The New Plague

Most of us don't even realize the danger. We spend our evenings crouched on straight-backed chairs, shifting and twisting for some modicum of comfort, staring blearily at oddly-angled monitors and typing furiously on stress-enhancing keyboards. Our "breaks" from work too often consist of checking e-mail, surfing the Web or playing a quick round of solitaire or Quake. We ignore any fatigue or arm pain in favor of working late into the night to finish that last paper or problem set.

But as more and more of us become afflicted with serious cases of repetitive strain injuries (RSI), we reluctantly have to face the facts: RSI is a serious risk, and something needs to be done to avoid it.

Symptoms of RSI include aching, swelling, tingling and numbness in wrists and arms as well as decreased dexterity in the fingers. The most frequent cause of RSI, at least for college students, is excess work at computer stations--especially in our rooms and on our particularly damaging laptops. Ideally, monitors should be at eye-level and keyboards should be positioned so that the user can type comfortably with unbent wrists. Wrist pads for the keyboard and mouse can in fact hinder proper hand position, though the evidence is inconclusive. Trackball devices are recommended by some sufferers as healthier alternatives to the mouse. Some advise keeping your hands warm as a way to protect them against RSI. In addition to an ergonomically designed workstation, taking frequent breaks from typing--to stretch, walk around and alleviate the tension in wrists and arms--can help avoid RSI.

Education and tips for prevention are available from a number of sources at Harvard. Harvard RSI Action is a support group for people with RSI organized and run by students at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Have someone surf their web site for you at www.eecs.harvard.edu/rsi/. The page features tips on hand and arm stretches, varieties of ergonomic computer equipment and other resources. The Center for Wellness and Health Communication at University Health Services (UHS) offers physical and massage therapy for RSI sufferers as well as useful guides to proper work-station set-up and hand stretching exercises.

These plastic "Time Out For Busy Hands" guides were distributed to all members of the class of 2001 in September, according to UHS. This attempt at education was a step in the right direction, as is the health support available through UHS. These guides should be distributed to all undergraduates. Additionally, the University should take a more active role in helping its students, particularly high-risk groups such as computer science concentrators who spend upwards of 30 hours a week in front of their computers. UHS doctors should also be better-trained to deal with RSI issues.

The 10 ergonomic computer stations in the Science Center are useful for those of us who frequent the area, but the majority of Harvard students work in their rooms, at computers placed on desks too high for healthy typing position. The University should continue its replacement of the old desks in the houses with newer desks with pull-out keyboard drawers to put typists' hands at the right level. In addition to preventative measures, the University must make efforts to extend resources to the rapidly increasing number of students already afflicted with RSI.

Further, the extensive resources available at the College should be made more readily available through advertisements and information sessions. Efforts to educate students and prevent debilitating RSI must continue until this Gen X plague no longer seems to be spreading across campus at near-epidemic rates. Meanwhile, stop typing, stretch your wrists and walk away from your computer. The paper can wait.