Does NE1 have severe joint pain while working?
Posted By: Ouch :( on 2009-03-04
In Reply to:
I have been working as an MT for only 4 years, and I am only 23 years old, but lately I have had severe finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and neck joint pains, especially when working. I am just wondering if this is normal.
Thanks for the help.
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Anyone ever experience severe ulnar styloid pain?
Doesn't bother me to move up or down but I can't twist my wrist or lift heavy things. When typing it becomes very uncomfortable if I'm not careful how I position my hands. Anyone else out there experiencing anything like this?
Joint Pain in Arms/Hands/Shoulders
I am just going to relate this story for what it is worth to someone else.
In 2001 I began having problems with my left hand, arm and shoulder. Orthopedist thought it may be the beginnings of carpal tunnel but EMG was neg. It was bad enuf that at times I couldn't pick stuff up and it hurt to type. It waned and waxed. A few years later I began having problems with my hands and the joints in my fingers hurting, along with left shoulder pain. My hands were so bad I could not open a jar at times. Eventually I went to a rheumatologist who told me that I had no visible signs of severe arthritis. All MDs, incl. orthopedist and rheumatologist recommended trying Celebrex, aspirin, etc. The regular stuff. I was resigned to early arthritis like my mother.
Well, one day in late 2004/early 2005 I decide to see a chiropractor for my shoulder because I'd had electro therapy for an injury years ago and thought maybe this would help. I had some adjustments and electro therapy on my shoulder.
I want to tell you -- ALL and EVERY pain in my fingers left and never came back. ALL and EVERY pain running from shoulder to hand stopped. It had to have been some sort of pinched nerve.
Not a single MD had even suggested seeing a chiropractor. And had it not been for my shoulder and my past experience, I never would have thought of it and would still be suffering, possibly with even further damage to the nerve by now.
Here's what's been working for my elbow pain: (sm)
Mine is due to bone spurs in the elbows, impinging on the ulnar nerve. Although typing in my lap helped, it wasn't the ultimate answer. I shelled out the bucks and bought an adjustable Humanscale keyboard tray that is mounted under the desk. When I drop the keyboard tray down to lap level, the keyboard itself is just slightly higher, which seems to be my best position. I also got softest, cushiest gel wrist pad I could find.
The main thing has been to keep the elbow angles open. Mine has to be anything greater than a 90-degree angle, or else I get lots of pain all the way down to the little finger... feels like a headache in my forearm and hand.
Also try not to sleep with your elbows bent beyond 90 degrees, either. I tried different pain meds for when it flares up.... it takes a bit of experimentation. Aspirin didn't work at all, but ibuprofen & Tylenol seem to work best.
I had to stop including full push-ups in my workouts, too. I can do them to a limited degree by staring at the top and going only halfway down. I also avoid resting my elbows or forearms on tables, armrests, etc. (I removed the armrests from my office chair... don't need them anyway, with the keyboard tray.)
Get the softest-touch keyboard you can find, too. I found that the stiffer ones that required a harder touch to operate created enough impact to get the elbow sore, starting at the finger and working its way up.
If it's muscle pain, sometimes the cream called "Flexall" works well for me. (Especially on my NECK!) But my elbow pain is obviously an irritated nerve, and Flexall doesn't touch that.
The same as you, the pain started after about 25 years, but I don't really attribute it to typing -- typing just exacerbates it.
Good luck, and keep trying different things 'til you find something that works!
I don't know if this will help you as your CT is already severe...sm
I transcribe with my keyboard in my lap. With the keyboard at that level my wrists are straight and there is no stress on wrists, elbows, neck or shoulders. My carpal tunnel which was moderate about 10 years ago is almost nonexistent now. I also have rheumatoid arthritis and on demonstrating my body alignment to my rheumatologist she said my body mechanics were excellent and more people should try doing this. Try it. You might be surprised.
I was 31...severe RA.
doesn't sound like RA, however, I am not a doctor.:)
wishing the best.
severe burnout
I just can't do MT anymore. I've been doing it for 30 years, the last 6 with a national that begins and ends with an S. I so tired of their lies and garbage. I also edit as an IC which I enjoy but can't get steady hours. I'm presently on intermittent FMLA from "S" for my mom who is a paraplegic and they're giving me all kinds of grief over it. My supervisor is doing everything she can to put roadblocks in front of me. She won't me change accounts permanently. I get put on an account I'm good at and can get good line counts on for awhile and then I'm put back on the account I told her I hate and can't make money on. This happens over and over again. She also won't let me taking an editing job or change my hours. I received their "certificates" for quality and attendance, but not for production which is the only thing they care about since only 62% of the company made 98% or more quality. Some days I just can't sit and work. I'm totally burned out and the above doesn't help.
I'd leave in a minute if I thought another place would be better, but I'm not convinced it would be. Add to that the fact that I only have dial-up, need health insurance as I am single and can't afford a good computer at this time.
Sorry for the long post. Just needed to vent. Has anyone been in this situation? What can I do?  I'm working 50-60 hours a week and still can't make a living. I'm really ready to go on welfare rather than keep working.
IC with severe carpal ts, what will I do for $$
Hi, any suggestions for an IC for 10 years now that has severe CTS? I am in severe pain and have to medicate myself daily to work. After raising 2 kids on my own, I don't have any $$$ left to pay for an operation. What do I do now? I am so used to being independent. . .thanks for any help.sm
I feel your pain. If at teaching hospital, great pain. SM
Some doctors do give standard discharge summaries, so you could just make copy and then pull it up. It is not easy, especially when they give 20 lines of lab results.
not *identity* - much more severe problem...nm *S*
x
I've heard that if it is a severe CTS
symptoms as the nerves can become permanently damaged. I'd look into first to see if this would help or not.
VR editor - still with CT symptoms, very severe. sm
I have to admit, it has eased up a little; however, I have had CTS for over 12 years now and never did anything about it. As I age, use my hands the same, and keep the same sleeping habits, my symptoms have gotten so severe.
I really can not say it is better or worse with transcribing or editing these days. It is more pronounced when sleeping or grasping things.
I would not change a job for reasons such as tendinitis or CTS, etc.
if you have severe back problems, how could you sit in one position all day?
You would first need to get into an accredited school.
Also you would be sitting down for 4 to 8 hours at a time. I dont know if you can pull that off with severe back problems.
Try searching in the new MT/student section for more information.
Good luck to you.
joint/join
Ummmm - that was join, not joint.
Joint tenderness is another possibility.
dd
I sent an email to Joint Commission
I don't know why they don't crack down on these docs-- especially these horrible foreigners. I am an MT, not an interpreter for the UN. If I wanted that job, I would move to New York. What it is going to take is some horrendous lawsuit and I hope it happens soon. If these people can't speak English clearly enough to be understood, then they need to have someone dictate for them who can-- plain and simple.
Joint Commission is the entity that provides
accrediation to hospitals. Without them they do not get Medicare payments, Medicaid payments, etc.
Actually, the BOS follows the Joint Commission not vice versa. The BOS...
adopted the Joint Commissions recommendations for dangerous abbreviations. As for the rest of the BOS, I've worked for a number of hospitals in the office over the years and not one manager that I have encountered don't give a hoot about the BOS.
Yes it is, and we do file a joint return BUT you can offset your income - sm
on the schedule C with your expenses (mine are ~$2K) and lower the amount you pay taxes on. This is in addition to your Sch. A/B or the standard deduction.
That is interesting. The hospital I work goes by the joint commission
and not so much the AAMT BOS but the commission that gives the governs the hospital. The doctors are not allowed to write q. as an abbreviation when writing orders and must write out word "every" or they are called on it. The transcriptionists have to follow that rule also. This is a major teaching hospital. I think the AAMT follows the joint commission also when they makes their rules. But I also understand that you do what the client wants first and if they do not answer to the Joint Commission rules then the other form would be the correct way to go.
isn't the forbidden words from joint commision of hospitals, not BOS? nm
x
Joint Commision and AAMT. Who made them gods? Do they
x
The Joint Commission's Dangerous Abbreviation List... SM
applies to written entries on a patient's chart, i.e. nurses' notes, doctor's orders, etc. For some insane reason, someone somewhere decided to apply it to transcription as well which is just silly. I work for a facility that has decided not to force transcription to strictly adhere to the dangerous abbreviation list and Joint Commission has not counted it against them in the last three audits.
I will say most MTs where I work do not use qhs, qac or qd. We expand those out because WE (the transcription department) decided that we should for clarification purposes.
Hunter Hayes and Hank Williams, Jr. rocked the joint!
Love music....every form....I've sung just about all of them including Mozart! Music is an international language. It's always been such a great release from life's daily stressors.  Cat
Joint commission is the accrediting body for hospitals to receive reimbursement. They want it to be
x
If Joint Commission audits and finds "patient care" errors it can result in very...
...serious fines and repercussions.
If your son's acne is not very bad and not cystic, you aren't dealing with severe acne, right?
There is a big difference. I have very oily skin that is acne prone, even now in my 40s, but my older sister's condition is much more severe, with cystic acne even on her back, like a male, and the one time I tried to tell her what was helping my skin, she let me know that what might help me was not going to be strong enough to help her. She's tried it all.
You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping. I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes. I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this. Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time. But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course. I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot. My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon). Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day. I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change. Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working
that holiday you refuse to work? Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?
Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.
Someone has to do it!
working IN A HOSPITAL is different than working at home.
Someone can steal you identity from the internet if they want to. Why would you go to the time and trouble to jeopardize a job that requires some level of skill to steal someone's identity or medical records? You could get a job as a retail clerk and get info easier than going through the testing required to become an MT.
Somehow working at home translates into not really working
My in-laws are the worst. Whenever they plan something last minute and my husband says that I had to work, they say, "but she works at home!". When I one time mentioned I had a "schedule" and basically punch a clock and work full time, I don't think they believed me. They will sometimes call mid-day during the week if they are in the area to see if I want to go for lunch, etc! The best is, my husband doesn't make all that much money, so where is it coming from, the money fairy? I am ready to strangle someone! So I know how you feel and I'm sorry it upset you. You are not alone.
Low pain...Low pay
Well my subconscious typed pain instead of pay. So you see I am aware of the pain of receiving low pay but it is not my intent to disgrace the field of medical transcription.
I know your pain
My genetic donor has had more wives than I can count, literally. He has seen my children maybe 3 times and the oldest is 25. We were passing through Myrtle Beach and I called to see if we could stop in and see him and she said no, her daughter was coming in and there was no room for us. So now I have not seen him in 14 years. He's 75 now. I check the obits now and then to see if he is alive and found that she had died in August (she was 83). My oldest son and his wife laughed at me because I was smiling when I read it. Knowing him, he is probably remarried by now. I don't waste time "inconveniencing" so-called loved ones. I'd rather just be at home with my children.
pain...
How old is she? If she's having pain after BMs, she needs to see a doctor. I am an expert on this topic, having suffered with abdominal pain most of my life.
She could have endometriosis, adhesions caused from a variety of things, lactose intolerance (though usually this does not cause pain after BMs), a food allergy,a cysts, etc., etc......
Urge her to go to a GYN, who probably will refer her to a GI if the GYN workup is negative.
Good Luck to her!
I know your pain
I have had two miscarriages before. My heart aches for you. I know just how you feel. I am so sorry.
Ear pain
Does anyone suffer from severe ear pain on the outside of the ear? I have it to the point of not being able to wear my headset on that side and would like to know what others have done in the past. No infection, just cartilage pain.
I had ear pain
until I started using Dictaphone head phones. Very soft and they don't put a lot of pressure on the ears.
I don't have ear pain but
I do have tinnitus. Can anything be done about that?
ear pain
I just wanted to share my experience with earaches,one time I woke up in the middle of the night with a severe earache. So I looked around the house to see what I could take. Found nothing,so I was in such pain,that I took a swig,and only a swig of whiskey,seagram 7 the pain went away,and never came back,that was about 20 years ago,I don't drink,this was a 2 year old bottle given to us by one of my husband's buisness associates one christmas,however the bottle dissappeared when my mother in law moved in 10 years later. So I am wondering if it would work on the outside of the ear,rubbed on with a cotton ball.
pain
thanks. I was wondering if there was something that I could place on the chair seat. Can you pick this up at drug store?
I so know your pain.
Have you tried using one of those wraparound microwave gel packs made for the back. I could not live without mine.
leg pain
I'm suffering the same right now. Have been with leg elevated all day. I had to not work tonight because of it. You need to walk and don't sit for so long a period of time. Get up every hour or so and move around a little. I get carried away and sit for too many hours at a time, now I'm in real pain today. Take some aspirin or ibuprofen. Raise leg with warm compresses. If not better soon, see a doctor. Just remember to walk a little every day. I haven't been but guess I'm going to start.
Right arm pain?
I have noticed soreness in my right forearm - I guess around the extensor digitorum muscle location. The only change lately is that I have started using a different computer mouse. The only difference in this mouse is that it is more reactive and works better than the last. I did order a wrist support wrap today from TranscriptionGear, thinking this would help, if indeed it is the mouse. I have also started to use more Keystrokes instead of the mouse. There have been no injuries or strains that I can remember. I have taken ibuprofen. I was wondering - has anyone had this symptom from transcribing?
Pain
I had the same thing a month ago and bought a splint for carpal tunnel. I wore it at night and it seemed to help. I also got a squeezy ball. Hope it helps you!
I know your pain
I have been in transcription for over 15 years and worked doing QA for over 8. I started recently with a company and have been having an awful QA experience. Red all over my reports coupled with constant threats. I dread opening my emails in the morning. Corrections like sometimes not putting two spaces behind a colon or period, only one, wording phrases the way they are in there samples which are then suddenly changed in the QA, things I blasted about saying I have been told numerous times when I haven't been told once...it's been really awful. I can see why now when I left my prior supervisory position of over 10 years so many of my transcriptionists were in tears and a few even left the company. I still keep in touch with several of them. I never get a kind word or anything from this company, only negative..we'll see how things go. Keep your chin up. Everyone makes a mistake. You've learned from it and now won't make whatever crucial mistakes were on your reports in the future.
I know your pain
I've not had a single email from mine and have been with a company 7 months now. I do special projects and such and never get so much as a thank you. When I started too, not a single question was ever answered. I even asked to be linked up by other people on the account via messenger and got no response.
When I managed I was always available by phone, messenger, email, etc. I made sure questions were answered immediately and I even checked my mail when my shift was over and people could call me any hours day or night. I never wanted anybody to feel like they were just "out there" alone.
Right Arm Pain
I just started doing VR a few days ago. I am using the arrow keys a great deal and started having severe pain/achiness in my right arm. I have tried ibuprofen but it doesn't really help. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I am really wondering if I am going to be able to complete my shift today. Thanks in advance!
pain in the $#*^$
Yea, but considering my work is only a few hours of audio a week (less than 10) it wasn't as bad as you think! But now that I need/want to go full time I am NOT doing it without some kind of foot pedal!
I feel your pain.
Don't forget, not getting paid for spaces also contributes to the inability to get a decent line count.
Heck, I can't even get the ESLs I had finally figured out anymore. Sometimes I'll get the same crappy dictator for 10 reports in a row. I've also had full shifts of nothing but ESLs. I sure hope all the other transcription companies are not like this.
I would suggest you start testing for other companies. I did and will soon be going to a better place (I hope). However, at this point, just getting paid for spaces will be a big step up.
I feel your pain!
I can completely relate with what you are saying. I actually have gone through a site called SupportKids.com and they were doing a good job at collecting from him. Whatever they collect they keep 33% of it and send a check to me for the rest. Unfortunately, I have not seen a dime since last December. It's as though he has either switched jobs...or whatever but he has managed to slither away for the time being. I don't get it either how these guys get away with not facing their responsibilities. I have one daughter...and we are doing pretty good...(always could be better) but money is a constant struggle and it bothers me to think that he's out there...dodging his responsibilities. My theory is that one day...he will be old..and alone...I don't get how some guys don't realize how precious children are....Like I said...we have our "money" issues but I would never change anything in my life...(other than getting a check from the sperm donor)...Give that site a look at though. All you need to get started is a court order stating what he should be paying. Good luck and hang in there....you are truly not alone!!
Does anyone know anything about pain management M.D.'s?
For someone with chronic pain, is prescribing pain pills a last resort or is this the norm?
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