RSI - Repetitive Stress Injury

Pain in forearms and wrists from computer use

[Visit Thailand]

Some people in the office are complaining of pain in their wrists and forearms which presumably is coming from the way they use their computer.

Does anyone have any experience with this, and any suggestions for a solution.

At present the person in question uses the keyboard on the desk rather than the keyboard "drawer", and hits the keys pretty hard.

Any ideas ?

[Mardi_Gras]

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Having the keyboard too high can definitely contribute (results in sharp bend in the wrist).

I am not an expert. But I can tell you that:

A) Rest helps
B) Proper position helps
C) watch out for liability (don't know the law in Thailand - barely know it here :)).

[Marcia]

I have had very unpleasant personal experience with this that had a devastating effect on my life. It's very real.

First, I don't know how it is in your country, but see if Workers Compensation insurance is available, if you don't already have it, in order to provide medical coverage for your people for workplace related injuries.

Second, remember that the employees are human beings who can sustain painful injuries that could impact the quality of their life for the rest of their lives.

Bring in a qualified ergonomics consultant to evaluate and make recommendations, both for the employees' and the company's benefit as well. Insist that employees comply; it's to the detriment of all if they don't. It's also worth giving them the extra time to take a ten minute break for each hour worked to minimize strain and injury, in addition to modifying their work stations so that they're ergonomically healthy.

It's RSI - Repetitive Stress Injuries, and as Mardi_Gras pointed out, it involves carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis, as well as several other related conditions that affect different nerves and can also affect the shoulders, neck and part of the back.

Here are a couple of starting places to research and learn more about it:

The Harvard RSI Action Home Page [rsi.deas.harvard.edu]

And Computer Related Repetitive Stress Injury [engr.unl.edu] at the University of Nebraska.

Thanks for caring enough to ask, Visit_Thailand.

[Mardi_Gras]

Bring in a qualified ergonomics consultant to evaluate and make recommendations

Actually, my initial recommendation was to have the company's Workers Comp underwriter come in to evaluate the situation, but I deleted that, not knowing about Worker's Comp in Thailand. I should have included the recommendation anyway, and I am glad Marcia did.

The situation WON'T get better without addressing the underlying causes. And it can affect your employee's ability to earn a living if left untreated.

[martinibuster]

Keyboard on the desk is a big no-no. I know from experience. It's worth the $60 to spring for an adjustable keyboard holder: It demonstrates to your employee that they are valuable to you (which boosts morale and boosts productivity) and that you care about their health (ditto) plus it saves you money from downtime, sickpay, disability pay, temp worker pay, etc.
$60 is a no brainer.

Furthermore, look at the pens that they use: Are they the thin "el cheapo" pens or do you supply a thick barreled ergonomic pen? This makes a HUGE difference and I cannot stress it enough.

Lastly, look at the chair they sit in. Again, is it an "el cheapo" $30 office chair or is it a $90 ergo chair with adjustable arm rests? Again, that extra $60 dollars will save you and earn you so much more down the line, it more than pays for itself.

I work from home and have optimized my home office to avoid carpal tunnel. I'm on the pc all day long with no problem (except my pale complexion!)

[pendanticist]

A very good starting point is an ergo keyboard too.

Pendanticst.

[Visit Thailand]

Some brilliant ideas here. We were looking at the chairs today, and that seems to be one problem as they were too low and the desk too high. Strange though how some people are affected and not others.

You have given me some good pointers there, I really appreciate it. Thanks.

[Marcia]

There will probably be more coming, Visit_Thailand.

A couple of things I haven't seen much mention of are the "touch" of the keyboard and mouse.

I haven't had much success with the ergonomic types and generally find them awkward, but what I look for (and I need a new keyboard this week) is how lightly or heavily you have to press on the keys. Older keyboards sometimes loosen up, but with new ones there can be a subtle difference in the amount of pressure required for a keystroke and that can determine how much strain is put on the fingers, which of course travels up the muscles and nerves through the hand, wrist and arm, and can affect the shoulder without a person even realizing why. A light, easy touch is important.

For the mouse, it depends on how comfortable a particular person is with the shape. I personally prefer a small mouse so that the hand can be in a relaxed, natural position, as opposed to the "ergonomic" mouse that kept my wrist in a "twisted" position all day at that time.

With the mouse, touch is also very important because it's the same finger using it repeatedly, using the same set of nerves and muscles. The pressure is what stresses those, so what I look for in a mouse is one that operates quickly with the very lightest touch.

With any tools used, the basic principle is that, in addition to the angle of the knees, in using them the elbows should be kept at a 90 degree angle, which is the reason for the pull-out keyboard drawer. However, having to reach forward for the mouse all day will stress the shoulder and neck, so the mouse should also be reachable with that elbow angle as closely maintained as possible.

This isn't factual or medical, it's just my personal experience and preferences since having had the experience, and it's what I find works for me personally.

[martinibuster]

The mouse... That's a can of worms in itself. We could open up a new topic just about mice, i.e. What kind of mouse do you prefer? Trackball, mechanical, optical...

I myself use an optical trackball, it saves wear and tear on my shoulders.

[tedster]

I prefer a trackball - it eliminates the need for wrist motion completely.

However, I found that the "thumb" positioned ball, which was an improvement over a standard mouse, still caused me problems over time (at the base of the thumb!) For my anatomy, the best so far is a trackball that falls under the fingers.

I first got clued in to this style of trackball at a recording studio where the engineer must do LOTS of repetitive mouse actions to use ProTools (music production's equivalent of Photoshop). He swore that this was the way to go, so I tried it out - and I loved it.

I think that personal anatomy plays a big role here. In sports medicine there are certain joint tests that identify various potential liabilities - I'd bet the same thing would apply to "office medicine". Some wrists and fingers are built differently than others and have different liabilities.

Big message here - Marcia pointed in this direction - is take it seriously. I recently spent a week of essentially half days because of repetitive stress in my hand. I'm still not 100%. Right about now I'm wishing voice control was more workable.