Society for Technical Communication—Israel Chapter

On Thursday, February 28, 2002, the STC Israel Chapter marked the annual RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) Day for the third year. RSI includes ailments of the hands, neck, back, and eyes that may occur as a result of significant periods of computer use. Some of these ailments, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and computer vision syndrome, are serious injuries that can cause much damage to your body. Magic Software hosted the event; David Schor introduced the guest lecturer Zvika Katz, a physiotherapist, ergonomics consultant, and head of the Ergotime Institute. His presentation (in Hebrew) was titled Ergonomics in the Modern Office.

Spending long hours at the computer, you run the risk of syndromes known as:

• RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)
• CTD (Cumulative Trauma Disorder)

The harm is spread over a number of areas including neck, lower back, shoulders, and hands. The symptoms include pain, stiffness, weakness, and sensitivity. They can cause you not only discomfort at work, but also the loss of workdays. This lecture, which focused on how to "work healthy" at the computer, covered:

• Sitting, with all the problems it involves
• How headaches and neck pain are related to the workstation's setup
• How to design a "friendly" workspace
• Helpful exercises to do at work
• Good ideas for break time (besides coffee and food)
• Exercising after work (worn out though you may be)

Zvika Katz gave an excellent presentation, accompanied by view graphs, mostly photographs, that illustrated every point. He provided detailed advice for positioning office equipment, including computers, monitors, chairs, and keyboards, to enable office workers to sit properly at their desks and work stations and avoid injury to their musculo-skeletal system and nervous system. Some points were illustrated by comparing office work injuries to athletic injuries, e.g. tennis elbow and golf elbow. There were a few athletic tips. In additon, he described proper lighting practices to avoid injury to the eyes.

He explained stretching exercises to be performed during the course of a work day. The audience participated by performing most of the exercises.

Altogether, the presentation was enjoyable, informative, and useful.