How do you prevent RSI from typing?

RSI, or repetitive strain injury, is a term for pain caused by repeated movement of part of the body, and the NHS lists typing at a computer among the activities that can cause it ¹. Prevention therefore means reducing the load on your hands over the day, not finding one perfect product. Three habits do most of the work: take short breaks often, keep the wrist in a neutral position with the keyboard at the right height, and reduce the number of keystrokes your hands make. The evidence for each is different, and the sections below say how strong it is. For the full set of desk rules, see our guide to typing ergonomics.

Stop for a short break every 20 minutes or so

Breaks have the clearest support of any habit. The UK Health and Safety Executive advises computer users to take short breaks often, for example 5 to 10 minutes every hour, rather than longer breaks less often ².

Timing has been tested too. In a randomised study of people doing computer terminal work, microbreaks reduced perceived discomfort in every area measured, and the effect was especially clear with breaks every 20 minutes ³. That is one study from 2001, so treat the 20-minute figure as a sensible starting interval, not a rule that has been confirmed for everyone.

The evidence is weaker than the advice. The 2018 Cochrane review of office workers found very low-quality evidence of an effect of supplementary breaks on upper limb discomfort ⁴. Read that as a reason to take breaks, since they cost nothing to try, not as proof that a particular schedule prevents RSI. Our question on how often to take typing breaks covers the schedules in more detail.

Keep the keyboard low and the wrists straight

Two HSE rules set the height of a desk. The keyboard sits just below elbow height, with shoulders relaxed ⁵. The top of the screen sits level with your eyes, about an arm's length away ⁶. A keyboard set too high makes you shrug, which is why the first rule asks for relaxed shoulders.

Wrist position matters while the keys are pressed. In a laboratory study of healthy volunteers, typing raised the pressure inside the carpal tunnel compared with holding the same hand posture still ⁷. The same study linked bending the wrist back or sideways with higher pressure ⁸. That study measured pressure during typing, not symptoms over months, so it explains why posture matters without proving that good posture prevents RSI.

Workplace posture programmes have not been shown to prevent symptoms on their own. In a randomised trial of 376 people who used computer keyboards for more than 15 hours a week ⁹, the authors concluded that two specific workplace postural interventions were unlikely to reduce upper extremity symptoms ¹⁰. A good setup is a starting point, and the habits in the other sections do the rest.

Type less, because every keystroke adds load

The most direct way to lower the load is to type less. We did not find a trial that measured symptoms before and after cutting keystrokes, so this is reasoning from the mechanism above, not a measured result. It is still the change you control completely, and it costs nothing to try.

Two practical moves follow:

• Dictate the first draft of long text. Speaking replaces typing for the draft, and you do the editing at the keyboard. Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows, and it is one option among several. Our guide on dictation for RSI and carpal tunnel explains when it helps and when it does not.
• Shorten the phrases you retype every day. A text expander, or the text replacement feature in your operating system, can turn a short shortcut into a sign-off, an address or a standard reply.

Keyboards and wrist rests are a separate question

Ergonomic keyboards and wrist rests are the purchases most people consider first, and the evidence for them is thinner than their marketing suggests. Each has its own question with the trials laid out: do ergonomic keyboards help RSI and do wrist rests help carpal tunnel. Neither replaces breaks, the height rules or less typing.

It depends: when prevention is not enough

If you already have symptoms, prevention means changing the work that is causing them, not typing through the pain. Our question on whether you should stop typing with RSI explains when to cut back. Numbness, tingling, weakness or pain that does not settle needs a clinician, and it is worth seeing one before buying more equipment.

If you use a laptop for long sessions, the two HSE rules cannot both be met on one hinge. If the screen is at eye level, the keyboard sits too high. Our reading is that you need a separate keyboard and a stand, though we did not find a trial that tests this.

If you are not sure whether typing is the cause, a clinician can check the hand and the wrist. Our guide to repetitive strain injury and the RSI from typing guide describe the symptoms in more detail.

What to do this week

1. Set a timer for a short break about every 20 minutes ³, or stand up for 5 to 10 minutes every hour ².
2. Measure the keyboard against your elbows. Lower it, or raise your chair, until the keyboard is just below elbow height and your wrists stay straight.
3. Raise the screen until the top of the screen is level with your eyes ⁶.
4. Pick the phrase you retype most often, and give it a shortcut or dictate your next long draft.
5. If pain, numbness or weakness lasts, book a clinician rather than changing equipment again.

For the whole subject, see our accessibility overview.