Since late February I’ve been coping with pain in my right forearm. At first I thought I’d just temporarily strained something—reached too far too fast—but the pain just got worse over time.
This past Monday I reached my breaking point and saw a doctor. The diagnosis was Right Lateral Epicondylitis, a repetitive strain injury (RSI). Even though I have a supportive chair with armrests and an adjustable keyboard tray, the tray itself is too small to hold anything but. Consequently I’ve been making due with the mouse up on my desktop for the past 2½ years. Apparently, this is too far of a reach, too high up.
While the condition is extremely painful at times, my physiotherapist is confident that it won’t become chronic because it was identified and is being treated early. So far I’m doing stretching, exercises, heat treatments and scheduled rest periods to help myself, while receiving physical therapy and ultrasound in the clinic.
What worries me is that my desk design is quite standard where I work. Scores of colleagues are enduring the same rigor every day. How many of them will end up in my condition?
If an undersized keyboard tray is ultimately to blame for this, why aren’t they being replaced en masse, pro-actively? Is it really necessary to wait for people to become afflicted with this condition, dispatch specialists for a workstation ergonomic assessment, and then signal the accommodations personnel to make custom changes?
My ergo-assessment isn’t done yet, but if it consists primary of a keyboard tray switch… again, I’ll be left to wonder, what is the monetary cost when compared to the human cost?
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