Do I need an ergo or a doctor?

[QueenXenon]

I'm not sure if this is normal, but over the last few years I've noticed that while typing I develop weird uncomfortable pressure in my fingers and knuckles such that after a sentence or so I have to pull off the keyboard and crack all my digits.  Does this just mean I'm using the wrong type of keyboard, or should I see a specialist?

[hoggy]

Doesn't sound normal to me.  When you say weird, do you mean a feeling that's a cross between a mild electric shock and water running down your fingers?  Is it all of your fingers, or just 2 or 3?

What keyboard are you typing on now?

[hoggy]

Sorry, I'll try that again.  Go see your doctor.  It might not be anything.

[PointyFox]

Try stretching your fingers and only crack your fingers if you can do so with little force.

[QueenXenon]

Doesn't sound normal to me.  When you say weird, do you mean a feeling that's a cross between a mild electric shock and water running down your fingers?  Is it all of your fingers, or just 2 or 3?

I definitely wouldn't have described it in either of those ways, and it shows up in all fingers but my thumbs, not necessarily simultaneously.  It just feels like very localized pain, the same thing happens if i hold my hand on something vibrating (specifically my steering wheel over a bumpy road) but yea, I'll stretch them and talk to a doctor. 

[thadood]

It's a possibility it's from the angle of your wrists on the kb. Have you tried setting your hands on your desk where they would naturally fall (probably 2-3' gap in between your hands, opposite sides of your KB) and mimicking your typing for the amount of time that the pain would tend to crop up in?

I use to go to school down at USM - how's it down there these days?

[xmagusx]

I'm not sure if this is normal, but over the last few years I've noticed that while typing I develop weird uncomfortable pressure in my fingers and knuckles such that after a sentence or so I have to pull off the keyboard and crack all my digits.  Does this just mean I'm using the wrong type of keyboard, or should I see a specialist?

Unexpected biofeedback (pain, tingling, dizziness, uncontrollable laughter that persists over four hours) should definitely be discussed with a doctor. That said, there are very few people who type regularly who would not benefit from an ergonomic boost to their daily routines, so I would definitely suggest continuing to research available options to find out which ones are best suited to your use case. If nothing else, it will help pass the time between now and when you go to see the aforementioned doctor.

[Larken]

you should see a specialist, probably not just any doctor - general practitioners wouldn't be able to do anything for your beyond basic advice/pain pills.

[tp4tissue]

Yup, you need to see a specialist..

DO NOT go to a chiropractor.  They are not doctors, even if some of their knowledge overlap.

[Lanx]

second the chiro, they do NOT have MD at the end of their name, don't trust their advice, all they know how to do is to give you some very scientific tests, and schedule you to come and lie down once a week for the rest of your life, they don't even know what ergo is.

but i'd at least start with a different kind of switch, if you haven't already been using ergo cherries or light topres, you should try.