If you work in an office, the chances are that you, or the person next to you, have experienced Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD).

The name Cumulative Trauma Disorder has replaced Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). In Australia and New Zealand, Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) is the term favoured.

Because a large number of CTDs are related to computer use and particularly to the use of the keyboard and the mouse, we thought that it would be of value to briefly cover the subject here.

Two strategies (aside from changing occupation) are theoretically possible to reduce the risk of CTD deriving from intense keyboard use:

Improving keyboard design
Improving keyboarding posture

Changing product design has resulted in the so-called ergonomic keyboards, that is keyboards where the alphabetical keys are split into two halves, generally angled. The split design however, only addresses issues of hand ulnar deviation and studies show that vertical hand posture (wrist extension) is more important. Moreover, there is no consistent research evidence that most of the split-keyboard designs currently available really produce any substantial postural benefits.

Therefore, ensuring that one has and maintains the correct posture is the only strategy to avoid or reduce the risk of Cumulative Trauma Disorder.

This site offers information about this subject and should be read only as a primer.

If you suffer from CTD, you should consult a doctor and look for web sites that specialise in the subject. Links to some of these sites are provided below.

Useful CTD Information Web Sites