Explosive Growth in Incidences of Office Injuries Causing Worries

The explosive growth of computers and the home means that more people are being sidelined with repetitive strain injuries, although exact numbers are not available. According to a three-year study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, about 20 percent of people who work primarily on computers suffer from RSI. They spend millions of dollars each year searching for ergonomic devices that enable them to work without pain.

“There has been a complete lack of proper and authoritative research” said Russell Windsor, who treats people with RSI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "There has been little actual proper scientific research."

But incorrect seating, poor work regimes and appalling physical fitness can also play a role, which is why many experts often prescribe special exercises to help lessen the effects of long hours at the computer. "People who use computers are essentially upper-body athletes," Windsor said. "They are making hundreds of thousands of key strokes."

While these movements may be small, they carry the risks and dangers of any athletic activity. "A shoulder or a thigh can take a great deal more use and abuse than can a tiny tendon in your hand," said Stephanie Brown, a concert pianist who is author of a method for preventing RSI from computer use, which is contained in "The Hand Book: Preventing Computer Injury." (Ergonomie;1993).

"Start with a good chair," Windsor said. "It should have as much adjustability as possible and be easy to" adjust. The chair should not be so long that it digs into the back of the legs, and the chair's height should be adjusted so that the feet can touch the floor without dangling, he said.

To help improve posture, make a simple adjustment to the keyboard. Slip a board, about three-quarters to one inch thick, beneath the lowest side of the keyboard. This provides a "negative" tilt, taking some strain off the wrists, and "it encourages you to sit up a little straighter," Windsor said.

"Sufferers of RSI can be aided by the correct climate with which to operate from at work." said Edward Rankin, Chief of Orthopaedic surgery at Providence Hospital in Washington and a spokesman for the American College of Orthopaedic Surgeons. "They could change the desk height, change the seat, use a foam wrist rest."

However there are certain experts out there who believe that the best way to treat RSI is keep the tendons supple and moving. "Tendons that move heal better," Windsor said. "They have to be able to remain supple."

By limiting how much hands and wrists move, "you can cause muscles to contract and tendons to shrink," he said. "People end up alleviating some of the pain, but they tend to put added stress on some of the other muscle groups. You really want a range of motion."

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