List of repetitive strain injury software
The term repetitive strain injury (RSI) refers to injuries that result from repetitive activities. However, this article uses the term to refer to what would more appropriately be generally termed, injuries associated with computer use.
Research on these injuries suggests the main causative factors to include:
- Repetition
- Long exposure periods
- Psycho-social factors
- Individual physiological factors
- Sub-optimal workstation ergonomics & body positioning
The relative ranking of how important each of these factors is, is still relatively controversial. Other articles may address this more directly.
This article discusses and lists specialized software that is available to aid individuals avoid injury or manage current discomfort/injury associated with computer use. Although the list is not complete, it does include several applications that have been in use for 10+ years.
Software categories
Software solutions generally address 1 or more of these functional categories:
- Break reminder – Some tools remind you to take breaks based on factors like elapsed time, how much/intensely you are working, natural rest patterns, times of day, and more.
- Activity Mitigation – Some tools let you reduce the amount you need to type or mouse (e.g. voice recognition tools, automatic clicking tools, hotkey/macro tools).
- Tracking – Some tools track information like how long you work each day, break-taking patterns, repetitions (e.g. keystrokes, mouseclicks). Some tools have much more sophisticated statistics, including predictive risk assessments based on fairly sophisticated and research-based methodologies. Some tools also include discomfort assessments and reporting tools to help you find associative patterns between objectively collected statistics and subjectively reported discomfort information.
- Networking – Some tools are able to handle multiple-computer use (e.g. for profiles settings or for aggregating usage statistics) via networked data, including the ability to handle intermittent connectivity.
- Training – Some tools include a training component with information on topics including: workstation setup, body positioning, work-efficiency tips, psycho-social information, and more.
Break reminders
This can be an important component for many users. Considerations for selecting a tool include the mechanism the tools uses to decide when to alert you to take a break, how it tells you to take a break, and how flexibly the tool can meet your particular needs.
Many tools are simple timers (e.g. remind me to rest every 60 minutes). That may work well if your job requires constant and consistent computer work, but can be irritating if you don't work constantly on the computer because breaks will often be suggested when you weren't working much prior to the suggestion. Other tools consider your natural rests and delay break suggestions accordingly. Some tools also consider your activity, and will suggest breaks sooner/later during periods of intense/light activity. These tools can be less frustrating to people whose computer work is interspersed with other activity 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/blankers), 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 need 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 at 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 need do to accomplish a particular task.
Partial list of solutions
This is an alphabetical list, This list does not rank application quality, nor is it complete. Many other applications exist. A "pages-of-Google-hits" score is provided with the reference to each program's home page.[lower-alpha 1]
- AT Mouse
- AT Mouse allows for PC users to use the keyboard to navigate the mouse pointer in a very efficient way using the keyboard keys. This way the use of a regular or dedicated mouse device is avoided, and the typing posture may be optimized for keyboard usage. As a result RSI symptoms can be avoided or reduced. The solution is also targeting users that only wants to boost productivity, as well as users with reduced dexterity.[1]
- Break Reminder
- software that has a small program interface that discretely runs in the background. It can monitor your computer use, and reminds (or can force) you to take a break to user chosen settings.[2]
- Healthy Hints
- software that will detect your periods of computer usage, recommends when a rest break is due and gives you a 5-star achievement rating. Also displays information on other factors that can affect your wellbeing as a computer user, such as lighting and posture.[3]
- Advanced Break Reminder
- Designed with programmers and web/graphic designers in mind and highly customizable software. It helps to decrease pain, strain or headaches caused by PC use.[4]
- Kill-RSI
- Kill-RSI is a totally free program that helps you reduce repetitive stress injury resulting from extended computer use by intelligently reminding you when to take rest breaks and short breaks.[5]
- micropause®
- is the first web-based programme of microbreaks to manage entirely without installation of any software. micropause® of fitimjob was rewarded with the Swiss Innovation Award in 2004.[6]
- Dragon Speech Recognition Software
- Software used by many disability users other than RSI as well. You can use the mouse or dicatate verbally dictate.[7]
- PastTense
- software for which a number of different configuration options can be defined, each of which contains one or more timers to remind you to have a rest. Timers can be set to remind you of anything from taking a short walk around the office every hour to stretching your wrists every 30 seconds – you define the reminder message.[8]
- RSIbreak
- RSIBreak simply offers reminders to take a break now and then.[9]
- RSIGuard
- software that suggests breaks based on work intensity as well as natural rest patterns, insuring that breaks are recommended when they're really needed. During breaks, RSIGuard shows stretch suggestions via 31 clear video demonstrations. Includes automatic clicking tool to eliminate mouse clicks, and hotkey tool to reduce mousing/typing. Tracks your work patterns to help you improve and identify risk areas.[10]
- Voice Finger RSI
- software that uses Speech Recognition to control the keyboard and mouse by voice commands. Voice Finger RSI was made by a developer with Repetitive Strain Injury, and was designed to eliminate the need to touch the computer at any time.[11]
- WorkPace
- software that helps avoiding Repetitive Strain Injury at the computer by educating about muscle fatigue and recovery, providing basic timers to alert you to take micropauses and breaks, and monitoring your exposure and intensity of computer use and providing you with feedback on how you are doing.[12]
- Workrave
- an open-source free program that assists in the recovery and prevention of repetitive strain injury. The program frequently alerts user to take micro-pauses, rest breaks and restricts user to a predefined daily limit.[13]
Notes
- ^ The number in hits in each application reference tells how many pages of hits Google reported for the applications's URL on the date shown. This number was generated by typing the URL in quotes into Google, then scrolling to the last page (10 hits/page).
References