Word: keyboard
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That's also when the trouble started. After typing on his computer keyboard for hours a day over several months, McCool developed excruciating pain in his hands; some mornings he would awake with his arms throbbing and burning. "The doctor told me to stop typing immediately," recalls McCool, 32. He hasn't written or edited a story on deadline since. Nor has he been able to clean house, carry heavy objects or play squash. He cannot even drive a car; controlling the steering wheel with his injured hands is impossible...
...hard to conceive how the gentle patter of fingers over a computer keyboard could do such damage. People have, after all, been typing for decades, and computers would seem to be an improvement over clunky ) typewriters. But word processors pose special problems. They allow workers to sit with their fingers flying across the keyboard at 240 strokes a minute for hours without a break. A typewriter, by contrast, forces workers to pause every so often to move the carriage or change the paper. The amount of time spent at the keyboard is critical: a study in Australia found that people...
Workers at computer stations may position their hands over the keyboard with the sensitive wrist cocked upward or downward, compressing the tendons, ligaments and nerves that run through its narrow confines. People working with typewriters are more likely to hold their hands suspended straight forward, the wrists flat. Old-style typewriter keys also generally have a certain amount of spring, while computer keys often strike against a hard, unforgiving base. "These simple things sound trivial, but they are not when you're locked into one position, working all day long," says Marvin Dainoff, director of the Center for Ergonomic Research...
...modern office has left many employees with little variation in their daily tasks. "Instead of running to the file cabinet to pull out information or going to the library, workers can do everything they need to by just sitting at the keyboard," says Silverstein. "They don't even have to get up to talk to each other. Now they have electronic messaging." Even today's phones with push buttons instead of dials strain the same tired tendons...
...traits and habits often influence who will develop RSI. A pioneer in treating the injuries, Dr. Emil Pascarelli, medical director of New York City's Miller Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, points out how very heavy people can get into trouble. For their hands to reach the keyboard, they have to maneuver their arms around their own girth, and wind up contorting their wrists inward. Double-jointedness can also be a risk factor. Smokers may have fewer injuries, thanks to their periodic breaks away from the terminal to satisfy nicotine cravings. And what goes on outside the office...