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For many years, repeated strain disorders have been the fastest growing category of occupational illness reported in surveys published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You may think that sitting at a keyboard all day is easy work, but it's not. If you were to stand up and do knee bends for eight hours every Monday through Friday, you can imagine how your leg muscles and joints would feel. It is no different for your arms, wrists, and hands.

Repetitive strain injuries, or RSIs, occur from repeated physical movements that do damage to tendons, nerves, muscles, and other soft body tissues. There are a number of RSIs associated with the hand and wrist. Tendonitis, bursitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are the most notorious RSIs among those who overuse the small muscles in the wrist and forearm.

The long thin muscles in the forearm are called the flexor and extensor muscles, and they actually originate at the elbow. Together with the median nerve, the tendons in our arms run down through the carpal tunnel at the wrist and out into the fingers.

With overuse of the small muscles in the hand and arm, the tendons in the wrist may become inflamed and swell. This is called tendonitis. If the tendons are swollen in the carpal tunnel, they can push against the median nerve, which can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you spend the majority of hours in your day using your hands, there are a few RSI symptoms to look out for. As with any inflammatory problem, the goal is to catch, and treat the problem early. Symptoms include:

Tightness, discomfort, stiffness, soreness or burning in your hands, wrists, fingers, forearms, or elbows.
Tingling, coldness, numbness in hands
Clumsiness/loss of strength or coordination in hands
Pain in the wrists or hands that wakes you up at night
Feeling a need to massage hands/wrists

Common Sense Tips For Hand and Arm Health
Good hand and arm position at the computer can help you to avoid pain in your forearms and hands.

Your body and the keyboard

Your chair should be at a height that allows you to type with your arms hanging in a 90 degree angle, shoulders relaxed, with elbows close to your sides
Neutral position: wrist and forearms should be in a comfortable, straight line, so that your wrist is not flexed or bent in any way

Wrist rest

The wrist rest is for wrist resting. Do not rest the tendons in your wrist on the rest as you type
The rest helps you maintain the wrist's straight, neutral position, with no torquing or bending of the wrist and hence the carpal tunnel
The rest should be padded without sharp or hard edges
The rest should be wide enough to support wrist and palm
The rest should be the same height as the front edge of your keyboard

Mouse technique

Don't grip your mouse all day. Hold it loosely, and like your fork and knife, put it down when you're not using it
Your mouse should be at a comfortable distance from the keyboard. Don't reach for your mouse
Try switching your mouse hand every other day
Be careful not to rest your wrist down on a hard surface while using your mouse
If you have mouse trouble, try a mouse ball. It uses the whole hand instead of just the finger extensors

Take a BREAK!
Taking breaks from repetitive muscle-use is essential in the prevention of RSIs.

Micro breaks
For every 10 minutes of typing, take a break for a few seconds. Look away from the computer, roll the shoulders or wrists, and take some deep breaths.

Mini breaks
For every ½ hour of typing, take a mini break, which is slightly longer than a micro break. Walk to the water cooler, walk down the hall, deliver a message by hand, or stand up and stretch.

Macro breaks
For every 1 hour of typing, you should take a 10-15 minute break. This does not mean you have to stop working. But think of some other things you can do. Plan your day so that your tasks are varied on the hour. Phone work, filing, whatever it is, it is important to give your small muscles a rest from the repetitive activity of typing.

Only you know when your body needs a break. Pay attention. Set a timer that will remind you that it's time for a macro-break every hour, and get colleagues involved so that you check each other. How long has it been since your last break?

If you feel 'funny'
If you feel 'funny' in your arms and hands, (numb or excessively fatigued or you feel the need to massage the forearms often) you may be on your way to a chronic problem, and it is time to take stock of your work environment and habits, and make the necessary changes to prevent further injury.

First aid
If you are having discomfort in your arms or hands, the first thing you can do to reduce inflammation is to ice the flexor and extensor muscles in your arms. You can use regular ice or even a cold can of soda.

Take care of yourself
There are many types of RSIs that strike the arms and hands. If you feel any of the symptoms listed above, it is time to visit your doctor. There are a number of available treatment options, ranging from rest to surgery, which depend on the severity of your disease. Make sure you ask your doctor about all possibilities so you can determine what the best option is for you.

The moral of the story is, take care of your arms, wrists, and hands. They are amazing tools, and are easily abused in this age of intense computer work. Only you can recognize your body's warning signals and take action to prevent repetitive strain injury. Keep stretching, exercising and resting your hands. They're worth it.