Preventing RSI?

conJunk asks: "How do you protect against RSI? I try to practice good typing habits, but without the aid of wrist splints, I tend to get cold wrists. The splints are great, but they slow down my typing by a fair bit. What do you all do?"

Comments

Sitting properly!

[MaestroSartori]

I know, sounds daft. But setting up your chair for *real* comfort as opposed to slouching, with a view to helping your wrists stay in the proper position.

Your chair should be high enough so that your feet naturally lay flat on the ground, and your thighs are perpendicular to your shins. If you have one of those annoying spring-backed chairs which let you lean way back, lock it all the way forward for support. Some chairs have adjustable back supports too, move them to the correct place (which I think is supporting the lower back).

At this point, sit up straight and reach your hands out in front of you to a comfortable position. Put the keyboard under them, with the mouse mat next to the keyboard. This should be a decent position for you to work from without straining anything.

A tip I've had from people who get back pains at work is to buy a really big exercise ball, and sit on that instead of a chair. You'll look stupid and people will mock you, but it really helps build up the lower back with all the unconscious movements you use to keep balanced on it. Of course, if your balance sucks you'll fall off and get mocked even more ;)