will england :: health : rsi informationwill england :: health : rsi informationDiscuss RSI What is RSI How Bad is RSI How do you Get RSI How do I prevent RSI What if I start to get RSI What is the Carpal Tunnel So, why does it hurt? What else can I do? More Info
Bulletin board about RSI and other workplace injuries
RSI stands for Repetitive Strain Injury. It's a catch all phrase, covering many symptoms, including tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, etc. Basically, if your hands or wrists hurt, lose feeling, tingle, burn, ache, or feel stiff, that's probably RSI.
RSI is potentially disabling. It can make typing, writing, eating, and even holding hands painful. It can last for many years, and you can get it in just a week, or even less.
The most common way to get RSI is too much typing with bad ergonomics. Writing or other repetitive activities can also cause RSI. For some people, RSI comes on suddenly. For others, it comes on gradually.
Take frequent rest breaks from typing, perhaps 1 or 2 minutes every 10 or 15 minutes. Do this even if you have something important due: when you are working long hours, it's more important than ever to rest periodically.
Type properly: don't rest your wrists while typing, but keep them floating above the keyboard. Don't rest your hand on a wrist rest: use it as a reminder to keep your hands up. Don't contort your hands to type key combinations like control, shift, or alt: instead, use the index finger of the opposite hand to type combinations. Don't rest your arms on arm rests while typing.
Set up your workstation properly Your arms should be at a 90 degree angle, or slightly more open. Your monitor should be at about eye level.
Stretch and exercise your hands, wrists, arms and upper back. Good stretches include the prayer stretch, where you press your hands together as if you were praying, and shaking your arms gently. But if you have any signs of RSI, don't exercise: this could make it worse. Go see a doctor.
If you feel signs of RSI: pain, numbness, or tingling, go see a doctor. If these symptoms come occasionally and go away quickly when you stop typing, try taking more breaks and improving your work station setup. Occasional pain could indicate a cumulative buildup of damage, and you should type in such a way you never have symptoms.
If your symptoms are more serious or persist, go back to your doctor. They may tell you to stop typing or writing. Listen to them, even though you probably have something important due (if you didn't, you probably wouldn't be working hard enough to get problems). If you don't listen, you could seriously and permanently injure yourself. Ask your teachers for extensions, or your supervisors for accommodations. Bring a note from your doctor.
The Carpal Tunnel is a passageway in which the nine flexor tendons, median nerve, arteries, and lymphatic vessels pass through in order to supply function and movement to the fingers and wrist. The Carpal Tunnel is lined by the carpal bones on the posterior surface (backside) of the wrist, and the transverse carpal ligament is positioned on the anterior (front side) of the wrist. The size of the carpal tunnel is about the size of the index finger in diameter, and the flexor tendons, arteries and nerves are expected to glide past each other with ease.
But in such a small, confined space, there is little room for error. If the tendon size increases from inflammation or hypertrophy (growth), or if the carpal tunnel size decreases because the weak extensor muscles cannot withstand the tremendous pull from the flexor muscles, the carpal bones will shift downward and into the carpal tunnel. Once this has happened, any form of repetitive flexion will cause friction of the flexor tendons against the carpal bones causing inflammation and irritation to the structures within the carpal tunnel. This domino effect causes the symptoms to continually increase until the pain and dysfunction of the hand becomes unbearable.
This is really *the* resource.
The RSI Network newsletter provides articles, product information, news, and other items of interest to the RSI community. Ten (10) monthly newsletter issues are published yearly – the Jun/Jul and Nov/Dec issues are combined. Newsletters can be read via e-mail, printed, or accessed from their website archive.
Brief brochure -- the title says is all
Thanks to them for the content above!
Great drawings, images, and a *huge* book list
In-depth medical information about many different forms of RSI
Sometimes, legal action is the only recourse left.
Over 24,000 hits, but perhaps you can find something there.
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Author: Will England (will@mylanders.com) Complaints? /dev/null
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Created March 7, 2002 :: Updated Thursday, September 06 2018 @ 01:18am