(MacBreakZ)

General Advice

1. You should always try to keep your hands warm while typing. If you work in a cold office you can get a pair of finger-less gloves to keep your hands warm.

2. Make sure that you breathe evenly and deeply while working. Many people tend to take only shallow breaths when concentrating and this can lead to tension in the neck and shoulder area. 

3. Make sure that you do take a walk during your breaks at least once an hour. Sitting in your chair for long uninterrupted spells makes your whole body tense up.

4. Organize your work day so that you can alternate between tasks which require computer use and other activities. If you need to use your computer for four hours a day for example, try to split them between the morning and the afternoon.

5. You should try to let the bigger muscles of the shoulder and arms do most of the work when you are using a computer. The smaller muscles and tendons of the hand and fingers are a lot more sensitive!

6. Drink plenty of liquid while you are working to re-hydrate your body. Coffee and tea actually de-hydrate the body!



Workstation Setup

1. Place the monitor so that the top of the monitor is level with your eyes. The monitor should be slightly inclined upwards.

2. If you have an adjustable chair, tilt it forwards so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees, and use the backrest to support your lower back.

3. Your upper arms and forearms should form a right angle when you type. You may need to adjust the height of your desk, chair and, if available, your keyboard tray to achieve this position.

4. Your feet should be flat on the ground while you are sitting.


Keyboard Technique

1. Keep your fingers curved while you are typing! All your fingers including your thumb should remain gently curved while you are typing.

2. DON'T bang the keys! Use only as much pressure as necessary. You can seriously damage your finger and wrist tendons by banging the keys.

3. DON'T rest your wrists while typing. Wrist rests are only there for resting your hands while you don't type. Resting your hands on the table or wrist rests puts your wrist into dorsi-flexion and leads to the tendons and nerves of the fingers rubbing against the carpal tunnel (the gap between your forearm bones) causing inflammation resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome!

4. Relax your thumb while typing! Some people tense their thumbs when they type to be "ready" to hit the space bar. This permanent tension in the thumbs can lead to tendonitis of the thumbs (De Quervarian's disease) and writer's cramp.

5. Use both hands for key combinations! When you need to hold down the shift, option/alt or control keys use both hands for the combinations. Using the same hand would overstretch your fingers.

6. Use CAPSLOCK to type in all capital letter words! Keeping the pressure on the shift key as you type acronyms or other all capital letters words puts unnecessary strain on your fingers!

7. Your hands should FLOAT over the keyboard when you type! Move your whole hand, using the large muscles of your elbow and shoulder, to reach far away keys. Don't stretch your fingers to reach keys! The delicate finger muscles and tendons are not as strong as your shoulder and arm muscles.



Fitness Tips

1. Strengthen your shoulders and arms. You should aim to use the large arm and shoulder muscles rather than the delicate finger and hands muscles for moving around the keyboard. It is therefore advisable to strengthen the larger muscles so that they can cope with the new demands put upon them. (Don't do any exercise if you are injured without consulting your doctor!)

2. Proper Stretching.  STOP immediately if you feel any ache and pain. Stretching should never hurt! If you are already injured, consult your doctor before engaging in any exercise.