Avoiding RSI

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Dr. Taraneh Razavi, M.D., Staff Doctor</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">From time to time, a resident physician at Google headquarters weighs in with her thoughts on healthy living. This is not medical advice, and you should check with your own doctor before pursuing any particular course of action. </span><br /><br />There is a Chinese saying that "To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." In other words, how long can you tap on that keyboard or sit in that chair before you hurt yourself. We’re not designed to remain as sedentary or perform the fine motor movements for the long uninterrupted hours that we have to do in so many of our jobs. Evidence suggests that prolonged abnormal posture and repetitive movements contribute to neck, limb and back pain. These conditions are collectively known as overuse syndromes, or repetitive stress injury (RSI).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/post_ergonomic_img-717581.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/post_ergonomic_img-713363.JPG" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>RSI is no small matter. It accounts for 34% of all lost-workday injury and illness — and costs almost $20 billion annually, according to the <a href="http://stats.bls.gov/" title="http://stats.bls.gov/">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. <a href="http://www.nas.edu/" title="http://www.nas.edu/">The National Academy of Sciences</a> has concluded that an estimated $50 billion is lost by businesses every year from sick leave, decreased productivity and medical costs linked to repetitive stress disorders. The Academy has published two<a href="http://darwin.nap.edu/execsumm_pdf/6431.pdf" title="http://darwin.nap.edu/execsumm_pdf/6431.pdf"> reports</a> since 1998 which directly link repetitive motion to workplace injury.<br /><br />The damage sustained from RSI is due to structural changes in the muscle fiber as well as due to decreased blood flow. Nerves can also be involved. The immobile tissue and surrounding inflammation compress the nerve which can cause numbness or tingling and eventually weakness if the nerve is damaged severely.<br /><br />For those of you who need evidence, see this study on <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2895831&dopt=Citation">"Overuse Syndrome."</a> In this study, biopsies were taken from hand muscles of injured and normal subjects, which demonstrated the structural damage in the muscle fibers and correlated the damage with the severity of the injury. In <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2239160&dopt=Citation">another study</a>, biopsies were taken from neck muscles, and reduced local blood flow was found in the injured areas. The greater the pain difference, the greater the reduction in blood flow.<br /><br />Some of the most common RSI injuries are <a href="http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sportsmedicine/a/tendonitis.htm">tendonitis</a> and <a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/carpal_tunnel/carpal_tunnel.htm">carpal tunnel syndrome</a> (CTS). Work-related carpal tunnel syndrome now accounts for more than 41% of all repetitive motion disorders in the United States, says <a href="http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/158/14/1506">this study</a>. And here's a telling title: <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16162900&dopt=Abstract">"Hard work never hurt anyone: or did it?"</a> -- it's a review of occupational associations with soft tissue musculoskeletal disorders of the neck and upper limb.<br /><br />So what should you do? The key to treatment is <strong>prevention</strong>. Research shows that injuries decrease and productivity increases when employers encourage stretch breaks and stress the importance of ergonomics. See for example this one at at <a href="http://www.ergonomicsnow.com.au/rsi/stat_usa.htm" title="http://www.ergonomicsnow.com.au/rsi/stat_usa.htm">Ergonomics Now</a>.<br /><br />Here are a few <a href="http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/disabilities/rsi/workstation.html">tips</a>:<p></p> -- <strong>Breaks </strong>should be taken every 30-45 minutes for at least 5 minutes. If you need assistance there are <a href="http://shareware.search.com/search?cat=247&tag=ex.sa.fd.srch.sa_all&q=timer" title="http://shareware.search.com/search?cat=247&tag=ex.sa.fd.srch.sa_all&q=timer">free downloadable timers</a> that will help remind you to do so.<br />-- <strong>Stretch</strong> your arms, hands, neck, and back during breaks. This <a href="http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html">yoga site</a> demonstrates some exercises. Other sites are listed below.<br />-- <strong>Maintain posture</strong> <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0300/0359.asp?index=4485" title="http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0300/0359.asp?index=4485">alignment</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>. Don't slouch on the couch with the laptop.<br />-- <strong>Work stations </strong>should be reviewed initially and with each office move. Adjust your chair, monitor, keyboard, mouse, laptop. Alternate keyboards and mice periodically.<br />--<strong>Shift your gaze</strong> from the computer screen to the distance. And don't forget to blink!<br />--<strong>Limit</strong> non-essential computer use. This may be heresy -- but do give the surfing, gaming, emailing, and text messaging a rest.<br />-- If pain occurs or persists, <strong>see your doctor, </strong>who may recommend wrist brace, ice packs, anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen, cortisone injections, physical therapy, and most importantly, <span style="font-weight: bold;">rest</span> to allow healing. Don't procrastinate in addressing your symptoms -- the sooner you tend to them, the better off you are.<br /><br />And finally, here are more sites that may be helpful:<br /><a href="http://www.safecomputingtips.com/index.html">Safe Computing Tips</a><br /><a href="http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/tools/mice.html">Alternative Pointing Devices</a><br /><a href="http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/tools/keyboards.html">Alternative and Ergonomic Keyboards</a><br /><a href="http://www.rsi.deas.harvard.edu/">Harvard RSI Action</a><br /><a href="http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/rsi.html">RSI exercises</a><br /><a href="http://eeshop.unl.edu/rsi.html" title="http://eeshop.unl.edu/rsi.html">RSI Page</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Update:</span> One more: Boston U.'s <a href="http://www.bu.edu/ehs/flash/ergonomics%20selfhelp%20guide.swf">Ergonomics Self-Help Guide</a> (Flash)

Avoiding RSI

Posted by Dr. Taraneh Razavi, M.D., Staff Doctor From time to time, a resident physician at Google headquarters weighs in with her thoughts ...

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This year's India Code Jam

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Posted by Arvind Jain, Google Bangalore</span><br /><br />On April 6 and 7, Google India celebrated the coding community in Southeast Asia by hosting the second <a href="http://www.google.com/indiacodejam/">Code Jam</a> competition. At nearly 15,000 entrants, this year’s registrations topped last year’s. The annual software coding fest consists of two online rounds, in which participants competed to solve three coding problems more quickly and accurately than their competitors. The top 50, who came from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Singapore (and included one female finalist, by the way), were invited to compete in the onsite finals. (We made a <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6756821813540907008">video</a> about the finals.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/India_Codejam-728590.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/India_Codejam-714389.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Though it was incredibly close, last year's winner, Ardian Kristanto Poernomo, from Indonesia, snagged the grand prize once again. Abishek Kumarasubramanian from Chennai, India was less than 3/100ths of a point behind him.<br /><br />The two-day event also featured of team building activities and Google engineering presentations. We’re especially delighted that over half of the finalists expressed their interest in working for Google. And if you’re one of those, go <a href="http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/jobs/index.html">here</a>.

This year's India Code Jam

Posted by Posted by Arvind Jain, Google Bangalore On April 6 and 7, Google India celebrated the coding community in Southeast Asia by hostin...

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Back on the map

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Thai Tran, Product Manager, Google Maps and Local Search</span><br /><br />Last October, we merged our local search site with Google Maps. At that time, we thought it was most appropriate to name the integrated product "Google Local" to emphasize the broad searching capabilities of the site and that it was much more than an ordinary mapping site. But we underestimated how much people <i>loved</i> Google Maps. Many have continued to refer to the site by the previous name, and many have explicitly asked us to "bring back Google Maps." Since it's most important to us to give our users what they want, we've decided to change the name officially to <a href="http://maps.google.com">Google Maps</a>.<br /><br />Does this mean that local search is no longer important to Google? Absolutely not! Google Maps continues to have the killer combination of maps, driving directions, <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> local business search. And local search has become a fundamental part of the Google search experience; it's now embedded within a number of our products, including Google web search, Google Earth, Google SMS, and Google Mobile.

Back on the map

Posted by Thai Tran, Product Manager, Google Maps and Local Search Last October, we merged our local search site with Google Maps. At that t...

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Easier web page creation

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Justin Rosenstein, Product Manager, Google Page Creator</span><br /><br />My mother wanted a site for her law practice that potential clients would find when they Googled her. My professor needed a place on the web where he could post assignments and readings for Psych 131. My friend Casey was excited about creating an online encyclopedia of <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Lebowski</span> trivia.<br /><br />All of them wanted simple web pages that looked great, but none of them wanted to take the time to learn HTML, wrangle with complex tools or shell out cash for a designer. They managed to cajole me, their <strike>nerdy</strike> technically-savvy friend, into becoming the neighborhood techie -- but what if you don't know one? Why isn't making a web page as fast and easy as using a word processor?<br /><br />These frustrations stayed with me when I started working at <a href="http://www.google.com">a California company full of friendly neighborhood techies</a> that encourages its employees to devote 20% of their time to scratching their intellectual itches. So I gathered a team of engineers and designers passionate about using their 20% time to make it easy to publish useful, attractive web pages.<br /><br />After many months of focusing on designing a product that our friends and families would enjoy, and politely coaxing web browsers into doing things they were never meant to do, we're happy that "<span class="st" id="st" name="st">Google</span> Page Creator" is now part of the <a href="http://labs.google.com/">Google Labs</a> family. Labs is Google's technology playground, a place where we can experiment with new services that have us excited, but that aren't all grown up yet. We rely on constructive feedback from early users to help us nurture these experiments from intriguing ideas into mature products.<br /><br /><a href="http://pages.google.com/">Google Page Creator</a> is just a small step in helping people get their words, pictures and ideas on to the web. But it's nice to know that when my friends want to share their experiences from a <a href="http://sanlazzaro.googlepages.com/">Venetian monastery</a>, or coworkers feel compelled to give their <a href="http://seldomstrikers.googlepages.com/">appropriately-named bowling team</a> a web presence, I know where to point them.

Easier web page creation

Posted by Justin Rosenstein, Product Manager, Google Page Creator My mother wanted a site for her law practice that potential clients would ...

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Keeping up with recent research

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Dejan Perkovic, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />As a graduate student at the University of Maryland years ago, I took an interesting course on <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=quantum+computing">quantum computing</a>. The topic intrigued me and, from time to time, I like to go back and and see what is new in the area (for all I know, Google may some day need quantum computers to extend search into the <a href="http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html">intergalactic domain</a> :-) ).<br /><br />Today we're launching a feature of <a href="http://scholar.google.com">Google Scholar</a> which will make it easier for researchers to keep up with recent research. From <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=quantum+computing&scoring=r">quantum computing</a> to <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=copper+binding+prion&scoring=r">copper binding in prion protein</a>. It's not just a plain sort by date, but rather we try to rank recent papers the way researchers do, by looking at the prominence of the author's and journal's previous papers, how many citations it already has, when it was written, and so on. Look for the new link on the upper right for "Recent articles" -- or switch to "All articles" for the full list.<br /><br />Scholarly endeavors are about learning what has already been done and building on it. We hope this feature will help researchers worldwide learn from and build on the latest advances.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Update:</span> Clarified new feature by adding new sentence to end of second paragraph.

Keeping up with recent research

Posted by Dejan Perkovic, Software Engineer As a graduate student at the University of Maryland years ago, I took an interesting course on q...

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Google Calendar data API

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Kyle Marvin, Software Engineer</span><br /><br />Last week, there was <a href="http://calendar.google.com">Google Calendar</a>. This week, developers can start writing code that uses it. Enter the <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/gdata/calendar.html">Google Calendar data API</a>, which can be used to write external applications that query, create, and update Google Calendar events, so they're available to Google Calendar users or other API-enabled applications.<br /><br />Find more details <a href="http://code.google.com/">here</a>.

Google Calendar data API

Posted by Kyle Marvin, Software Engineer Last week, there was Google Calendar . This week, developers can start writing code that uses it. E...

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OneBox for all your corporate information

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Dave Girouard, VP, Enterprise</span><br /><br />We added <a href="http://www.google.com/help/interpret.html">OneBox</a> functionality to our <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/index.html">Google Search Appliance</a> today, which means you can now find just about anything through your friendly Google search box. Lots of folks have been asking us - is this going to kill the corporate portal market? For the record, we have no desire or plans to kill anything. But it's clear to us that people prefer search to having every possible piece of information thrust at them willy-nilly. And they like having search front and center on their screens, not buried, as it is all too often inside company intranets. As industry-watcher <a href="http://battellemedia.com/">John Battelle</a> explains, search is so powerful because it responds to an expressed intent by the user. Shouldn't corporate portals do the same?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/onebox.html">Google OneBox for Enterprise</a> is cool because it takes a completely understood and tested design metaphor and extends it to another domain. Um, what I meant to say was, employees already know how to get <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rls=GGGL%2CGGGL%3A2005-09%2CGGGL%3Aen&q=v+for+vendetta+dallas%2C+tx&btnG=Search">movie listings</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGGL%2CGGGL%3A2005-09%2CGGGL%3Aen&q=weather+omaha%2C+ne&btnG=Search">weather forecasts</a>, and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGGL%2CGGGL%3A2005-09%2CGGGL%3Aen&q=united+10&btnG=Search">flight information</a> through simple Google queries. So it won't surprise them (in fact it may delight them) to learn that they can get real-time contact info, sales forecasts, and customer information the very same way. We launched an initial set of OneBox modules with Oracle, Cognos, SAS and Salesforce.com; some of these partners talk about that <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/video.html">here</a>. <br /><br />And there’s one more thing. We're also introducing an all-new <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/mini/">Mini</a> that's 25 times faster and half the size of its predecessor!

OneBox for all your corporate information

Posted by Dave Girouard, VP, Enterprise We added OneBox functionality to our Google Search Appliance today, which means you can now find j...

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