think of it like a Braille writer or a court reporting machine or an accordian... it relies on fingering combinations that are affiliated with each particular letter. http://www.handykey.com There's another called the BAT too. http://www.infogrip.com Both are easy to learn and *very* comfortable to use.

I've known people working on voice recognition software, and all indications are that it's way behind the curve. Anyone on Board have any direct knowledge of it? PM me if you'd prefer - I'm curious about its development.

Hope you're able to alleviate the discomfort, Bingley! And get back aBoard soon!

FB


#60702 03/12/02 02:52 PM
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I've known people working on voice recognition software, and all indications are that it's way behind the curve. Anyone on Board have any direct knowledge of it? PM me if you'd prefer - I'm curious about its development

I don't have direct experience, f'babe, but some of my students do, and I have been helping with some research into voice recognition as well.

It has improved by leaps and bounds over the past year or so, and there are some quite sophisticated programs out there. However they still suffer from only recognising one voice (a bit like a collie dog!) and each individual user has to program the machine to suit him/herself.
But there is some exciting work being done on voice recognition for people with speech problems, especially those associated with strokes and neurological conditions such as MS and ALS(MND if you're a brit!) or some of the severer forms of CP.
The research I have been helping along is looking particularly at disarthric speech, which is very disjointed and very hard to understand, even for another human being.
If the project is successful, it will not only bring communication media to those who find it difficult, but will also bring increased knowledge to new programs which power ordinary voice recognition machines.


#60703 03/12/02 05:32 PM
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I don't pretend to know the first thing about your medical problem, Robert, but I hope you get a speedy resolution to it. Would the doctors in Oz or Zild be a better bet than the locals?

Look after yourself!



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#60704 03/12/02 05:43 PM
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i support several users with special apps for handicaps.

Jaws (a text reader) reads info off the screen (for a total blind user.. it also can be used to read her keystrokes so she knows when she made a typo.

the app seems slow to me.. but she is one of the more product admin aides in organization..

we also have a user with a voice command software (sorry, i forget the name.. )

Rhu, you are right. it does get trained to one voice, but it is also a learning app, and learns to hear the difference between Aunt and ant after a while.

voice recognition still can either process a limited vocabulrary (One, Two ...Ten) from thousand of users, or a huge vocabulary from one user..

My dear Mr. Bingley, it does almost sound like a pinched nerve in you neck. My ex mother in law, who was a firm beleiver in MD., found when she had a pinched nerve in her neck that a chriropractor actually worked.. accupucture too, might be effective.

what ever you try, please do feel better soon.


#60705 03/12/02 06:56 PM
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#60706 03/12/02 07:51 PM
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Yes-- that the name..and yes, ver. 6 is quite good!

its does eat up memory, but if you have enough, its quite rapid, and as you say, it adjust to accents.. even New Yawk gets spelled as New York.


#60707 03/13/02 10:15 AM
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I agree, Helen - one of the impressive things about these recognition programs is their heuristic capabilities. So far as I can gather, it is that capability that my colleague is chasing in his attempts to get it to deal with severely impaired speech.


#60708 03/13/02 12:08 PM
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Jackie Offline OP
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Rhuby, once again, you're impressive--I had to look this up: (from Atomica)
heuristic
A method of problem solving using exploration and trial and error methods. Heuristic program design provides a framework for solving the problem in contrast with a fixed set of rules (algorithmic) that cannot vary.




#60709 03/14/02 08:37 PM
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Nothing to offer but good wishes and prayer for your recovery. Be well soon.



#60710 03/14/02 09:07 PM
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> bring communication media to those who find it difficult

This, in my eyes, has been one of the greatest accomplishments of 'the digital age' to date. Computers and the Internet offer, relatively speaking, so much freedom to those afflicted by debilitating physical problems.

All the best Bingley,

Chris


#60711 03/14/02 11:47 PM
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Dear Bingley,

First my best to you. Second, I suffer from Bell's Palsy that was caused by a fall I took. Landed flat on my butt! Was a funny sight when it happened. But about a week after the fall, the problem started. I went to my chiropractor who said it was like dominos in my back, pinching the nerves in my neck. Now, I know we gotta lot of MD's on this board, hi Dr. Bill, wofa, Doc Comfort! and MD's don't usually agree with Chiropractors, but have you tried one yet? I highly recommend it. The way I look at it, I don't care what kind of letters they have following their name, if they can take care of my pain and paralysis, they get my vote. Good luck, Bing.

Angel


#60712 03/15/02 12:33 PM
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Jackie Offline OP
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Angel, that might not be a bad idea. Nothing the neurologist has tried has helped, so Bingley is planning to see if his G.P. has any other suggestions. This might be one of them.
Also, they seem to have found him a voice-recognition package to try out at work, and if that doesn't do the job, plan to keep trying till they find a workable one.


#60713 03/16/02 02:52 AM
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Yes, I also was going to recommend that it sounded like a chiropractic problem. A good chiropractor can work wonders. My mother once had a slipped disc in her lower back, and was slated for surgery, but she opted for chiropractic treatment instead of letting them cut. It took a little bit of time, but it worked. That was in 1973, she just turned 75, and she hasn't had a problem with it since! So that is certainly an option I believe in.

This definitely sounds like the type of thing that can be treated once properly diagnosed, Bingley. I know how tough it must be for you to get on like this. But bear up, leave no stones unturned in seeking treatment, and I'm sure you'll make a full recovery. And hurry up!...'cause we miss you around here!




#60714 03/17/02 09:46 PM
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I tried Dragon too, I forget the edition. I thought that it was very good. I speak quite quickly and found that it coped quite well. There were two things that I found particularly interesting - one was that it could "read" some documents that you regularly use and add the words that it found to its custom dictionary. This had the advantage that it was making a much better guess at the word that you intended to use, even when the word was complex or unusual. I found the "training" stage a little dull where you have to read paragraphs of standard text but I would have put up with it much more if I had a genuine reason for using the software, rather than just interest.

My partner does a lot of dictating in his work and we had hoped that we could just hook up the tape to the machine to get a workable first draft. This wasn't an option but with the increased use of things like memory sticks and personal hand held devices, I could see this becoming a useful tool.

On the downside, I do part of my work in a busy international organisation. One thing that I have noticed in recent years is that the working environment is so much more pleasant. When I first worked there, I would leave with a headache, the phones were constantly ringing and calls were constantly being re-direct around the office. It was like the Tower of Babel at times. Now it is so much more quiet. E-mail means that people can communicate in their own time zone, no more desperate calls asking us not to send urgent faxes at 3am, people can answer mail in when it suits them and can insert standard text, where necessary, rather than constant repetition. I'd hate to go back to a time where everyone (who didn't have to) sat talking to machines. Anyway - good luck Bing - hope you find something that works.


#60715 03/19/02 04:54 AM
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Thanks for all the info and concern, folks, both here and by PM. The neurologist proved pretty much of a washout. I wasn't reacting properly to the treatment he prescribed or having the right symptoms to match what the EMG machine said was wrong with me, so he dismissed me suggesting I take some vitamins and cut down on the typing.

I'm going to look for a chiropractor (not covered by insurance -- ouch)and maybe a doctor specialising in sports (stop sniggering in the back row) injuries or work-related ailments, if I can find one.

The IT guy at work has promised to look into speech recognition software but he's getting married Easter weekend so he does have other things on his mind at the moment.

Bingley


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#60716 03/19/02 05:39 AM
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I'm going to look for a chiropractor (not covered by insurance -- ouch)

Hey, Bing...another option, possibly covered by insurance, is a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO). They do similar adjustments to those of a Chiropractor, but are medical doctors too. I have been to both since breaking my back many years ago. Good luck!


#60717 03/19/02 02:31 PM
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Bingley, adding my suggestions:

I think a sports medicine doctor is a good idea. Also you might try plain old physical therapy; that's what Faldage's doc recommended (covered by insurance here) and it seems to be helping him with his back. Also, how about yoga or Tai Chi? Both keep you flexible and improve your posture, thereby making you less vulnerable to injury and strain.


#60718 03/21/02 02:07 AM
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Good to see you back in circulation, Bingley! Leave no stones unturned. You'll find a suitable treatment, I'm sure!


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