A typical RSI sufferer’s day June 30, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Career, Miscellaneous, RSI , add a comment
Some readers may not know what it’s like to suffer from a computer related RSI (repetitive strain injury). The following provides a small glimpse into my previous life on a typical day at the office in a full time well paid job with a continual workload.
My typical RSI day
7.00am wake up. RSI pain feels best right now having had a good sleep. May feel even better if I have remembered to wear my wrist brace over night. If I haven’t, then I may have tingling/pain and numbness in the hands and wrists before the day starts - not good! (stress level 0/10, pain level 1/10)
8.30am put wrist brace on to drive in traffic to job. Between busy driving conditions and thoughts of workload ahead, I’m starting to feel less relaxed. Arrive at work, on time, but a bit stressed after all that traffic! (stress level 2/10, pain level 2/10)
10.00am spent 1hr catching up on overnight emails, creating actions from them and replying to others (stress level 4/10, pain level 5/10)
11.00am spent most of mid morning working on latest priority work (maybe if I get this out of the way now, I’ll get to my real work this afternoon). Pretty absorbed in work, trying to (more…)
RSI and Job Performance June 11, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Career, Miscellaneous, RSI , add a commentPerformance v Endurance
If you are anything like I was, you are a good conscientious performer in your job. You may have been working extra hours to make sure you did a good job, you may also have worked evenings, weekends and even holidays. This is more often than not done to meet or exceed your goals, improve your chances of promotion and attain the related pay increases. It’s quite often the people who work hardest who are the most stressed in life, because they care about the quality of their work. They may often be the ones carrying the biggest workload, mainly because they are performing the best. This high pressure work may all be being conducted on a computer and therefore exposing the worker to some of the greatest risk factors for an onset of an RSI.
It would be interesting to do a poll of RSI sufferers in the industry and see how many correlated to previously ‘good’ performing employees, although reliable data may be very hard to obtain.
It’s an old cliche, but in your job you have to try to strike a good balance between (more…)
Text Messaging RSI Timebomb April 29, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Miscellaneous, RSI , add a comment
Just came across an old article on mobile phone texting and RSI from 2006. In the article it states that almost 4 million people in the UK are suffering from Repetitive Strain Injuries relating to using their mobile phones for texting.
The UK has a high rate of mobile phone use for texting (we are a nation of texting addicts!), and it is highly prevalent in the under 20 age group. Texting of course is the act of creating a text message on a small mobile device, with either a standard numeric phone pad with alphabetical letters encoded in the pad or a full mini sized keypad with a key for each letter/character. Irrespective of the key count that these small devices have, they all have something in common and that is very small repetitive motion of the fingers and mainly thumbs, in a very confined location.
I first encountered such a device in 2001 when I had my first text messaging pager with tiny full keypad. As an RSI sufferer back then, I was interested to see how it felt to use. Of course being a thumb typing device, it was easier for me to (more…)
RSI, Mind over Matter? April 9, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Miscellaneous, Ergonomics, RSI , 2 comments
During the course of my injury, I have frequently encountered opinions and references to RSI injuries being “all in the mind” (a reference to the sufferer somehow psychologically inducing RSI pain rather than there being an actual physical cause).
Addressing this idea seems to have worked for some people. Other people see the condition as solely a physical disability and treat it as such. I however prefer to believe that it is more than likely a merging of the two in a pain cycle that contributes to the worsening of such injuries.
The following is a list some of the physical and psychological factors with RSI injuries - (more…)
Forearm Extensor Muscle Overuse and RSI March 24, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Tips, Miscellaneous, RSI , 4 commentsRSI symptoms are very often the result of extremely tight (overused) forearm extensor muscles. These muscles are located in the upper forearm region. They are used to raise the wrist and fingers, which is the primary motion involved in unergonomic keyboard and mouse driven activities.
The symptoms have been described by a few physicians to me as tennis elbow like in nature. The tight and spasming extensor muscles and tendons end up being over used, and don’t get the chance to recover. This leaves them in a permanently fatigued state, tightly tensioning the forearm tendons to which the extensor muscles are attached, causing referred pain down the tight tendons into the hands and fingers.
You can do a check to see how fatigued your forearm extensor muscles are. Using your left hand to check your right forearm extensor muscles press down firmly with the thumb onto the upper forearm extensor muscles (see image below), move the position of the thumb slightly over these muscles and check for pain. Repeat the diagnosis with the left arm extensor muscles and your right thumb. (more…)
RSI - What to do? (Part 2 - RSI Dealing With Progressive Symptoms) March 20, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Tips, Ergonomics, RSI , add a commentThis is a follow on article from Part 1 which dealt with managing Initial RSI Symptoms.
The following is relevant if you have been experiencing RSI symptoms for a few months and they are now persistent in nature.
The rate of success in dealing with RSI symptoms is proportional to the speed that a sufferer can diagnose the causes of those symptoms, and their understanding of the corrective actions required to avoid further injury.
The onset time for RSI injuries can be fairly rapid (in my own case I went from having initial symptoms to intermediate symptoms within 3 to 4 months. It is therefore vital that sufferers glean RSI knowledge as fast as possible, try to understand the causes of their symptoms, and make the necessary adjustments to their working practices.
So the scenario for this article is of a worker who has had RSI symptoms for a few months, and is experiencing any of the following - (more…)
RSI - will workers ever listen? February 27, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Miscellaneous, Ergonomics, RSI , add a commentRSI is in the news again today with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy calling for employers to take RSI injuries more seriously. Among their recommendations are - regular breaks for workers, access to Occupational Health Specialists, and risk assessments for employees. All of these suggestions are great, and need to be seriously looked at since there appears to be a spiraling in the numbers of cases of RSI injuries. In the same article, according to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 115,00 new cases of RSI reported in the UK alone last year.
Coming from an office environment with a large employer, I have witnessed first hand how difficult it is to educate a workforce in the dangers of using a computer. Employers can spend vast sums of money on employee ergonomic education and can still make little impact on workers’ perceptions on computer use. (more…)
RSI - What to do? (Part 1 - RSI Initial Symptoms) February 14, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Tips, Ergonomics, RSI , add a commentIt can be a very confusing time for a computer user when they first experience RSI symptoms. The symptoms can often develop after a protracted period of intensified work, which may be ongoing. Initial injury symptoms can be very mild and will more than likely be ignored by the worker who will continue to work through them. This may be because the worker feels that the symptoms are very slight, and are manageable, or they may simply be confused about what those symptoms are. At this stage it is highly likely that the worker will not consult anyone about their symptoms eg an ergonomist, a company doctor, GP etc, and will more often than not want to avoid exposing their problem (however small) to their employer.
The danger with this is that, if symptoms are left unchecked, it can lead to their rapid worsening and the long march to a more debilitating (and difficult to treat) condition.
This need not be the case. There is a lot you can do at this early stage of RSI symptoms to help yourself.
How ‘Clicked Off’ Are You About Your Mouse? - mouse clicking alternatives and RSI February 4, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Input Devices, Tips, Miscellaneous, Ergonomics, RSI , add a commentThe act of a human clicking a mouse to control a computer has been around since the inception of window based GUI (Graphical User Interface) systems. Before GUI based systems were around, keyboards were the prominent way of user interaction with a computer. Mouse based systems were a leap forward in terms of computer usability, and have allowed a multitude of different graphical applications to be built around them.
The biggest problem with the invention of the mouse, and for that matter all current GUI based computer systems, is that they force a user to do a very repetitive motion that had up until their invention not been done before, ie the repetitive small movement of the index fingers to send a ‘click’ to the computer to say ‘do this’. Sometimes this repetitive task can be very intensive (depending on the application being used). This has over the last 15 years or so led to a large increase in cases of Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI).
So what alternatives to standard mouse ‘clicking’ exist right now for the computer user? (Note: the following is by no means an exhaustive list)
- keyboard short cuts
- voice recognition software
- foot pedal clicking
- graphics tablet/tablet PC pen “taps”
- software generated clicks
- touch screen monitors
Each of the above have their own set of positive as well as negative points. The following is a brief summary (more…)
Of Mice and Men - Mice and RSI January 23, 2008
Posted by alanf in : Input Devices, Tips, Ergonomics, RSI , 9 commentsI’ve had a rather unpleasant history with mouse use, culminating in the inability to use a bog standard mouse with either hand for more than 2-3 minutes before the onset of severe pain. This reaction has built up over many years of mouse (ab)usage, and I have a certain loathing for the devices now. It has to be said that many of the cheaper mice (normally the ones shipped by certain PC manufacturers) are some of the most unergonomic pieces of equipment available. Computer manufacturers have a lot to answer for having shipped us less than ergonomic mice with their computers for the last 20 years. Quite often an end user does not experience any other type of mouse apart from the one that ships with their computer system. Whilst these mice are designed with aesthetically pleasing features, their ergonomic qualities leave a lot to be desired. This can of course be tolerable if the user seldom uses the computer, but if they do use it a lot then it can ultimately lead to the onset of RSI type symptoms.
Having seen what manufacturers ship with their systems, I would be a proponent of legislation to ensure that the basic minimum mouse is an ergonomic one. (more…)