1. Shrug Off The Pain

Shoulder shrugs can help protect your neck from repetitive strain injury. Simply shrug your shoulders, hold for 2 to 3 seconds, then relax. Do five to six repetitions every 2 to 3 hours. You may want to hold very light weights in your hands to build up your upper back muscles.

2. Hold Your Head Up

The head is a large mass atop a small pedestal. If you keep it in one position for a long period of time – for example, flexing it forward while you read, you will strain your neck muscles and put pressure on the nerves at the back of your neck. The resulting pain can radiate into your head, face, and arms.

3. Get Lined Up

If you use a computer, check the placement of your screen and keyboard. They should be in front of you rather than off to the side, which forces you to twist your body.

4. Pick Up The Phone

You are almost guarantee a repetitive strain injury if you always tuck the phone receiver between your shoulder and your ear. If you are on the phone for more than 20 minutes at a time, you should use a headset or a speakerphone instead.

5. Keyboard Technique

When you type, your forearms should be parallel to the floor, and your wrists should be in a neutral position. You should use your whole arm to move your hand over the keyboard rather than stretching your fingers to reach the keys. Also use light keystrokes and avoiding leaning on the arms of the chair with your elbows while you type.

6. Move Around

Try something different. If your job allows it, break the monotony of repetitive tasks by moving around. Set an alarm to ring every 30 to 45 minutes to remind you.

7. Take Note Of Your Posture

Make sure that you are aware of how your body is positioned while you perform a repetitive task. If your job requires you to stand, for example, make sure that you are upright, not hunched over the whole time.

First, shutdown your PC and remove the mains plug, unplug the keyboard and hold it upside down to release any debris from in between the keys. If you have acan of compressed air then use it to blow any debris from around and under the keys, if not then use the hose of a vacuum cleaner to remove it. Now take one of the cotton buds and put a couple of drops of the cleaning fluid on it, use the cotton bud to clean the sides of the keys. After cleaning the sides of the keys take your lint free cloth and dampen it with your cleaning fluid, remember never to pour liquid directly onto the PC. Give the surface of the keyboard a good wipe over using the cloth. When you have finished give the keyboard a wipe over with the dry cloth/duster, you should now have a nice clean keyboard, to clean it more thoroughly follow the guide below. If you have the time and prefer to give the keyboard a more deep down clean you can quite easily remove all the keys on the keyboard (only recommended for standard PC keyboards). It is important however to make a note of all the key positions so that you can re-assemble the keyboard when finished.The keys can be popped off using anything like a screwdriver, take care not to scratch the keys.Repeat the above process but this time you can thouroughly clean the keyboard inside and individually clean the keys.The keyboard keys will just pop back on once manouvered into position.Do not force the keys on they should pop on with a light pressure.

If you are a professional writer that spends many hours sitting at your keyboard pounding away at the keys to produce written product you have probably become painfully aware (pun intended) of the need to pay attention to the way you hold your body when you work.

Recently I started to deal with numb fingers, primarily in one hand, tendonitis in both shoulders, and lower back tension which has affected a nerve in the outside of my right thigh. Does any of this sound familiar to your situation?

Because I did not want to give up my new and successful freelance writing career I decided it was time to hire a professional ergonomics specialist. As I was seeing a physical therapist (PT) for the shoulder tendonitis, I asked for a referral to a physical therapist who made ergonomic house calls. It was well worth the $130 for the one hour appointment.

The PT sat with me as I worked, and for the first ten minutes took notes and also measured the distance of numerous things, such as the distance of the top of my desk from the ground, the distance of my elbows from the ground, the distance to the top of my head from the ground and the distance of the top of my two monitor from the ground. She observed my position in my chair as well as the configuration of the dual monitors I work on. Then she made her recommendations.

My new sit-stand desk with an under-table adjustable, forward tilting keyboard tray arrives today, my new chair is about two weeks away from arrival, my left monitor has been lowered so the top of the two monitors is equal and neither are above eye-level, and my new split keyboard, though it has taken me about two weeks to get used to, has provided a measure of relief from the wrist problems. Also consider an ergonomic mouse, where the wrist is in a more natural, tension free position. Lastly, if you don't already have a super comfortable mattress, consider memory foam style mattress or mattress pad to help relieve shoulder compression while sleeping.

If you are beginning to experience any physical discomfort from sitting for so many hours at your keyboard, it's time do some research and find the combination of equipment and exercises that will allow you to work in a pain-free fashion. Don't wait too long, after all we have to inhabit out bodies for a long time and you might as well do it in comfort!

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