There are a few key exercises that you should add to your daily exercise routine. The main one is called angel wings. Both my own physio and Dr Casparelli highly recommend it, it’s both a strenghtening exercise and a postural realignment exercise. Like a lot of the exercises you will find here, it’s much harder to do than it looks, depending on the state of your arms.

• Your feet should be a little bit apart and a few inches away from the wall
• Your shoulders should keep in contact with the wall
• Do three sets of 10 or a straight run of 30 if you can manage it
• Do a few times a day if you can. They’re easy to do in a bathroom cubicle
• I’m usually groaning with pain by 30 but see if more or less is more suitable to you
• It’s important to keep your shoulders horizontal, a mirror helps, or you can use the straight line from tiles on a wall.
• And no laughing at my video! (even if it does have a creepy anonymous mask.)

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.beatingrsi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/angelwings.swf" height="303" width="450" /]

(Video should have stop and play buttons, not showing up – I’m working on it)

A Lumbar roll is good for supporting your lower back, while keeping your spine in a natural position. Although it directly improves your posture it also acts as a gentle reminder to sit properly. I use the classic McKenzie Original Roll. The four inch one. It’s not very expensive and very worthwhile. You can get one at www.physiosupplies.ie or http://www.backshop.co.uk. Or have a look at some other lumbar rolls at the backcare warehouse.

It might seem a bit ironic for me to say so but when it comes to your health, or indeed many other subjects, the Web is no competition for a well researched book written by an expert in the field. And that’s exactly what Dr Pascarelli’s book is. My copy was printed in 2004 so some of the hardware and software is a bit dated but the medical advice isn’t. If you are having problems, then you really should educate yourself on what causes the various conditions under the RSI umbrella. The cost is a pittance compared to your health or indeed compared to what you may be forking out for the latest ergonmic input device. Here are the contents;

1. Understanding RSI
2. Getting the Diagnosis
3. RSI and Your Emotions
4. RSI and Your Eyes
5. Managing Pain
6. Your Lower Back
7. Physical and Occupational Therapy for RSI
8. Ergonomics: Making Your Equipment Fit
9. Biomechanics: Using Your Body
10. At Home with RSI
11. Getting Back to Work
12. RSI and Musicians
13. Other Causes of RSI
14. Beating RSI: A Five-Step Protection Plan

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

Mousetool is a total lifesaver. If you use a regular mouse and clicking hurts you, you need Mousetool. It takes a little bit of getting used to but it’s well worth persevering. It’s a small utility that clicks for you when you stop moving the mouse. For example, if you move the cursor to the back button in your browser, then mouse tool will click the button for you.

It’s well worth investigating the different setup options specially the Context Options, which instruct Mousetool to act differently in different programs. For example I have it set to disable when I’m using Word or Photoshop. It can get a bit messy when you’re trying to type.

I tend not to use Mousetool when I’m using a graphics tablet. I switch quite regularly between my graphics tablet and mouse. Regularly changing aspects of your setup and work practice can be another key to not overusing the same muscles and is another good way of beating RSI.

Download Mousetool (For PC)

Windows Accessibility is an option in control panel you never go near because you’re not disabled. Then one day you realise you are. If you’re on a PC, open the control panel and click on Accessibility Options. The option I find most useful is called Mousekeys.

Go to the mouse tab and turn on Mousekeys. What it does is turn your keypad into a mouse controller. So you can move your mouse with the arrows – but the main thing I really use it for is clicking the mouse with the number 5. Now and then you find yourself in a situation where you want to keep clicking the mouse without moving it, like a next button on a series of web pages. I’m sure you know that repetitive mouse clicking is really bad and key pressing is a lot easier, so this is where Mousekeys can be really useful.

Tip: Used in conjunction with a foot pedal you can click with your foot. More on that in another post.

The nodding dog is one exercise you really don’t want people to see you doing. It’s very silly looking but works really well for strenghtening your neck. If you get a sore neck either at the computer or while reading a book, do this exercise for about a minute every day.

• Nod your head up and down with small but fast movements (like a nodding dog in a car)
• Slowly turn your head all the way to the left, then all the way to the right while nodding
• Keep this up for less than a minute
• Do a few times a day if neccessary, maybe while you’re in the loo (but wait until you’re finished!)

Don’t forget everything in your body is connected. The position of your head and neck will effect the rest of your body. Therefore monitor height is very important. Most people have their monitors way too low causing your neck to be at a slight angle all day. The top of your screen (not top of monitor) should be level with your eyes, while you are sitting up straight. One sign that your monitor is set up properly is when people start commenting that “your monitor is at a weird height, that can’t be good for you!”. I am blessed and cursed with a biomechanical feedback system (I mean because I have severe RSI)… so if my monitor is at the wrong height, the pain in my neck will inform me very quickly.

Luckily, modern monitors have adjustable stands. But monitor stands and drawers aren’t that expensive. And old telephone books are free. You can see in my (dodgy cameraphone) photo that I use a drawer and the box that it came in.

A really good exercise for neck pain is the nodding dog.

We all know drinking plenty of water is good for you so that’s a bonus but this is a great trick for getting you away from your desk as much as possible. Drink lots and lots of water and you’ll be forced to go to the toilet frequently. Getting away from sitting in that same position for long stretches of time is very important.

Download Workrave from www.workrave.org. It’s free. Its great. Its a lifesaver. Workrave is highly customizable stretchbreak software. You can use micro breaks and longer breaks. You can use the animated stretches. I just use the micro breaks mostly. I crank it up or down depending on pain levels. At time of writing I have it set to make me take a break every 5 minutes for 25 seconds.

• Make sure you block the screen. Your eyes need a break too.
• Make sure you set it up so you can’t hit cancel.