“If you have a job without aggravations, you don’t have a job.” So said the American publisher, Malcolm S. Forbes. While it may be true that all jobs come with aggravations, no job has to come with the physical pain associated with repetitive stress injuries.

Repetitive stress injuries are part of a category of occupational injuries that occur when the human body performs the same physical task over and over. There’s a whole alphabet of acronyms that are used somewhat interchangeably to categorize these injuries:
 

· MSD (Musculoskeletal Disorders )
· UEMSD (Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorder)
· RMI (Repetitive Motion Injury )
· RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury)
· CTD (Cumulative Trauma Disorder )
· WRULD (Work Related Upper Limb Disorders)
· OOS (Occupational Overuse Syndrome)

The bottom line on all of these is that the soft tissues of the body can only take so much in terms of continuous irritation to one area. Although workers on all kinds of jobs can suffer from RSI, people who use computers are especially prone to them. So it’s important for those folks to know how they can stay healthy and pain free as they use technology on the job.
People may focus on the hand when it comes to preventing RSI, but every part of the body needs to be properly positioned. Starting with the feet. Dangling feet put a strain on the legs, neck, and back. Many people can’t rest their feet on the floor once their chairs are adjusted for keyboard use. The simple addition of a footrest is all it takes to relieve muscle tension. Footrests specifically designed for this purpose come in different heights. They have gripper feet, and a nonslip surface. So even if a person is, shall we say, a little vertically challenged, they can still sit comfortably.
Your mother was always telling you to sit up straight, right? Well, she knew what she was talking about. Poor posture in front of the computer makes for big problems farther down the road. You can look forward to pinched nerves, muscle spasms, and arthritis if you don’t straighten up. If the spine is aligned properly, the muscles have a chance to do their jobs efficiently. The muscles working in harmony mean none are overused while some are underused. The most common posture no-no? Slouching.

It’s no secret people carry tension in their shoulders. When you’re working at your computer, are you holding your shoulders up by your ears? If so, take a breath and let them relax. Your arms should hang by your side, not too outstretched. If necessary, add an arm support to your desk or chair. Ideally, your elbows should have about a 90 degree angle to them. And your work surface shouldn’t be too high. An inch or two below your elbows is best.
Nobody likes to sit in the first row at the movies. It’s too uncomfortable, craning your neck to see the screen. Check to see if you sit that way when you look at your monitor. The monitor should be positioned so that you look down slightly at it. And to make sure your neck is in the best position, the focal point on your screen should be somewhere between 1 degree and 60 degrees below horizontal. By the way, don’t forget to blink!
Malcolm Forbes may have had plenty of aggravations over the span of his career, but it’s certain he didn’t count RSI among them. If you incorporate these simple ergonomic principles into your computer use, neither will you.