List of repetitive strain injury software

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Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) are injuries to the body's muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, or nerves caused by repetitive movements [1] . Such injuries are more likely if the movements required force or were accompanied by vibrations, compression, hyperextension, or the maintenance of sustained positions. Prolonged use of computer equipment can result in upper limb disorders, notably in the wrist or the back [2] . RSIs are a subset of musculoskeletal disorders.

Contents

Below is a list of specialized software that is available to aid individuals in avoiding injury or manage current discomfort/injury associated with computer use.

Software categories

Software for RSIs generally addresses these functional categories:

Break reminders

This can be an important component for many users. Considerations for selecting a tool include the mechanism the tools use to decide when alerts to take a break are needed, how to take a break, and how flexible the tool is.

Many tools are simple timers (e.g., reminders to rest every 60 minutes). That may work well if a job requires constant and consistent computer work, but can be distracting if work is not constantly on the computer. Other tools consider natural rests and delay break suggestions accordingly. Some tools also consider patterns in activity and will suggest breaks sooner or later depending on activity. These tools can be less frustrating to people whose computer work is interspersed with other activities throughout the day.

The various mechanisms for reminding you to take a break can include visual and audio indicators, workflow limiters (e.g. popup windows, screen dimmers), and much more. The best tools allow you to select which of these mechanisms you want to use.

Flexibility is important since each person has different needs. Some tools have extensive customization capability that allows you to configure exactly how and when breaks will be suggested. Features to enforce breaks can also be helpful to people who want to take breaks but whose personalities are such that they have a hard time stopping work. Some tools have advanced features like the ability to block break suggestions during some activities (e.g., when showing a presentation, or in full-screen mode).

Activity mitigation

Applications with these tools seek to mitigate the impact of particular activities by either changing or reducing the associated exposure.

This could involve changing or reducing input device use, improving a user interface to reduce stress, speeding up a process to reduce the time a user needs to be at the computer, etc.

An example of a tool that changes the impact would be speech recognition. Speech recognition replaces keyboard (and sometimes mouse) input with vocal input. This type of solution can be very helpful for reducing some types of strain, but it's important to recognize that another significant strain may be created.

An example of a tool that reduces the impact would be a hotkey tool or automatic clicking tool. These tools ideally reduce the number of keystrokes and mouse clicks that a user needs to accomplish a particular task.

An example of a tool that reduces the impact would also be breathing scrolling. Breathing scrolling requires no mouse or keyboard for scrolling. It uses micro-phone to scroll websites.

A tip, in order to use the mouse less often in the software menus, is to learn the keyboard shortcuts.

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pointing device gesture</span>

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Repetitive strain injury</span> Medical condition

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Scroll Lock</span> Computer key

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    Keystroke logging, often referred to as keylogging or keyboard capturing, is the action of recording (logging) the keys struck on a keyboard, typically covertly, so that a person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored. Data can then be retrieved by the person operating the logging program. A keystroke recorder or keylogger can be either software or hardware.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer accessibility</span> Ability of a computer system to be used by all people

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphical widget</span> Element of interaction in a graphical user interface

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">AutoHotkey</span> Automation-focused scripting language for Windows

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    A voice-user interface (VUI) enables spoken human interaction with computers, using speech recognition to understand spoken commands and answer questions, and typically text to speech to play a reply. A voice command device is a device controlled with a voice user interface.

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto clicker</span> Program to automate clicking the mouse

    An auto clicker is a type of software or macro that can be used to automate the clicking of a mouse on a computer screen element. Some clickers can be triggered to repeat recorded input.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouse button</span> Electric switch on a computer mouse

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer keyboard</span> Data input device

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    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Interaction technique</span>

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    Session replay is the ability to replay a visitor's journey on a web site or within a mobile application or web application. Replay can include the user's view, user input, and logs of network events or console logs. Session replay is supposed to help improve customer experience and help identify obstacles in conversion processes on websites. However, it can also be used to study a website's usability, customer behavior, and the handling of customer service questions as the customer journey, with all interactions, can be replayed. Some organizations also use this capability to analyse fraudulent behavior on websites.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice Finger</span>

    Voice Finger is a software tool that enables users to control the mouse cursor and keyboard through speech recognition. Voice Finger improves on the default Windows Speech Recognition tools by reducing the number or length of voice commands required to carry out various tasks.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ergonomic hazard</span> Physical conditions that may pose a risk of injury

    Ergonomic hazards are physical conditions that may pose a risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system due to poor ergonomics. These hazards include awkward or static postures, high forces, repetitive motion, or short intervals between activities. The risk of injury is often magnified when multiple factors are present.

    References

    1. "Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): Causes, Symptoms & Treatment". Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
    2. lpcadmin (2011-11-21). "Repetitive strain injury amongst IT workers and computer users". London Pain Clinic. Retrieved 2024-05-10.