Repetitive strain injury (RSI) (also known as repetitive stress injury, repetitive motion injuries, repetitive motion disorder (RMD), cumulative trauma disorder (CT), occupational overuse syndrome, overuse syndrome, regional musculoskeletal disorder) is an injury of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems that may be caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression (pressing against hard surfaces), or sustained or awkward positions. Different sections of this article present contrasting perspectives regarding the causes of RSI.
Types of RSIs that affect computer users may include non-specific arm pain or work related upper limb disorder (WRULD). Conditions such as RSI tend to be associated with both physical and psychosocial stressors.
Causes
RSI is believed by many to be caused due to lifestyle without ergonomic care[citation needed], E.g. While working in front of computers, driving, traveling etc. Simple reasons like 'Using a blunt knife for everyday chopping of vegetables', may cause RSI.Other typical habits that some sources believe lead to RSI:[citation needed]
- Reading or doing tasks for extended periods of time while looking down.
- Sleeping on an inadequate bed/mattress or sitting in a bad armchair and/or in an uncomfortable position.
- Carrying heavy items.
- Holding one's phone between neck and shoulder.
- Watching TV in incorrect position e.g. Too much to the left/right.
- Sleeping with head forward, while traveling.
- Prolonged use of the hands, wrists, back, neck, etc.
Treatment
On their own, most RSIs will resolve spontaneously provided the area is first given enough rest when the RSI first begins. However, without such care, some RSIs have been known to persist for years, or have needed to be cured with surgery.The most often prescribed treatments for repetitive strain injuries are rest, exercise, braces and massage. A variety of medical products also are available to augment these therapies. Since the computer workstation is frequently blamed for RSIs, particularly of the hand and wrist, ergonomic adjustments of the workstation are often recommended.
Ergonomics
Modifications of posture and arm use (ergonomics) are often recommended.[6]
Exercise
Exercise decreases the risk of developing RSI.- Doctors sometimes recommend that RSI sufferers engage in specific strengthening exercises, for example to improve posture.
- In light of the fact that a lifestyle that involves sitting at a computer for extended periods of time increases the probability that an individual will develop excessive kyphosis, theoretically the same exercises that are prescribed for thoracic outlet syndrome or kyphotic postural correction would benefit an RSI sufferer.
- Some sources recommend motoric exercises and ergo-aerobics to decrease chances of strain injury. Ergo-aerobics target touch typists and people who often use computer keyboard.
Adaptive hardware
Adaptive technology ranging from special keyboards, mouse replacements to pen tablet interfaces might help improve comfort.Mouse
Switching to a much more ergonomic mouse, such as a roller mouse, vertical mouse or joystick, or switching from using a mouse to a stylus pen with graphic tablet may provide relief, but in chronic RSI they may result only in moving the problem to another area. Using a graphic tablet for general pointing, clicking, and dragging (i.e. not drawing) may take some time to get used to as well. Switching to a trackpad or pointing stick, which requires no gripping or tensing of the muscles in the arms may help as well. Inertial mice (which do not require a surface to operate) might offer an alternative where the user's arm is in a less stressful thumbs up position rather than rotated to thumb inward when holding a normal mouse. Also, since they do not need a surface to operate ("air mice" function by small, forceless, wrist rotations), the wrist and arm can be supported by the desktop.Keyboards and keyboard alternatives
Exotic keyboards by manufacturers such as Datahand, OrbiTouch, Maltron and Kinesis are available. Also one can use digital pens to avoid the strain coming from typing itself. Other solutions move the mode of input from one's hands entirely. These include the use of voice recognition software or pedals designed for ergonomics and gaming to supplant normal keyboard input.Adaptive software
Main article: List of Repetitive Strain Injury software
There are several kinds of software designed to help in Repetitive Strain Injury. Among them, there are speech recognition software, and break timers. Break timers software reminds the user to pause frequently and perform exercises while working behind a computer. There is also automated mouse-clicking software that has been developed, which can automate repetitive tasks in games and applications.Instant Boss will time your work/break cycles, reminding you when to work and when to take a break.
The defaults are 10 minutes of work, 2 minutes of break, and this is repeated 5 times for a total of 1 hour.
These values can be changed to suit your needs. Instant Boss will remember the values you used during your last session.
Start by entering in the values you desire:
In the statusbar you can see where in your work cycle you are, followed by how long you have worked this session, followed by how long you have worked since you started using Instant Boss.
Instant Boss will tell you when it is time to take a break. You will have the choice to keep working a little longer, take your break now, or skip your break and begin next work period.
For power users, there are command line parameters you can use to preset the values when you run Instant Boss.
The defaults are 10 minutes of work, 2 minutes of break, and this is repeated 5 times for a total of 1 hour.
These values can be changed to suit your needs. Instant Boss will remember the values you used during your last session.
Start by entering in the values you desire:
- The first box is for how long you want to work.
- The second box is for how long you want your breaks.
- The third box is for how many times you want to repeat this cycle.
| Click Apply to set the new values. |  |
| Click Work to begin. |  |
Instant Boss will tell you when it is time to take a break. You will have the choice to keep working a little longer, take your break now, or skip your break and begin next work period.
At the end of your break period, you will be told to get back to work and offered a few choices.
- If you decide to take a break now, it will begin your break period.
- If you decide to work a little longer, it will count up and add this to your total work time. You can then decide when to take a break by clicking the take a break button.
- If you decide to skip your break, it will begin the next word period in the cycle.
- If you decide to work, the work timer will begin.
- If you decide to take a longer break, it will extend your break by 50%, and remind you again when your time is up, to get back to work.
- If you click cancel, you will have to start work manually by clicking the work button again.
| There is a pause button in case you are interrupted by phone calls or other things that need your attention. This can be used during both work or break periods. |  |
| The reset button...use with caution. This will stop all timers and reset everything to default values of 10-2-5 so that you may begin again. It will not reset how long you have worked today, nor the total time you have worked since you started using the Instant Boss program. |  |
 | Clicking the X to close the program will result in it being minimized to the system tray. The only way to exit is through the right click menu on the tray icon. All of the button options also appear on that menu. |
Example:You can either use this from the Windows Run dialog or use it as shortcut targets. The numbers correspond with work-break-repeat, in that order. Please use only numbers, no letters.
"C:\Program Files\Instant Boss\InstantBoss.exe" 60 15 3
(there is a space after the last quote and a space between each number)
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