Repetitive Strain Injury, RSI, is used as a general term for a wide range of injuries to the hands, wrists, arms, elbows, shoulders, neck and back resulting from repetitive work. RSI is a progressive and long term condition which becomes worse the longer it goes unrecognised and untreated.

The main causes of RSI are due to:

• Intense keyboarding or mousing without sufficient breaks
• Bad posture and lack of knowledge of ergonomics in the workplace
• Not signaling the problem at the outset and working through the pain until the problem becomes permanent

Some of the main “solutions” or remedies provided to alleviate the problems of RSI are:

• Workplace assessments to ensure seating, posture and environment are correct
• Use of specialist mouse (nb there is no one best mouse for all RSI sufferers, depending on the location or extent of the injuries these can be anything from a touchpad, trackball, joystick etc.)
• Specialist keyboards
• Wrist Rests and Foot Rests where necessary to correct bad posture

ErgoEnterprise ErgoSentry ™

ErgoSentry™ is a tool that assists in workflow management and employee training.

ErgoSentry™ is used by companies to provide workspace education, computer-based training, and real-time ergonomic monitoring of all keyboard and mouse activity. This includes: monitoring computer usage patterns over time; and alerting users when to break high-risk trends in repetitive keyboard of mouse usage.

Less sophisticated software products only count keystrokes and / or measure time. ErgoSentry's unique, patented algorithms measure rest against work in real time. It provides a finely-tuned monitor of true computer usage as a function of time.

Employee support alerts (ESA) indicate when to take micro-breaks from keyboard and/or mouse activity. Special screens called ErgoPaks reinforce workstation setup, posture, stretching, and exercises. ErgoPak slides are interactive and customizable, making them a perfect tool for employee communication and training.