14 Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Prevention Tips
October 23, 2008 by kal
Filed under At Work Article, Featured
Most people do nearly all their work on a computer these days, but life with a keyboard can be dangerous to your health. According to Microsoft, RSI costs UK businesses around £300 million a year in lost productivity, and the European Trade Union Federation estimates that the condition affects nearly a third of workers in the EU, a figure that to me seems a little high. Published peer-reviewed studies put the overall incidence in the population at between five and ten percent, but for certain professions this can rise as high as 40 percent.
It is true that the condition has been met with controversy in the past, presumably because what we call RSI is actually an umbrella for a range of more specific occupation-induced injuries that can affect the hands, wrists, elbows, arms, shoulders and neck, and may affect tendons, synovial spaces in joints, or nerves.
Here are 14 simple steps to help prevent RSI
- Have a break every so often when using your computer. Every half hour or so, get up and walk around, get a drink of water, stretch whatever muscles are tight, and look out the window at a far off object (to rest your eyes). Only use the computer as much as you have to. Don’t email people when you could walk down the hall or pick up the phone and talk to them.
- Think about what you are going to write before you type to avoid unnecessary editting. Look something up in a book instead of searching the Web.
- Optimize workstation to reduce strain on your body. Make sure your monitor is directly in front of you, with the top of the screen at eye level. Make sure your keyboard and mouse are low enough to allow you to relax your shoulders.
- Sit up straight. Make sure your chair supports your spine in an erect position. Use good posture. If you can’t hold good posture, it probably means it’s time for you to take a break from typing. If you are perpetually struggling to maintain good posture, you probably need to adjust your workstation or chair, or develop some of the support muscles necessary for good posture. A towel roll at the base or your spine can provide significant support.
- Make sure you use proper technique, let your hands float above the keyboard when you type, and move your entire arm when moving your mouse or typing hard-to-reach keys, keeping the wrist joint straight at all times. This lets the big muscles in your arm, shoulder, and back do most of the work, instead of the smaller, weaker, and more vulnerable muscles in your hand and wrist.
- Pace yourself. Take a 5-to-10 minute break every 20 minutes and limit your overall time at the computer.
- Do appropriate upper-body strengthening and stretching exercises. Exercise regularly. Include strengthening, stretching, and aerobic exercises. Yoga and Pilates are especially effective.
- Stretch frequently while at the computer. You can refer to our At Work videos and follow some of the stretches that can be done at your desk.
- Do not continue working at the computer, or other hand-intensive activities if you are experiencing fatigue, or pain.
- Avoid using the mouse and trackball whenever possible. If at all possible use the keyboard instead.
- Don’t stretch for the hard-to-reach keys, e.g. BACKSPACE, ENTER, SHIFT, CONTROL… basically everything but the letters. Instead, move your entire hand so that you may press the desired key with ease.
- Use two hands to type combination key strokes, such as those involving the SHIFT and CONTROL keys.
- When writing, avoid gripping the pen, or pencil too tightly. If your pen or pencil requires you to press too hard, go and buy a new one.
- It is a good idea to rest your elbows and wrists when you are not typing.
As I continue to read about recommendations for preventing RSI, carpal tunnel and typing pain one tip that is never left out is, “Take a break folks”.
It seems so obvious and yet we all need to hear this bit of advice regularly. We get so engrossed with what we’re doing at the computer, it’s easy to forget to pause, get up to stretch and give our joints and muscles a break.
Great tips here. Thanks!
[...] a good list. The tips, while familiar, are worth being reminded of. Be sure to read the full article, as kal goes into more detail for most of the [...]