Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to the muscles and nerves caused by repetitive motion, such as typing, and by awkward body positions during tasks. It affects the nerves, muscles and tendons in your hands and arms, causes pain through your arms, shoulders, neck and back. In an office setting, the most common form of RSI is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the wrists

Symptoms:

Pain is often the first indication of RSI and is often felt only during the movement, fading quickly when you stop. Other early warning signs may include muscle weakness, tingling, swelling, numbness, and burning.  If you feel repeated pain or other recurring muscle reaction, take the time to find out what is causing it. If not corrected, RSI will continue to worsen, increasing in pain and severity of injury. By making small changes at an early stage, you can prevent further injury and injury.

Prevention:

1. Correct your posture. Good posture in important for every part of your body – neck shoulders, back, hands, arms, wrists – whether sitting or standing. If you sit at a computer all day, find a good, ergonomic chair that supports you and helps you maintain “neutral” typing posture all day long. Adjust your chair to fit your body. Raise or lower the back rest to fit the curvature of your spine. If there is not enough back support, try using a rolled towel or adding additional lumbar support.
2. Adjust your work space. Stop reaching or straining, whether for your mouse, the phone, or your stapler; move your most commonly used items into easy reach. Next, to encourage good hand, arm and wrist posture, move your keyboard and mouse onto an adjustable keyboard tray. Your keyboard should rest about an inch or two above your lap, with a slight negative slope away from your body to reduce wrist strain and pressure.
3. Upgrade to an ergonomic keyboard. These keyboards are designed to promote good typing habits and proper hand posture. Try an ergonomic keyboard for a few weeks. There are numerous sizes and styles, and you may significantly benefit from a new hand position and a better fit. The split keyboard design is gently curved to fit the natural shape of your hands, alleviating muscle fatigue. The compact design of the mini keyboard minimizes the muscle movement required for each keystroke.
4. Practice good typing. Always keep your wrists straight and flat, never bent up or to the side; your arms and hands should form a straight line from your elbow, through your wrist and down to your middle finger. Next, don’t put any pressure directly on your wrists, or you risk agitating the sensitive carpal tunnel area. Instead, rest on the ball of your hand between keystrokes. Last, press the keys gently to reduce the strain your wrists.
5. Take a break. Stop what you are doing and give your muscles a break at least once an hour. This will reduce the excessive muscle work and repetitive motion that is straining the area. In addition to resting, slowly and gently stretch and move the sore areas to prevent stiffness in the muscles and joints.
6. Get medical attention. Pay attention your body’s signals of pain and discomfort and protect yourself from serious injury. If your pain and other symptoms continue or worsen, talk to your doctor about more drastic measures.

In early stages of repetitive strain injuries there are effective habit changes that can help reduce pain and prevent injury. Find a supportive ergonomic chair to help correct your body posture and relax your over-worked muscles. And upgrade to a well-positioned, ergonomic keyboard to promote good hand and wrist positions. Correcting your posture and resting your tired muscles is simple and effective to stop further injury.

Filed under: Category Uncategorized | Tags: carpal tunnel,ergonomic chair,ergonomic keyboard,keyboard tray,pain,repetitive stress injury,wrist pain by christy