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Computer-Related Repetitive Stress Injuries

Whether it's typing a school report or surfing the Internet, your child may be spending lots of hours at the computer. By learning about the causes and prevention of repetitive stress injuries now, you can protect your child from future injury.

What Are Repetitive Stress Injuries?
Repetitive stress injuries (RSI) are a group of conditions generally caused by placing too much stress on a joint, and they vary in type and severity. Most repetitive stress injuries are linked to the stress of repetitive motions at the computer or overuse injuries in sports. RSI in kids may occur from heavy computer or video game use, playing musical instruments, or the repetitive motion of sports such as tennis. RSI occurs when stress is placed on a joint, pulling on the tendons and muscles around the joint. When the stress occurs repeatedly, the body does not have time to recover and becomes irritated. The body reacts to the irritation by increasing the amount of fluid in that area to reduce the stress placed on the tendon or muscle.

Conditions that occur as the result of repetitive stress injuries include the following.

Conditions that occur as the result of repetitive stress injuries include the following.

• Carpal tunnel syndrome: swelling inside a narrow "tunnel" formed by bone and ligament in the wrist; the tunnel surrounds nerves that conduct sensory and motor impulses to and from the hand, leading to pain, tingling, and numbness
• Cervical radiculopathy: disk compression in the neck, often caused by repetitive cradling of a phone on the shoulder
• Epicondylitis: elbow soreness often known as "tennis elbow"
• Ganglion cyst: swelling or lump in the wrist resulting from jelly- like substance that has leaked from a joint or tendon sheath
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy: a condition characterized by dry, swollen hands and loss of muscle control; consistently painful
• Tendonitis: tearing and inflammation of tendons connecting bones to muscles

Fortunately, only a small percentage of kids have RSI. You can help prevent RSI by taking preventive measures and redesigning your home computer environment so that it fits your child.

Preventing Repetitive Stress Injuries
By taking some easy preventive measures, you can help your child avoid repetitive stress injuries altogether. One important step you can take to prevent RSI is to remind your child to sit straight in the chair. Slouching or crouching over the keyboard can place undue stress upon your child's neck, back, or spine and this can lead to a repetitive stress injury. In addition, help your child avoid tensing her shoulders. Legs should be positioned comfortably and feet should be flat on the floor or on a footrest with the legs and hips perpendicular (between 90 and 100 degrees) relative to the spine.

Remind your child that pounding on the keyboard is unnecessary and can hurt both her and the keyboard! Using a light touch to type is best. Also, be sure that your child isn't reaching for the keys; if so, the keyboard should be moved closer to her. In addition, your child should maintain a 90-degree angle between the wrists and elbows and the upper part of her arms. Fingers and wrists should remain level while typing.

Taking frequent breaks is also an important step in preventing repetitive stress injuries. Your child may lose track of time and forget to take breaks, so it's your job to make sure she rests her eyes, back, wrists, and neck every half hour or so. Stretching, getting a snack or a drink, or a fun physical activity like walking or taking a bike ride can help your child avoid future pain. Eye twitching; sore, tired, burning, itching, or dry eyes; blurred or double vision; and increased sensitivity to light are all symptoms of eyestrain, so tell your child to look away from the computer and focus on something far away every once in a while. Proper lighting of the workspace will also help to prevent eyestrain.

Finally, you can help your child avoid RSI by setting a good example. If you stare at a computer screen in dim lighting for hours without taking a break, your child will get the message that it's OK to abuse your body. Set a good example, and your child will follow your ergonomically correct lead. By informing your child of the dangers of incorrect posture and positioning, you can keep her aware of avoiding RSI. Many times, repetitive stress injury is caused by using the wrong tool for the job. Because most computer systems are designed for the body of a 25-year-old man, you can help your child avoid repetitive stress injuries by fitting the tools, such as chairs, monitors, input devices, and keyboards, to your child's size. Getting Ergonomic

Proper computer placement, correct typing and sitting positions, and well- designed furniture will make your child's computer environment ergonomic (which means to make equipment use less fatiguing and uncomfortable) and prevent future injuries.

"In computer usage - as with other equipment - the goal is to decrease both force and repetition, to ensure adequate rest breaks, and to achieve good positioning and good support," says Janice Trope, a certified hand therapist and ergonomic consultant.

Computer furniture can prove to be an ergonomic hazard if it does not adjust to promote good posture and hand positions. Don't put your new computer on a discarded desk with an old kitchen chair pulled up to it because these products don't give proper support to you or your child. "You want the maximum adjustability in the set-up - from the desk and chair height to the position of the keyboard relative to the elbows and trunk to the height of the monitor. This is necessary because kids come in all different heights and sizes," Trope says