The Full Stack Leader

Avoiding Repetitive Stress Injury

One of the reason’s I haven’t posted much to simpledream blog lately is overwork: several large web projects are under way here at simpledream. I haven’t had a free minute to think and write.

One issue I do have time to dwell on each day is repetitive stress injury (RSI). With 14-18 hour days working at the computer the last two weeks, my body is starting to feel it…I have tried to break at least 5 minutes every hour, but it doesn’t always work out well.

Today I saw a great article on avoiding RSI on Google’s blog. If you are working long hours at the keyboard and mouse, RSI is definitely an issue. The article gives some great tips for staying fit and healthy while pounding the keys.

Hopefully soon I’ll come up for air and get back to a normal workday. If you know of any other great tips on avoiding work-related stress, send them my way.

AUTHOR & TAGS

Lance Willett

3 responses to “Avoiding Repetitive Stress Injury”

  1. Paul Soto Avatar
    Paul Soto

    I just listened to a podcast on homenetworkhelp.info that informed me about this very thing. Check it out.
    http://www.homenetworkhelp.info/index.php?pg=podcast-2006-03-27

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  2. Natalie Fruciano Avatar
    Natalie Fruciano

    Hi Lance,
    I just stopped by on your site and saw this article. I have been dealing with this fun stuff for years. Things that really have helped me were:
    1. Turning on Sticky Keys. This allows me to activate shift or control and then move my whole hand to the next key. If I have to keep holding them down together my hand will start hurting from contorting my wrist.
    2. Getting a roller ball mouse. I found one that’s really comfortable for me and switched to using the right mouse button as the main button so I can hit it with both my ring and pink finger. The roller ball is in the middle so I can roll it with my index and middle fingers.
    3. I had a keyboard shelf installed so that I could type and mouse at the right height and put my screen up on an old Front page 98 book. The right chair also helps a lot.
    4. Working out has helped a lot also.
    5. I wear wrist splints at night because I found that sometimes I sleep with my wrists bent.

    I hope you find what works for you!

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  3. Lance Avatar
    Lance

    Paul, thanks for the link! I’ll check it out.

    Natalie, great advice, thanks! I agree that a good chair makes a big difference.

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