Predisposing Factors

Are you a workaholic? - You are most likely to get Repetitive Strain Injury if you are a maniacal worker. The RSI victims are serious detail oriented perfectionists. They love their work, hate to walk away from an unsolved problem, and think about work all the time.

How long have you been typing? - Age is not a factor in computer related RSI. It's the typing years that matter, combined with age. This highlights the possibility that the name cumulative trauma disorder may be accurate.

The aging factor - RSI is connective tissue that comprises your ligaments and fascia. Fascia is the sinewy material that covers muscles, nerves and just about everything. By some accounts the body dehydrates as it ages and the effect of this is more pronounced on connective tissue.

Sedentary lifestyle - Any amount of exercise and other physical activity is not enough to counteract the 8 hour daily dose of static computer posture. Maybe a physical active person would be a victim of RSI at a later stage than he/she would had he/she been less active.

Getting enough sleep? - Sleep is restorative. The most important part of sleep is that its 8 hours during which you are not typing. If you get enough sleep your shoulder muscles have the stamina to keep your upper torso from collapsing into the nerve network that innervates the arms.

Work station ergonomics - ergonomics means working in the most unstressed or neutral position. your neck should be comfortably supporting your head .your spine should be in a natural S-curve your arms touching the keyboard and mouse without reaching out, wrists unbent and fingers relaxed.

Disease -- medical history -- anatomy - These are the classic factors for inducing the typical computer related syndrome. Problems could stem from causes like genetics, hormone problems, diabetes, broken bones, and anatomical irregularities.