Re: Helpful hints, and wrist problems

[Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU>]

Garret Romaine asked whether stronger wrists would lessen RSI.
I'm no expert, but this is what I know about RSI:

- wrist strengthening exercises probably won't help. Exercise breaks
  during long spells at the keyboard will help -- say, a few minutes
  every hour.
- poor posture is the main cause. A fast typist with good posture may
  never get RSI. A slow typist with poor posture probably will.
- posture includes how you sit, how you position your hands, and the
  relative height of your feet, upper thighs, bottom, hands, and monitor.
- activities other than typing can contribute to the problem. Examples:
  pegging clothes on a too-high washing line; having the ironing board
  too high. (What are you like as a housemate, Garret?)

  Generally, anything that involves repeated fine movements of the hand or
  fingers where the arms are held away from the body can add to a problem.
  Driving with one arm resting along the car door is another example.

This subject came up on the list last July. I saved a lot of excellent
practical advice to do with exercises, posture, glasses, equipment, and
so on. This is perfect material for our proposed techwr-l FAQ or FFDH.
Which reminds me, we're still looking for volunteers to help organise
and collate this FAQ. We have lots of material stored away and we have
a home for it. We just need to get it from one place to the other.

Regards
---
Stuart Burnfield (slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au)        Voice: +61 9 328 8288
Functional Software                     Fax:   +61 9 328 8616
PO Box 192
Leederville, Western Australia, 6903