Keyboarding and Ergonomics
Improve your well being at work
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
Symptoms of RSI
Symptoms of RSI include...
- pain and aching
- stiffness
- throbbing
- tingling or numbness
- weakness
- cramp
Stages of Injury
Stage 1 (early symptoms): Stage one begins to put pain on the "sufferer" as they continue to repeat a particular action. Luckily for the sufferer, the symptoms may lessen if their muscles and affected tendons are given a break!
Stage 2 (later symptoms): If the condition isn't cared for, stage 1 will only begin to get worse. Stage 2 consists of swelling, redness, and muscle or joint stiffness. These symptoms could possibly last for months.
Stage 3 (severe symptoms): Severe symptoms of RSI are just as bad as they sound. The sufferer may not even be able to perform simple tasks at home, let alone continue to work. The sufferer could experience pain, weakness, and fatigue, even during sleep.
How to Prevent RSI (ergonomics)
- increase comfort
- prevent stress
- reduce risk of injury
- decrease fatigue
Ergonomics consider all of the physical stresses a job might possibly place on your joints, muscles, nerves, tendons, bones and so on. With a countless number of aspects, you can use a series of extremely specific steps to fit the workplace to you!
Office Exercises
- Chin tucks
- Neck rotations
- Neck side bends
- Neck forward bends
- Chest stretches
- Wrist extensions
- Wrist flexing
- Finger stretching
Fun Facts
- Sitting down all day is as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes?! Obviously, these 2 actions harm you in completely different ways, but researchers discovered that sitting 6-8 hours a day is just as unhealthy as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day!
- Sitting down all day makes you prone to heart attacks?! According to the research of scientists from the Pennington Biomedical Research center, people who sit down for most of the day are 54 percent more likely to die from a heart attack!
- Sitting down all day makes you more likely to contract diseases?! Research shows that sitting increases your chances of getting diabetes, heart problems, and even cancer.
Now you know! In short, you should not always sit down at a desk. Be sure to use ergonomics so that you don't strain yourself the next time you use your computer! And in this time and age, that "next time" will be coming really soon.
Works Cited
"Ergonomic Desks: Fun Facts on Sitting - NextDesk Blog." NextDesk Blog. N.p., 2013. Web. 09 May 2016. http://www.nextdesks.com/blog/ergonomic-desks-fun-facts-on-sitting/.
"OSH Answers Fact Sheets." Government of Canada, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/stretching.html.
"Ergonomics: What Is It?" Ergonomics: What Is It? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016. https://ehs.okstate.edu/modules/ergo/What.htm.
"Symptoms of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)." News-Medical.net. N.p., 2012. Web. 09 May 2016. http://www.news-medical.net/health/Symptoms-of-repetitive-strain-injury-(RSI).aspx
D. Roger and R. Hutchinson. "The Right Fit: Fitting the Workplace to you." PowerPoint presentation.