Good news, guys! I don't have carpal tunnel. I just have weird joints. Apparently normal joints in hands and fingers bend about 60 degrees, and mine bend almost 90. Hooray.
On the plus side, no surgery needed! I just need to be careful and wear wrist braces while sleeping so I don't accidentally hold them weird. On the downside, I had to go through a nerve conduction study and EMG to find this out.
If you don't know what a nerve conduction study is, roughly speaking it's where they hook you up to electricity and shock you to see what happens. Yeah, science! No but seriously, I was really nervous and I hate the thought of pain so I tried to play it cool but not sure how well I fooled them. Even after they did one arm and I knew what to expect, my lower half kept trembling like a small neurotic dog.
But the shocks weren't even the worst part. The worst part was the EMG, which boiled down to STICKING A NEEDLE IN MY ARM MUSCLES AND HAVING ME MOVE IT AROUND TO LISTEN TO IT. I'm sure that's not exactly how it works but that was how it felt (plus, I've never felt so stupid as when reading medical wikipedia entries. I thought that was the dumbed down version?)
And then instead of going back to work I went home for the day because I felt sorry for myself.
But then I got to go shopping for some weird ergonomic pens! I love pens and pencils and office supplies and after some time browsing the internet, ordered some that would hopefully prevent my hands from cramping so much.
First up, the Ring Pen, $7.89
It comes with a cap, which is pretty awesome, and is a pen with a hole in it - you put your finger through the ring, and it helps with proper grip and also doesn't need much force to keep it steady. However, it's just too tall for my tiny hands! I don't have the control I want and I can't move my grip any closer, so it's not getting much use.
Ergo-Sof PenAgain, $4.95
This is the Ergo-Sof Pen-Again. I actually love this one! It's retractable and came with two ink refills. Instead of a ring, it's in a Y-shape with a groove down the top for comfort. It's actually very comfortable to use and I don't have to use a firm grip at all. This version is also coated with a soft silicone, making it very comfortable and helping my brain realize that it's
not going to just fall out of my hands if I don't grip it tightly.
I also bought the Twist n' Write Children's Pencil version, $6.99 for a 4-pack
I'm not going to lie, this one is my absolute favorite! Maybe it's just my small hands, but it's the most comfortable, I get to hold it right at the tip like I want to and I just twist the tip to put it away or get more lead. It has erasers on each side of the Y and they actually work really well! No smudging and definitely no annoying streaks. And I don't need a sharpener! The only downside to this one is after a little bit of writing the tip isn't as fine as I personally like - by no means dull or unreadable, but I can't rotate it like I would with a regular pencil. If it annoys me too much I just turn it over for a minute and kind of touch up the tip.
EZgrip Pen/Tool Grip, $2.99
For good measure, and because I'd just bought a pack of regular pencils, I got a pencil grip. Apparently the EzGrip company makes pens with this grip, but I like that I can put this grip on anything. There's a couple different ways you can hold it easily, and it has a big lip on one side - the idea is you only need to use that one finger to push. First finger...
Thumb...
Or the knuckle of your middle finger. When I'm bored at work I color with colored pencils, and this is perfect because it slides on and off easily without falling off, and I can rotate the pencil in my hand when it starts getting dull. It's also able to be used on things like an exacto knife, so I'm really happy with it. It lives up the the claim of only needing one finger of force to keep control (even though using it that way takes a bit of getting used to) and being able to shift my grip keeps me from cramping.
All in all, it was a fun experiment and those Twist n' Write pencils are my go-to writing utensil now - I keep one in my purse and a couple at work. If you're looking for a couple interesting pens, check 'em out!
