• Computing & Communications News  6/98
  
  
• Home Office Computing  6/98
  
  
• PC Magazine  5/8/98
  
  
• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review  4/6/98
  
  
• Booklist  3/1/98

Book Takes New Look at Repetitive Strain Injury

Two and a half years ago I reviewed Deborah Quilter’s Repetitive Strain Injury: a Computer User’s Guide (co-authored with Emil Pascarelli, M.D.). The book was a thorough, balanced, and humane discussion of repetitive strain injury (RSI) resulting from computer use.

The UA’s [University of Arizona's] repetitive strain injury discussion group unanimously felt it was the best source of information we’d run across. So, when Quilter’s new book was announced recently, I thought: What more can she say? A lot, I’ve discovered.

RSI includes a range of disorders, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and thoracic outlet syndrome. If you’ve been diagnosed with RSI, or if you’re just uncomfortable at the computer, this new book should offer needed information about staying or getting healthy.

What’s new in the book?

Some contributing factors for RSI are described in more detail than in Quilter’s previous book — for example, the role of posture. I’m someone with RSI who didn’t previously understand, or take seriously, how posture helps prevent or promote RSI. The prescription for good posture always seemed too arbitrary. Quilter, however, describes clearly how poor posture hinders breathing and the nerves and blood vessels running into the arms, making the arms susceptible to various forms of RSI.

The book is also chock-full of practical things for prevention and treatment of RSI. For example, wonder if that minor pain you’re feeling while typing is a warning signal of RSI? Quilter provides a quick-reference list of warning signals and an outline of the stages of injury.

For treatment (and prevention), she recommends developing ambidexterity — distributing tasks to both of your hands at work and off work. As in her previous book, Quilter encourages patients and medical professionals to consider the whole person and provides more detail about how to do this. She also discusses various aspects of social support and a person’s overall activity.

Copyright © 1998 Arizona Board of Regents.

Return to the review index

No Strain, Some Gain

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) account for 64 percent of all workplace illnesses, and yet many health-care providers are hesitant to treat these ailments. Thankfully, you don't have to wait for your physician to figure out what to do — just pick up a copy of Deborah Quilter's The Repetitive Strain Injury Recover Book (Walker and Co.). Quilter, an RSI sufferer and expert, explores a variety of different maladies. She offers the best treatment options and gives self-care tips on minimizing further damage so you can get back to work as soon as possible.

Copyright © 1998 Home Office Computing.

Return to the review index

By Steve Segal Excerpted from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (4/6/98)

If someone had offered me a magic potion to help alleviate the pain in my aching wrists, I'd have easily paid hundreds of dollars and considered it a bargain.

Now, for only $14.95, anyone can purchase a wonderful book which does an outstanding job of outlining the problems and solutions it has taken me years of painful experience to learn.

The Repetitive Strain Injury Recovery Book by Deborah Quilter is a must-read for anyone who ever plans to use a computer for more than a few seconds a day. And I would beg any parents that think it's so very important for their young children to get on the computer "as soon as possible" to reconsider and read this book.

The book translates extremely technical subjects into a clear and easy-to-follow format; including understanding the basics of RSI, its prevention and healing.

I wish there had been such a book like this available to me years ago.

Reach us via e-mail at computer@tribune-review.com

Return to the review index

Booklist review:

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.

Return to the review index