Repetitive Strain Injury: A Computer User's Guide

In this highly instructive and readable guide to health in the age of computers, Pascarelli, professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University and Cornell Medical Center, and Quilter, a health writer, explore the causes, symptoms and treatments of varied injuries stemming from prolonged computer keyboard work. RSI (repetitive strain injury) is the authors' catchword for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, tendinitis, epycondylitis (also called tennis elbow) and a slew of other potentially chronic conditions that render not just computer work but also driving, washing dishes, holding a phone and opening a book difficult, if not agonizing. The authors identify the factors contributing to RSI; emphasize preventive measures, such as upper-body exercises, stretches and the pacing of keyboard work; and insist that finding the right professional diagnosis and treatment is the basis for recovery. They also include names of RSI support groups, ergonomic catalogues and on-line newsgroups. Each chapter offers personal exercises and checklists along with countless anecdotes from commiserating RSI sufferers. If some readers find this work somewhat repetitive and alarmist--all too ready to proclaim RSI ``the occupational epidemic of the '90s'' and to attribute it to overly demanding office productivity standards--most will find it a consoling trove of practical advice. (Mar.)