Repetitive strain injury

Repetitive strain injury, also called repetitive stress injury or typing injury, is a tendon and nerve occupational overuse syndrome that occurs when a person makes too many of the same motions over a long period of time. It is most common among workers on assembly lines and among those who type frequently or use a computer mouse extensively. In either case, the chances of developing the disorder are lessened by good posture and ergonomic working conditions.

Injuries often considered RSI

Repetitive strain injury is not a specific disease but a loose group of other, more specific conditions. Some of these are

• Tendinitis
• Stenosing tenosynovitis
• Tenosynovitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• DeQuervain's syndrome
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Trigger finger/thumb
• Intersection syndrome
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS)

Warning signs

RSI conditions have many, varied symptons. Having some of the following can indicate onset of an RSI.

• Painful, sore, or cold hands
• Tingling, numbness or loss of sensation
• Difficulty using hands, buttoning clothing, putting gas in car etc.
• Lack of endurance, Weakness, Fatigue
• Frequent self-massage

Prevention

This section contains tips to prevent computer-related RSI problems.

• Do not rest your wrist on anything during typing.
• Hold your wrists straight, not bent up, down, or to the side.
• Use two hands to invoke multiple key combinations, instead of reaching for the keys with one hand.
• Eliminate the mouse as much as possible from your computer usage:
  • Learn to use keyboard shortcuts. Define your own shortcuts if the application allows it.
  • Consider turning on accessibility features (e.g. sticky keys).
  • Try to perform usually mouse-intensive tasks from the keyboard.
  • Use a browser which was designed with extensive keyboard accessibility in mind (for example, using the combination of "Find links" and "Spatial navigation" features of Opera an almost completely mouseless browsing experience is possible).
• Drink lots of water. This will both keep you hydrated and your joints healthier, and will cause you to take more frequent breaks.
• Learn to pay attention to your body. Using the computer is a mental task and there is a tendancy to ignore the body. Learn to pay attention to your posture. Be aware of pain and change your habits to prevent it.

References

• Sandra Peddie; The Repetitive Strain Injury Source Book; ISBN 0-7373-0022-1