Software to help prevent RSI
Community Forums/Developer Stations/Software to help prevent RSI
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| If anyone is interested in software to promote healthy computer use I've found a good title. It's called Work Pace. It monitors your keyboard and mouse use then suggests breaks when you're computer use becomes intense enough. Work Pace can be set for micro breaks, breaks on the hour, daily computer use limits, weekly computer use limits. Work Pace also leads you through exercises to help you relieve tension in your hands, arms, shoulders, neck and back. It even suggests you get up and drink water. (Something I forget to do all too often) Using this software can help prevent serious pain and frustration for heavy computer users. It's also good for helping recover from certain RSI injuries. For those interested, the web site can be found here: www.workpace.com There is a free 30 day trial available and the program costs $39 afterwards. |
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| workpace is not worth the money, try workrave (workrave.org) instead. |
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| Ergosensor is free, unfortunately it's only in Danish :) http://www.trygmedpc.dk/content/ergosensor/download/ A bit of Babelfishing might help you get it downloaded if you want it. (There are animated exercise describtions so don't worry if you don't understand the written explanation) |
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| Not to be left on whilst playing games, having your game sent down to minimize whilst a pop-up politely tells u to go have a cup of tea is NOT most welcome. I just have my irrational hate for computers and the fact my computer keeps crashing to make me have short brakes. |
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| If you want to avoid RSI - get a computer desk- I have never had any strains from 4 years of constant usage, |
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| The research suggests that RSI comes from keeping a static load on small muscles for long periods of time without giving them a chance at recovery. The Work Pace software reminds you to rest and relieve the static load to prevent exhaustion and subsequent injury. Whether you choose to use the Work Place solution or the free solution is really up to you. Awareness of the key problems is really important. And being able to monitor computer usage and modify unhealthy computer use habits is also valuable. |
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| workrave is also free and opensource. really, try it, it will make your life better. or not. |
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| Koekjesbaby, workrave is very good compared to work pace. The only thing work pace offers that I find valuable over workrave is the usage statistics. You get a lot of stats to help you see how you've been using the computer over time. Then you can use that info to help you create a better usage plan. However, the price is much better. GNU = Free. |
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| 22 years of computer use.. no RSI .. it's a myth that exists in peoples heads (and in certain 'experts' their wallets).. it's the same thing as the myth of getting blind from playing with your willy a lot. Tracer |
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| yeh, loads of people say that rsi is a myth, but everyone i've heard saying just that now suffers, ironically, from rsi terribly. although, not worrying about rsi and thus using your pc more relaxed is probably one way to prevent rsi (for while) |
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| Smoking works well... Get a 40 a day habbit. Once you're heavily addicted to them you'll need to keep leaving your desk and standing outside your office to have a smoke. Therefore you get your rest breaks for both eyes and hands. The downside of course is you'll probably die of cancer or a heart attack instead. Of course this would work with any highly addictive drug, so you could use Crack cocaine or Heroin. Disclaimer: This views expressed in the post are not serious. |
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| was about to post saying "ive never had RSI"... which was true now my hands are aching. |
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| within the last few days I've been getting very mild pain in my fingers and hands, I had wondered if it was RSI. I've been using computers for 24 or so years without issue (until now), the only thing I can think of that I've changed is my chair. |
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| Sometimes pain in your hands is due to you're posture. But it can also be due to work habits, and stress level, and diet and lots of other things. If you're hands are tired at the end of the day and/or you feel a throbbing sensation running up your forearm at night then you're showing some classic signs of RSI. RSI usually starts mildly and progresses to unbearable pain. Fortunately the medical community is getting better at diagnosing and treating RSIs. You could try out one of the pieces of software mentioned in this thread to see if it helps you. Or you could just wait out your pain to see if it becomes worse of better. My best advice is to make sure you see a doctor about your condition if it gets worse. |
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| My best advice is to make sure you see a doctor about your condition if it gets worse. Or just go see a sports injury massure, they're pretty much all trained up to deal with RSI as it's very similar to tennis elbow and the like, get a half-hour back, neck and shoulders and you'll feel much better, after a few disturbing popping noises at least. |
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| Just get a copy of Protean. It has RSI break alerts built in. Pretty cool! |
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| I made the request for a RSI alert in Protean. As far as I remember it's just a simple timer that reminds you to take a break every so often. It's RSI protection is not as comprehensive as the Work Pace or Workrave systems. |
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