Typing furiously alot?

Working alot with the computer???

What's RSD?
Repetitive Stress Disorder occurs due to a gradual build up of the small amounts of bodily damage that occurs on a daily basis. The damage usually occurs due to repetitive motions and sustained postures of a fixed group of muscles.

For instance, regular activities such as typing, computer keyboarding, using a mouse (more so than typing), driving a car, operating a cash register and playing computer games can gradually lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

In RSD, it is not the physical force used that matters, but the amount of time your muscles and tendons spend under tension.

Repetitive hand action results in swollen tissues in your wrist, which can then compress adjoining blood vessels and nerves, leading to the irritation of nerves and reduced blood supply.



Prevent RSD

You do not have to wait till you actually begin to see symptoms of RSD. You can prevent repetitive injury by following these workstation tips:

~ Pay attention to your posture at all times. Do not work with your hands too close or too far from your body. Keep your eyes level with the screen.

~ Adjust the height of your chair so that your forearms are at the same level as the keyboard and you don't need to flex your wrists to type.

~ Do not rest your wrists on hard surfaces for long periods.

~ Avoid tight watchstraps or jewellery and clothes with tight elastic sleeves.

~ Take regular and frequent mini-breaks from using the computer keyboard.

~ Extend your arms out with palms facing out and fingers pointing up. Hold for a count of five. Straighten your wrists and relax your fingers.

Then make a tight fist with each hand. Bend your wrists down and count to five. Repeat these stretches eight to 10 times during each break.

~ Do not press on hard surfaces with the heel of your hand while rising from your seat.

~ Ergonomic (especially designed to suit the human anatomy and facilitate tasks without injury) keyboards are available; these can reduce the stress on your wrists.

~ A wrist rest on your mouse pad or a specially designed mouse might help, though the effectiveness of these measures has not been scientifically demonstrated.

~ Keep the mouse as close to the keyboard as possible and try to move it with your arm and not your wrist.

~ Lose weight if you are overweight.

In carpal tunnel syndrome, as in most ailments, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

This article is taken from the below website
http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/nov/22rsd.htm
it is written by:
Dr Roopa Nishi Viswanathan has an MBBS from KEM Hospital, Mumbai, with a Masters in Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin.