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By Vickie Nelson (vmn@oregon.uoregon.edu)
Computer-related injuries to nerves, muscles, and tendons--usually called repetitive stress injuries or RSIs--are an increasing problem for people who spend long hours at the keyboard or with a mouse.
The most-discussed RSI is carpal tunnel syndrome, damage to the median nerve at the wrist, but problems can occur anywhere from the neck and shoulders to the fingertips.
RSI is not an actual diagnosis. It's a term that refers to how an injury was caused, like the term "sports injury." Symptoms of RSI can include pain, tenderness, tingling, numbness, weakness, and clumsiness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, from annoying to career- and life-changing. A person with a severe RSI may experience difficulty turning a key, pushing a grocery cart, lifting a child, or opening a can of tuna fish.
Sitting at a desk and using a computer seems to be such a physically easy activity. How can it possibly hurt you? RSIs develop slowly, as Dr. Emil Pascarelli explains in his book on the subject. "Fine hand movements, repeated hour after hour, day after day, thousands upon thousands of times, eventually strain the muscles and tendons of the forearms, wrists, and fingers." Poor posture, improper setup of equipment, and using the keyboard or mouse for long uninterrupted periods of time help create the problem.
Fortunately, RSIs are preventable. Preventing RSIs involves adjusting equipment, work habits, and posture. Experts generally agree on the following precautions for both keeping yourself healthy and helping injuries to heal:
Key items include a desk and a chair that adjust to fit you, a keyboard three to five inches below the average 29-inch-high desk, a mouse at the same level as the keyboard, and a monitor screen 18 to 30 inches from your eyes. The monitor should also be low enough to allow you to see the top of the screen without tipping your head back. If you wear glasses, especially bifocals, you may need to get a pair specifically for computer use.
Sit with your feet flat on the floor (or on a foot rest), your thighs and forearms level or sloping gently downward, and your wrists straight, level, and not resting on anything as you type. Your head should be upright, supported on your spine--not poked forward toward the screen. The head-forward position contributes to many physical discomforts, including eyestrain, headache, and backaches as well as RSIs.
No matter how good your posture and how ergonomically correct your workstation, you need rests from constant computer use. Take several micro breaks an hour (micro breaks are breaks from the computer, not from working!). You could talk on the phone, read a document on paper, file, or sign letters--or simply stretch and breathe deeply for a few seconds. When you stop keyboarding for a moment to read the screen or speak to someone, don't leave your fingers tethered to the keyboard. Instead, turn your hands wrists up or on their sides on your lap.
In addition to micro breaks, take any longer breaks to which you're entitled. If you can squeeze in a walk or another physical activity, so much the better.
Voice dictation is another possible way to break long stretches of keyboarding.
If you experience pain from computer use that doesn't go away after a day or two of rest, you should see a doctor. For more computing health tips, see the list of resources on this page.
Repetitive Strain Injury: A Computer User's Guide by Emil Pascarelli and Deborah Quilter, Wiley, 1994. Generally regarded as the bible for advice for computer users, this book is available from bookstores and the Documents Room Library in the UO Computing Center.
The Computer User's Survival Guide by Joan Stigliani, O'Reilly, 1995. This excellent source of information includes clear diagrams of anatomy, stretches, postures, etc. Unfortunately no longer in print but available at the Documents Room Library in the UO Computing Center.
Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries: a Self-Care Program, by Sharon J. Butler, Advanced Press, 1995. Compendium of stretches targeted for specific problem areas and specific occupations. Includes a good discussion of proper stretching technique. $17.95 plus $4 Shipping. Call 1-800-909-9795 to order.
Sorehand Mailing List This is the forum for people who want to discuss RSIs. You'll find lots of advice--both good and bad, so judge carefully--on exercises, supplements, health care practitioners, ergonomic equipment, daily life, etc. To subscribe, send email to listserv@itssrv1.ucsf.edu In the body of the message put: subscribe sorehand Firstname Lastname. (Be prepared for lots of mail.)
misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated
This newsgroup publishes a highly regarded FAQ that covers the basics of RSIs succinctly. People send in questions to be answered by a panel of experts. There's also an unmoderated group that gets very little traffic.
http://www.tifaq.com/index.html
This well-organized site contains an abundance of information and links to other good sources of information on RSIs.
This office does ergonomic evaluations on request and lends some ergonomic input devices for people to try before buying. The office also trains people to do workstation evaluations within their own departments. A two-day training session may be held later this year. For more information, contact Kay Coots or Michelle Gillette at 346-3192.
Located in Knight Library, this student lab offers several adaptive technologies, including voice dictation products such as DragonDictate and Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Call James Bailey, the Adaptive Technology Access Advisor, at 346-1076 to arrange a demonstration of voice dictation.