The Repetitive Strain Injury Recovery Book - Softcover

Deborah Quilter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802775144 ISBN 13: 9780802775146

Publisher: Walker Books, 1998

Synopsis

What do a pianist and a grocery checkout clerk have in common with a computer programmer? They continually repeat small hand movements that can cause Repetitive Strain Injury: disabling numbness, tingling or pain, mainly in the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, and neck. In fact, anyone who spends hours at a computer terminal risks developing carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and other disorders of the muscle, nerve and tendon! Deborah Quilter, who was diagnosed with RSI in 1991, has assembled the best RSI treatment advice, including:

• techniques to avoid further injury at work and at home
• medical, nonmedical, and natural healing therapies
• tips on dealing with depression and the anxiety of job insecurity
• personal stories of injury and successful rehabilitation

The Repetitive Strain Injury Recovery Book is an effective, inspiring blueprint to choosing the right treatment, managing RSI symptoms, and minimizing flare-ups.

• Over 15 million people have been diagnosed with RSI disorders.
• RSI accounts for over 60% of all work-related ailments.
• A leading health insurance company reported that the average cost of treating one RSI case is $100,000.
• Last December, a jury in a federal district court awarded close to $6 million to three plaintiffs whose RSI was attributed to using the computer manufacturer's keyboards.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates RSI has increased 800% over the past decade.

About this title

About the Author

Deborah Quilter is co-author of Repetitive Strain Injury: A Computer User's Guide (with Emil Pascarelli, M.D., John Wiley & Sons). She lives in New York City.

Robert E. Markison, M.D., is Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of California-San Francisco and co-director of Hand Surgery Service at Moffitt Hospital.

Reviews

Use of the hands is of crucial importance in daily life. This book explores the physical, psychological, and economic realities of long-term repetitive-strain injury (RSI) to the upper extremity, a topic on which Quilter conducts workshops and has published previously. A foreword by a hand surgeon claims that RSI is reaching epidemic proportions, due to "poor tool design and the increasingly repetitive nature of many jobs," particularly computer work. Since injury happens over months and years, it is often difficult to diagnose and treat, let alone find a practitioner able to help. Quilter charts the stages of injury, the often arduous paths to recovery, medical treatments available, self-help techniques (including relaxation and stress relief), proper posture and daily exercise, and how to protect the hands during home and work tasks. Ergonomic tips for common work-related situations, such as computer use, handwriting, and playing musical instruments, are covered. The author concludes with guidance on changing or creating careers. Penny Spokes

Because its initial symptoms are innocuous, "repetitive strain injury [RSI] starts with a whisper and ends with a scream." Quilter, a health writer with her own website on RSI, focuses here on self-care and successfully living with RSI by taking a holistic approach, advocating relaxation and overall fitness. She offers tips for saving one's hands during daily tasks, improving one's sex life, and going back to work, along with the usual recommendations on ergonomics. Although much space is devoted to computer usage, the author acknowledges other occupations and activities that contribute to or aggravate RSI. The epilog provides a unique and upbeat approach by describing RSI's "gifts." Narrower in focus than Emil Pascarelli and Quilter's earlier Repetitive Strain Injury (LJ 2/94) or Sandra Peddie's Repetitive Strain Injury Sourcebook (LJ 12/97), this work is recommended for libraries serving people already diagnosed with RSI.?Dixie Jones, Louisiana State Univ. Medical Ctr. Lib., Shreveport
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802775144
• ISBN 13: 9780802775146
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224