Repetitive strain injury prevention

The following applies to typing or computer use. RSI is best prevented in its early stages before it becomes difficult to control.

• Pay attention to pain and fatigue. Stop using the computer if you begin to feel symptoms.
• Pay attention to posture. The head and back should form a straight line from the ears to the pelvis. The shoulders and head should not be hunched forward.
• Take regular breaks. One option is to install reminder software.
• Avoid resting the wrists on anything when typing. Hold them straight, rather than bent up, down, or to the side.
• Keep in good shape and do regular aerobic exercise. This will help improve strength and bloodflow in the affected muscles.
• Learn a systematic muscle-relaxation technique such as diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation to help keep neck and shoulder muscles relaxed.
• Trigger finger/thumb
• Intersection syndrome
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS)

Note that there are various other recommendations (for example, drink a lot of water), but the above are the main approaches recommended by almost all experts.

Treatment

If RSI symptoms have already appeared, there are further methods of treatment which should be used in addition to the above preventative techniques.

• The sufferer should gather as much information as possible on their disorder. RSI healing generally cannot be achieved solely by medical professionals and requires active participation by the patient over a period of several months. The more the patient understands, the more likely it is that treatment will be effective.
• Biofeedback can be used to reduce stress-related muscle tension in the muscles of the neck and shoulders.
• Massage treatment (for acute pain and nerve trigger points). This is best admistered by a trained therapist but self-massage is also sometimes helpful.
• Stretches (for less acute pain and general maintainance).
• Strengthening exercises (to improve posture and reduce fatigue in the long term).
• Surgery. This should only be used as a last resort; it is not always effective, and the above methods have been known heal even some very serious RSI conditions provided they are properly applied.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Repetitive Strain Injury"