Bottle of Evian == cure for RSI?

I used to have pretty severe problems with my shoulders and right arm. Mostly mouse related; I think. When it was really bad I had a lot of shiatsu, which worked well and helped remove the residual tension in my shoulder. Now I seem to be able to keep it all at bay by drinking lots of water…

I don’t actually think it’s the drinking itself that helps. It’s all the movement that goes with it.In my office I have a desk that is height adjustable. I have an Aeron chair. My keyboard is way back on the desk and set flat, no little legs at the back. My mouse is optical, wireless and sits in front of the keyboard, kinda between the numeric pad and the main keyboard, just a twitch to the right of my right hand. This set up seemed to stop my right hand going cold, which is a bonus ;) I haven’t had pain from working in my office since I reorganised my setup over a year ago.

Client sites are different…

At one client I have a cube. It’s got no leg room. There’s not much space in front of the screen. The desk and chair don’t quite adjust enough… You know the score. Last time I was there; a year ago, I had all sorts of pains. This time I don’t. The only difference is how much water I drink now…

I usually have two 2 litre bottles of evian sitting on my desk to the right of my monitor. When I stop to think, I take a drink. I lift the bottle with my right hand, usually, sometimes I move the bottle around a bit, but not often. I take a drink quite often. I usually get through the two bottles in a day. The taking a drink movement is quite different to the normal type and mouse movements. It’s a regular little stretch. It lifts weight. It works the arm a little differently…

And then, of course, I get up and ‘walk around’ quite a bit. You have to if you’re drinking 4 litres of water a day…

I always found it hard to make myself take those little breaks. If you drink lots of water your body makes you take the breaks ;)

It may be a load of bull, but it probably isn’t doing any harm. My hands and arms hurt less and I’m typing the same amount, if not more. I’m more hydrated than I’ve ever been, and I haven’t had a proper hangover in ages…