Beth Anderson got a medical wake-up call about a year and a half ago when she realized her hands were going numb and losing strength. For years, I remember my hands and wrists feeling tired at the end of the day because I was on the computer all day long. But it wasn't until they started going numb that I realized something was wrong. The way we work has changed. Jobs in general are more specialized today.
People do one task all day long.
That isn't the case anymore. Today, more work is centered around the computer. That has created a dramatic increase in RSI cases or, as it is sometimes called, cumulative trauma disorder. Carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects the median nerve in the wrist, and cubital tunnel syndrome, which involves the ulnar nerve in the elbow, are byproducts of an increasingly computerized world. Tendinitis, an inflammation that occurs from repeated use of the tendons in a given area, is another common problem among those who spend too much time at the keyboard - or on computer games.