Ending The Repetitive Strain And Pain Of Technology

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RSI Rates Are Increasing As A Result Of New Technology

Though RSI injuries are more common at work, the high adoption rates of these new computing and communication technologies in everyday life means that children and people without occupational risks of RSI are also suffering from such problems at an increasing rate. Add to that the massive popularity of video games and its not surprising to see that the numbers of children with RSI injuries has risen by 35% in the UK since 1999.

With the direct and indirect costs of Repetitive Strain Injuries to US employers being more than $100 billion annually as of 1996, well before the current trends in mobile working, the costs of these injuries present a serious challenge to public health. In Canada, Repetitive Strain Injuries account for more than 40% of all work-related injuries. In the Canadian population as a whole, 10% suffer from Repetitive Strain Injuries that limit physical activity. Clearly, action is required to reduce the health impacts of these technologies.

Conclusions

While the focus on RSI is primarily on education and prevention, education is an ongoing, resource-intensive activity that will have a hard time keeping up to the rates at which technology is advancing. Instead, technology design must take a greater focus on improving the use of technology, not just in terms of making something like an iPad with its sleek look and touch screen, but also taking into account the human-machine interface and the fact that while the computer is great at doing the same thing over and over, humans aren’t so much.

Do you suffer from RSI? How do you manage it? If so, please consider sharing your experiences (in short form), with others in the health forums.

Related Links

http://www.csp.org.uk/director/members/newsandanalysis/news.cfm?item_id=E5D4E98EBFFE07B4E99F1A35C1DC4285

http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2317

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Repetitive-Strain-Injury-RSI.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8854704

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1282577/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1951368

http://www.cio.com/article/381964/Microsoft_Repetitive_Strain_Injury_is_Costing_Businesseshttp://www.med.unc.edu/www/news/2010/august/protecting-your-back-neck-and-arms-from-laptop-itis

http://www.livescience.com/health/091116-texting-pain.html

http://cbs4.com/health/text.message.injuries.2.1471710.html

http://www.ergonomictimes.com/article.php?articleID=6&title=ThumbPain

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1547350/Consoles-harm-more-than-

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=SPEECHES&p_id=206

http://www.wsib.on.ca/wsib/wsibsite.nsf/LookupFiles/DownloadableFileMSDjhsc/$File/MSDJHSCReps.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14608793

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