One of the most common complaints from computers users involves their wrists, hands and arms. These types of injuries are often refered to as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI’s), Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTD's) or Musculoskeletal Injuries (MSI's).

The most well-known RSI is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), although there are many other RSI's that can occur from computer use. Other such injuries are: Tendinitis (Shoulder or Forearm), Tenosynovitis, and DeQuervains Syndrome.

What is RSI?

RSI stems from prolonged repetitive, forceful, or awkward hand movements.⁵

The statistics related to this injury are staggering. According to a Stats Canada report on Repetitive Strain Injury: "One out of every 10 Canadian adults had a repetitive strain injury (RSI) serious enough to limit their normal activities in 2000/01. ... In 2000/01, men and women were almost equally likely to report an RSI, although since 1996/97, the percentage of women sustaining such injuries rose faster than the percentage of men. For women, the increase was from 7.9% to 10.3%, compared with an increase from 8.2% to 9.9% for men.^"6 For further statistics visit the Balance Systems, Inc. Website.

Computer related causes of RSI:

Repetitive Strain injuries are often the result of repetitive motions while sitting at a computer using the keyboard or mouse. Harwin and Haynes in Health Computing write: “The more repetitive the task is, the more rapid and frequent are muscular contractions necessary to carry it out. Consequently, the likelihood of RSI from overuse increases. A task requiring a certain amount of muscle effort may present no risk at all until it is repeated over prolonged periods of time."⁷ Repetitive movements such as typing for hours or clicking on your mouse can cause tiny microscopic tears in your mucles and tendons, which due to injury contract and decrease your range of motion.⁸

RSI problems can be attributed to the following: poor posture, incorrect keyboard height, infrequent breaks, poor keyboard skills, and resting wrists on the desk or wrist pad.⁹ Mil Pascarelli, MD, notes that some corporations spend millions of dollars focusing on ergonomic setup to curb RSI. However, he notes that more important is the redesigning of jobs to provide a variety of tasks, which directly addresses the source of RSI.¹⁰

Symptoms of RSI:

• Joint or Muscle Pain
• Numbness
• Tingling in Fingers
• Loss of strength or flexibility

• Hand Stretches
• Micropauses and Full Breaks
• Correct Ergonomic Setup
• Education
• Variety in work tasks