Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

sore back

Posted By: mandiemt on 2007-10-18
In Reply to: best position and board for typing - getting old

I just moved from a hospital setting to typing at home and I am dying, too.  At the hospital, they had these articulating keyboard arms that positioned up and down and forward and backward. I had my keyboard raised and close to me so that I could lean completely back in my chair and type comfortably.  I researched those online and they are expensive little boogers.  I will be getting one soon.  My back is worth it.  Look at Office Depot.  I think they are listed as articulating keyboard something or another. 


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

Sore back
I too have a bad back and I get backaches when I type.  I see a chiropractor once a week and he showed me some stretches that help.  I also have a support for my lower back.  As far as the keyboard, I use a split keyboard and make sure my wrists are straight when typing. 
Sore neck, sore eyes sm
Depends - if you are young, have the time and need the money, at least it's work. Did it years ago, no "day at the beach" so to say and the ESL's write like they talk, so be prepared to try to figure out what they are trying to say. "He can't get alone with the neighbor." Alone - along - a loan???? " The pt. drink 1-1/2 6 can beer per day." - A six pack and a half??? 9 cans??? Good luck anyway, Honey.
sore arm
I found that it is not from MTing, but actually from leaning on 1 arm/side too much. I had this myself about a week ago on my left side only and found that when I modified how I was sitting, sitting more centered, that the pain has totally gone away with no meds or injections.
sore fingertips
I also type 10 to sometimes 12 hours a day between my regular 40 hour a week job and extras that I do - I found my right thumb was getting soooo tender so I have since improvised and put a foam ring (that is actually for toes) on it to take the brunt of my hitting the space bar all the time. It works wonders and can't do without it now. But never had any other trouble with fingertips....
And sore wrists. Have you tried any of these?

Smart Gloves.  Google them.  They're wonderful.  About $20 bucks apiece but well worth the money.


Carpal tunnel type straps.  Wal Mart.  $10 bucks apiece.


I have both and I alternate.


I ended up with numbness in my right index finger, but after buying these, it just went away after a few weeks.  My fingers and wrists have some discomfort on occasion, but nothing like they were before.


One more thing, and I know people that do this, if you do "pound" the keyboard with your fingertips, relax those hands, elbows and shoulders and just tap. If that doesn't work, you may want to get a better keyboard.


Good luck!


Sore elbow(s)

   I use elbow pads to save my shoulders & neck, but find that continually resting my elbows on anything (or keeping them bent at a 90-degree angle or greater) for any period of time exacerbates the pain.  My problem is bone-spurs in the elbows - combination of arthritis and/or overuse from sports, etc.  But typing, sleeping with it bent, etc. do make it worse.  I've found gentle exercises on the machines at the gym to be helpful, provided I don't overdo it.  I also use glucosamine & chondroitin supplements for a knee problem that might help a little. 


Sometimes sleeping curled around an extra pillow, with my arm stretched out underneath it to help prevent it from being over-bent, seems to help.  Also avoiding over-use.  I try to keep my med. dictionary on my desk during the day, so I don't have to reach for it, and when I first take it off the shelf in the morning, I do it while standing up to lessen the stress on the joint. 


When it does flare up, I've experimented with different pain remedies to find what is most effective.  While aspirin works best on some of my parts, my own elbow pain seems to respond best to extra-strength Tylenol, and second-best to two ibuprofen (even though the bottle says take just one.)  And the neck and shoulder pain is best relieved by Flexall cream, second-best by ibuprofen. 


Best of luck finding the right cure! 


 


 


sore elbows
I have used a tennis elbow brace that is worn around the forearm right under the elbow. Really helps.
sore elbows

In a way it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has this problem.  Not that I wish pain on anybody... :)


Fortunately, I did not need any injections.  I had physical therapy--heat, iontophoresis, and exercises--and anti-inflammatories. 


The occupational health physician I saw also recommended a keyboard tray adjusted so that my arms were at a 90-degree angle while typing.  I know someone mentioned having their arms at that angle made it worse, but my problem at that time was having my keyboard too low so that my arms were going down.  Changing the angle did help.


Now when I have a flare-up, ibuprofen usually helps as well as a topical gel called Biofreeze which I buy it from my chiropractor but some independent pharmacies carry it, also.


 


Sore loser
Grow up
sore elbow
Just yesterday I noticed a lump on my forearm, just above the elbow. It is sore and has a red spot just on top of the lump, but the red just fades into almost nothing (which is just smaller than a dime), and the lump is actually lumpy, but seems to spread into a mass a couple of inches long. Anyone have any experience with something similar to this? I don't want to go to the doctor unless I have to because I know they will want to do an MRI, and all of that "stuff," (so if anyone has had anything like this and may have an idea what it is I would appreciate hearing from you). Thank you.
sore wrists
I use Oregano Oil on my wrists and the tops of my hands. Sometimes it hurts to lift fingers and I run the Oregano Oil along those bones.
Just saw your post about how sore
your elbow really is at this point (just to touch). If it is inflamed in any way, go with ice (on 10 min/off 10 min - on covered skin)for a few days. Then do moist heat/ice alternating for a couple days. Do the massage and stretching, as I mentioned in post below, as tolerated (keeping consistent with the 7-8/10 on pain scale). Also, make sure your elbows are not lower than your hands when you are typing. Let me know how it goes.
Anyone have a solution for a sore behind??
I just recently bought a new chair, recommended on one of the sites and it wasn't cheap by any means.  But my butt gets so sore when I sit for days.  I've tried putting a pillow under me, but that doesn't seem to help very much.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!
Boy oh boy, have you ever hit on a sore spot with me! -(sm)
I'm up against the same thing with that da**ed BOS. Every other day, it's something. Put a dash between words. Don't put a dash between words. And then each account varies from the BOS in its own unique and utterly ridiculous ways. Frequently the BOS goes against what's correct punctuation and writing style.

This whole BOS cow-pucky is keeping a lot of people busy, and in all the wrong ways. We're so busy worrying about the absurd minutia that BOS tells us is Law, that it's harder and harder to get a decent day's worth of transcribing done.

If MT co's want to use the BOS, then they should tell their clients that that's the standard they're going to be using. But no, every account, even every DOCTOR, wants it their way. I have no problem with typing every account and every doctor their way, but then I sure don't want QA flooding my inbox with marked-up reports, telling me I've done it wrong.

I truly believe that the whole purpose of BOS (besides making couple of shady characters very, very wealthy, is to further justify paying us less and eventually driving American MT's entirely out of the field. An MT can be very experienced, accurate, and fast, but if you keep playing the shell-game with the account specifications, and changing them up every other day, no one on earth is going to be able to keep up with all that and maintain a high QA score.

And the bottom line? Since WHEN does it matter to patient care (which is SUPPOSED to be the bottom line in the medical industry) whether you spell out numbers below 10, or type them in numerals? Since when does it matter if the date is March 14 or 3/14? It DOESN'T! When the doctors check our reports to sign, or before going into surgery, etc., does anyone really think they give a rat's backside about whether we capitalized "operating room", or spelled out the number ten? All that matters is accuracy and readability! The almighty BOS doesn't matter to them one iota.

This whole BOS/QA analness of MT is driving me crazy, too, because it's all about being jerked around.
Sore neck and shoulders
This is the first year that I have had this type of pain. There is nothing that will relieve it and if there is the slightest movement of my computer screen or anything out of the ordinary, there it goes. I am afraid surgery is in my future. I do take breaks and your schedule sounds good. Thanks for the information....
Oh grow up - such a sore loser!
x
Sore left pinky...
Mine gets like that from time to time as well. I tend to stretch it out too far. Usually I'll tape my ring finger and pinkie together with athletic tape (loosely, not as if splinting) for an hour or so to let it rest, and then go back to business as normal.

I'm hoping this will rectify itself when I get an ergo keyboard.
ExText-sore thumb

Does anybody have trouble with a sore left thumb from doing speech recognition in ExText? I have been doing it now for 5 months and have constant pain in my thumb. Just wondered if there was a better way of doing it.


No but I have a sore left pinky from doing
x
That is also a very sore spot, I agree
I requested the same thing about 2 months ago, could a physician pleaseeeeeee spell a name, especially when wanting a cc sent and was told if I could not find, just to pend the note and so I do. Why they are so against asking for a spelling is just beyond me. That should be a no brainer but noooooo, don’t get a high and mighty physician upset.
Any ideas for sore fingers and hands?
I do hand stretches and massage my fingers, but they are so sore from typing. I can still type very fast, just so sore doing it. Also, my thumb and index finger are drawing toward my palm more so than my other hand. Does anyone know what could cause this?

Also, does anyone else get muscle spasms in their feet while typing? javascript:editor_insertHTML('text','');
javascript:editor_insertHTML('text','');

TIA.
Have you had a sore throat lately? Don't call me crazy, but....

My legs from the calves down, and especially my ankles, have been swollen


since about the first part of February.  I walk around like a "weeble-wobble" doll.


And I thought, gosh, am I too fat?!, eating too much salt?!


Why don't they go down overnight or when I prop them up?


Well, finally I found out that I probably have Hoen-Schoenlein (or something like that) purpura.


They say it recurs.  It usually is in kids, but can happen in adults. 


IT HAPPENS AFTER A SORE THROAT.  It is in the autoimmune family.  Sometimes they will give you steroids for it -- but mostly you have to just ride it out. 


They really don't know what causes it - but like I said they do suspect it comes in correlation with a sore throat.......and I have had that horrible flu that hit in Feb and I have had recurrence of the flu/sore throat about every 6 wks (as do a lot of  the folks I know). 


They say the purpura/swollen legs and ankles can last for 6-8 wks or longer.


So, if you have really funky swollen legs and don't have luck with them going down after leaving off salt, drinking plenty of water, and not drinking caffeinated drinks -- it may be HENOCH-SCHONLEIN purpura.


 


 


What is HSP?

Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP or anaphylactoid purpura) is a form of blood vessel inflammation or vasculitis. There are many different conditions that feature vasculitis. Each of the forms of vasculitis tends to involve certain characteristic blood vessels. HSP affects the small arterial vessels called capillaries in the skin and frequently the kidneys. HSP results in skin rash (most prominent over the buttocks and behind the lower extremities associated with joint inflammation (arthritis) and sometimes cramping pain in the abdomen.


What causes HSP?

HSP occurs most often in the spring and frequently follows an infection of the throat or breathing passages. HSP seems to represent an unusual reaction of the body's immune system that is in response to this infection (either bacteria or virus). Aside from infection, drugs can also trigger the condition. HSP occurs most commonly in children, but persons of all age groups can be affected.


 


What are symptoms of HSP?

Classically, HSP causes skin rash, pain in the abdomen, and joint inflammation (arthritis). Not all features need be present for the diagnosis. The rash of skin lesions appears in gravity-dependent areas, such as the legs. The joints most frequently affected with pain and swelling are the ankles and the knees. Patients with HSP can develop fever. Inflammation of the blood vessels in the kidneys can cause blood and/or protein in the urine. Serious kidney complications are infrequent, but can occur. Sometimes a biopsy of skin and/or kidney is used in assisting the diagnosis, which is typically made based on the clinical findings.

Symptoms usually last approximately a month. Recurrences are not frequent, but do occur.


 


Do you all type when you are sick? I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a stiff achy

neck and my body was kind of stiff all over, but I ignored it, got the kids off to school, and went about my usual routine of having my morning coffee and reading the paper.  I don't start work until noon every day.  As the morning wore on, my body got achier and achier and I started having chills and basically had to huddle under three blankets so I would quit shivering.  I took my temperature and it was 102.3 and I'm wonder if I have strep throat or something.  I tend to pick that up about once a year and amy pretty familiar with the symptoms.


I couldn't bare the thought of calling sick especially because I work at home and I always think it's kind of lame to call in sick when you don't physically have to go much farther then down the stairs.  I always feel extremely guilty whenever I have called in for illness in the past.  Do you guys feel that way?  Like we're somehow not entitled to take sick days because we already working from home.  I mean, I have them accrued and I am truly sick, why should I feel bad about taking one when I actually need it?


Anyway, I took a handful of Motrin and the aching has eased up and I'm sweating like a pig so the fever broke for now, and now I just feel really tired and would love to lay down and take a nap, but just feel like I shouldn't and dread the idea of calling my boss.


Oh well, guess I'll suffer through like I always do.  Every once in a while working at home doesn't feel quite fair. 


With short arms, I need chair with shallow seat, good back support and high back. Want arm rests
:+
OK! I'm glad you're back down here. Now don't go back up there and read those evil posts ag
Okay? But I have to leave you now, sadly. Thousands of noble dictating doctors are anxiously awaiting my help with their "dictations"....They're all loading up on chips, drinking lots of soda so they can burp, and then have to go to the bathroom...You know the routine! Off I go to earn some pennies!! But, truly, I am thankful that I have a job!
PS.. It apparently worked..I heard back and already submitted the paperwork back.

I'm not sure how many people they are hiring but you shouldn't stress too hard over it. Do the best you can.


Has anyone else had this sore throat/tickly throat/cough

It started with a mild sore throat, then went to a REALLY BAD sore throat, tickly throat so I coughed and couldn't sleep, started getting a runny nose, then sinuses stuffy/sinus headache, sore throat got worse - was starting to think it was strep.  Yesterday was the worst; felt like crap.  Last night - started to feel better!  Finally last night I was able to SLEEP.  Today I have felt SO much better.  Not back to normal, but at least I was able to drink a cup of coffee.  Every other day I have poured myself a cup and then it just sat on my desk all day.  My throat is MUCH better and althought I am getting twinges of pain in it from time to time, it's not constant like it has been the last several days.  I don't like this, whatever it is!


I would think it was strep except DD had it too and she got over it.  She said her teacher had it and the teacher said her doctor told her it's a viral thing.


I would not do them back to back - I have done 2 and 3 jobs at the same time -- all PT - sm
It is possible to do of course but you will burn out fast. Now I do one almost FT (about 30 hours a week) and the other is about 8-10 hours a week-- I still get beat doing that and that is w/o set hours. I find that the older I get the harder it is to work late and I am only 40! But a mid afternoon 30-minute cat nap helps a lot in order to keep going on busy days.
How do you set your computer back 1 day. I messed something up and need to go back 1 day.
NM
Yes, you get back to work now. Go back to
some routine, and it does start to hurt less. I know  And remember, she is still there at work with you. Always will be. I figure at this point I have a whole herd of loved dogs under my desk each day - along with a couple horses, hamsters, parakeets, rabbits...If only I could see them - must be quite a happy zoo! But I know they are all there I sense their love.
Can't anyway. Just get them back. sm

I actually tried to dump a report today, which I never do, because it somehow got into my pool in error (not my area of expertise), but it jumped right back up at me after the next report.  So I decided to just do it.  I don't know how well I did, but I did it.  It was over 150 lines long and took me forever.  Lo and behold, 5 reports later, same guy, same type of report 145 lines. Second time around was easier and faster though.  The way I see it is that if I get negative feedback, I'll let them know that those kind of reports really shouldn't come my way.


But cherry picking for line count is just plain wrong.


I did, but then I came back to it.

The other jobs I took involved quite a bit of computer use, too.  I got tired of the office politics and other garbage, so I'm doing MT again.  Now, I prop my keyboard up with a block of wood, although you can use a telescoping keyboard drawer/shelf to do the same thing.  I have a habit of letting my wrists rest on the keyboard, so I had to modify it to get my hands into the proper position.  It might have helped if I had taken piano lessons.  LOL  The only time my wrists ache now is if I work too much, which has been the case lately.  I don't know if it would be helpful for you to try.  I've been doing data entry or some form of computer input work for 17 years now, so I'm hoping carpal tunnel or repetitive motion injury isn't definitely in my future.


Going WAY back here
It's been a long time and I'm not "up" on the lingo, but by reformatting, do you mean you re-indexed?

I would go into whatever function that is where you can re-index all files or functions and do that.

If you still have problems, it might be that a file has been corrupted somewhere. That happened to me on that program a couple times. I'm not sure if it was the dictionary, but something somewhere stopped working right and I had to reload the entire program.

Be SURE to back up your autokeys immediately just in case you have to reinstall the program.


Can I get back to you about this later?

WAY BACK WHEN
It used to be that we were treated as valued employees, treated with dignity, and actually felt like the higher-ups gave a damn about us.  Length of service meant something and those who were dependable never had to worry about running out of work.  I knew I would be taken care of.  Never did we get cheap plastic crap as a Christmas present - we got real, thoughtful presents to show their appreciation for the hard work that they knew we did.  It's pretty much like night and day - nobody gives a damn anymore about us.  It used to be the only thing I knew I could depend on to be stable in my life was my job.  Not anymore. 
Yes, they could pay us better back then
because they weren't paying 2 people for one job (speaking of QA here). If you weren't a good, accurate transcriptionist, you didn't have a job.
Way back
I never heard the word at the time. It was fabulous! No turnaround time. I could shop all day and work all night. The service I worked for told me she wished she had 10 of me! Nice? Christmas parties and $100 bonuses! Flowers when a relative died. It was fun!
I think I might even go back further...
I recall using white-out and yellow-out for carbon copies (the REAL carbon copies) which had to be corrected separately. OH my... but I'm afraid I don't miss all that at all! LOL. I think it was okay to use the white-out until a couple years later, or maybe 10? Yeah, I'm old.

And 8 or 9 books? Did they even make that many back then? I can recall having a PDR and a word book that was separated into specialities. Oh, and the surgical word book. It was red. I am visualizing it now.

My form of research was more like finding the chart and going from there. Ah, but that was before production. Remember those days?

I wish I could remember the name of the first word processor I used. It was a mess!! More trouble than it was worth, but on the cutting edge of technology... and I was there!!

And here I am now, an MT dinosaur, getting ready to start using ASR...

Yeah, DixieDew, we have come a long way.

But miss it? Do you remember the noise those Selectrics made? And I complain sometimes because I can't stand the clicking of the keyboard when I have barely audible dictations.

One more thing... and please tell me if you miss this... "Standard" reports that you had to copy type instead of just having them appear on your screen with a few keystrokes. I used to HATE standard reports to the point of tears!

Okay, my ranting and reminiscing is done for now.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. :)
Come back
That Alice was bad, bad, bad. Are you and "her" coming back tonight though?
I will back you up too

I was told the same about two years ago by recruiter in Midwest.  She did not give specifics, but basically said that the full time employees would get priority if the work was low. 


 


I wish they would come back!
No doubt Zipper, Chucky, MQLOVER, and Frankie Boy made this board alive - I would rather laugh in hysterics with their words than to listen to the same ol, same ol'!

By the way, admin confirmed it was not the same person posing as all of them!
You never go back
Truly - once you make the switch, it is absolutely impossible to switch back to a standard. Give yourself a couple of days is all.
I know .....been there....won't go back.
A person can only take so much hurt ......I keep my distance now. Family can hurt you the most because you love them the most. For me, it is easier and less hurtful to pull back and keep my distance. The less I know, the better off I am.

My children and I always were disregarded in a similar manner. We just see some family members on holidays. I tell my kids, mommy and daddy will always remember you and give you gifts...not to look elsewhere for them.

Be proud of your sons..they are real gentleman and not materialistic. It hurts, but guess what, they will be stronger for it.

Hugs and more hugs to you!
Yep, I would back off..
When she's 18, nothing you can do about it anyway. There are lots more important issues at this time of her life, and she sounds like a good kid! My 18-year-old graduated last year, and as soon as he did, he dyed his shoulder-length brown hair completely white and started dressing in all black. It never amounted to anything but an outward appearance, and he's a good kid, too! So try to keep it in if you can, Mom!
BACK-UP
I have a complete back up system of everything I use, computer, transcribers, foot pedal, etc.  When I buy a new one I keep the older one for back up.  Buy a new computer every three years.  It has come in handy when things happen as without them I make no money.  Also have a place I can go and work should I be without power.  That is just me. 
Back at Ya
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you also.

Better back then
Made way better back then. All used gross line count. Worked for smaller, friendlier services, had better dictators, thoroughly enjoyed work. Made approximately $50,000-$60,000 a year back then. Some days now even hate to touch it because of the way it has become.
going back...
As the other 2 posters said, finishing the dictation and then going back to listen to the blanks works best for me. Most of the time I can hear it then. If I'm really get uptight and frustrated with the job, I'll walk away for a minute or two and come back - sometimes just a "mini break" is all it takes.
really going back
remember the old belts before they even had cassettes? 1967-68 or thereabouts?
How far back do MT's actually go? sm

I have a 1936 medical dictionary that the hospital I used to work at was going to throw  out. It's leather bound, but the cover is missing. There is actually a section on using leeches for medical treatment.


Think about it. How far back does MT go? The docs used to write notes and then they had the nurses write the notes, but how far back does the first actual typewritten MT report go?  Did they hire someone to type while they talked to them. Someone posted below about an MT that sat in on autopsies to type the findings. Hmmmmm. Interesting.


The old doc I used to work for (with the typewriter) was from the old school and always did handwritten notes until the insurance companies required them either printed or typed. He reluctantly hired a Transcriptionist but this was in the mid-1980's and he was still grumbling about paying someone to type what he could write when I worked there in 1994.


I say run and run now!! Do not look back!
They pretend they are so great to work for, but then lie about pay and screw you over in so many other ways. PLease do not go there!!