Explosive Growth in Incidences of Office Injuries Causing Worries

ArticleTeller.com—August 21, 2007   

The explosive growth of computers in the home means that more people are being sidelined with repetitive strain injuries (RSI), although exact numbers are not available. According to a three-year study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, about 20 percent of people who work primarily on computers suffer from RSI.

They spend millions of dollars each year searching for ergonomic devices that enable them to work without pain.

“There has been a complete lack of proper and authoritative research,” said Russell E. Windsor, M.D., who treats people with RSI at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "There has been little actual proper scientific research."

But incorrect seating, poor work regimes and appalling physical fitness can also play a role, which is why many experts often prescribe special exercises to help lessen the effects of long hours at the computer. "People who use computers are essentially upper-body athletes," Windsor said. "They are making hundreds of thousands of key strokes."