CC2 - Repetetive Stress Injury (RSI)

I am proud to be an IT Professional. Are you an IT professional as me? ….. Great.

Are we all aware that we are in the clutches of Occupational Hazard RSI – The Repetitive Stress Injury as we are working in front of systems in IT Organizations day in and day out?

Today, I will explore and we will learn together what steps needs to be taken by each of us as preventive actions for not being bugged by this dreaded occupational hazard RSI.  

Good evening TMOD and fellow Toastmasters.

Toady each of us need to equip ourselves with the necessary ammunition to prevent us from bugging the effects of RSI.

Today we see that for more than a decade majority of us are aspiring to be IT professional knowing little about the side effects of RSI that we would be subjected to.

Three main effects of working on computer systems are:

1.       Musculoskeletal – These are commonly called as Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) and also referred to as Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD). They can show up as discomfort in your muscles or tendons and can occur in different parts of the body such as

a.       back,

b.      neck and shoulders and

c.       Arms and hands.

2.       Eyesight effects - By using computer we can have the following eye problems such as

a.       Blurred vision,

b.      Sore eyes &

c.       Headaches.

3.       Fatigue and Stress - aspects of workload and environment such as workload and work pressures may cause stress

a.       Stress leads to physical tension which in turn leads to fatigue

b.      A fatigued person is vulnerable to further stress

c.       …and therefore susceptible to problems arising from poor health due to stress.

Now let us look the causes of some of these problems:

RSI Signs and symptoms:

1.       Stiffness

2.       Aches

3.       Tingling

4.       Numbness

5.       Swelling

6.       Limited range of motion

What causes RSI?

1.       Computer Usage - How much you use the computer.

2.       Insufficient Breaks – whether you take enough breaks during the work time.

3.       Speed and Intensity - How intensely or quickly you work at the computer.

4.       Posture and Work Station (Ergonomics) – Your posture and ergonomics of your workstation setup.

5.       Discomfort - Previous problems with musculoskeletal or eye dis-comfort using the computer.

6.       Work Environment – your workload, work pressure and stress levels leading to:

1.       Job dissatisfaction

2.       Perception of your work load

3.       Perceived lack of support from your supervisor/manager

7.       Individual Factors – your age, physical fitness and personal health.

1.       Your overall health

2.       Your physical fitness level

3.       Medical conditions that affect your circulation such as diabetes or pregnancy

As observed, both work environment and individual factors play a key role in influencing the RSI.

In Summary, I would say that we need to take every step to ensure that we don’t get entangled in this RSI and keep good health.