Kingston: An important forum on repetitive stress injuries is taking place on 28th of February 2002 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at Steelworkers Hall, 206 Concession Street. February 28, 2002 is International Repetitive Stress Injury Awareness Day across Canada.

The Injured Workers Support Network Kingston Area is sponsoring this Public Education Forum on Repetitive Stress Injuries. This will be of special interest to workers and employers, parents with children who actively use home computers, school staff and educators, people doing routine tasks in the home such as home office work or hobbyist activities, and Joint Health and Safety Committees.

6:30 to 7:00 PM Displays and handouts will be available for your personal use with a special section for RSI's / Ergonomic solutions for children.

7:10 to 9:00 PM Mr. J. W. Blackler - Exec Dir of the Regional Treatment Center - Role of the Employer in Preventing RSI Injuries

Ms. Sandra Sutton – Ergonomist for Workplace Safety and Insurance Board - Importance of Ergonomics in Preventing RSI Injuries

Dr. Terry Tucker - Chiropractor - Treatment of RSI Injuries

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) is becoming endemic in our times. Experts within Canada are now stating that over half of all claims for work injuries will be related to RSI. Work places present obvious hazards to health. They increase the risk of work-related injury and disease by forcing workers, especially female workers, to overuse their limbs and by having them repeat the same motions at a frantic pace, week after week, year after year.

Deborah Quilter, an expert on RSI, reports, "Years ago workers used most of their muscles to do work all day long. Many jobs today focus the entire workday onto one or two small sets of muscles that must hold or repeat a motion all day. It is not the physical force that we worry about. It is the amount of time these muscles and tendons spend under tension, reducing their blood supply."

RSI is not just a work place phenomenon. Many people use computers or carry out other routine activities in the home. As Ms. Quilter says "Many children are now using computers at home or school – or both. Few schools or homes provide proper workstations for children; furthermore, people become injured at "ergonomically correct” workstations every day because of improper posture and technique and sheer overuse of the hands. These injuries tend to be chronic and can worsen over time; they can also greatly impede simple activities of daily living such as dressing, driving and opening doors."