Does RSI affect legs?

Question

Wikipedia says that RSI is also called 'work related upper limb disorder', but I'm getting serious knee pain when I'm sat working for long periods (18+ hours).

Has anyone else experienced this, and have you found a solution?

Answer 1

It's not really RSI, but poor posture/ergonomics can absolutely place stress on your lower body. Especially the joints.

Answer 2

I highly recommend the Swopper chair for back and leg pain: http://www.workchairs.com/

Answer 3

My solution (I suffer from this as well) is to get up every hour or so and stroll for a couple of minutes....

Answer 4

You can't get RSI in your legs but it's perfectly possible to get DVT while sat at your computer for many hours.

Answer 5

I suffer from rsi, and sometimes also pain in the knee. The only solution afaik:

1) lessen the load (even with perfect posture and ergonomics there is still load that can be to much, especially when you are already in pain and some damage is there). Do this by not sitting as long at a time, and try to not sit on the same chair when you're not working. Best is to alternate between sitting, laying down, and walking around in my experience.

2) work out a little, move, ride a bike for 20 min a day or so.

3) if the above doesn't help, go see a doctor, especially when it keeps getting worse. The way back to normal will take longer and longer if you wait to react (i know this from personal experience).

Answer 6

18 hours of sitting way too much and is likely to cause many kinds of problems - not just knee pain. Split the time spent while sitting at least into shorter sessions.

Answer 7

See a doctor. Hearsay from other people - even with seemingly similar symptoms cannot replace proper medical diagnosis.

Answer 8

I've upvoted David's answer and repeat it again for emphasis.

See a doctor!

This is too serious a problem to diagnose on Stack Overflow, helpful as it might be.

Answer 9

That Wikipedia article is WRONG.

Work Related Upper Limb Disorder is a subset of RSI. Some people think it is the same. They are mistaken. I wish the term WRULD had never been coined. It effectively makes people think that RSI can't apply to anything but your arms.

Repetitive Strain Injury can affect any part of the body. RSI has been documented for hundreds of years, but many people don't realise it. Possibly the earliest known occurrences are the women in the Wool mills of Yorkshire during the Industrial Revolution.

Go and see your Doctor. SOON

My partner recently suffered Posterior Tibialis Tendonitis - which is basically inflamation of the tendon that goes down the back of your leg and under your foot - the tendon that gives you stability when standing. The solution (for her very knackered tendon) was to operate, remove the tendom controlling her second smallest toe and use that tendon to repair the main tendon. Recovery? Flat on a bed for two weeks, then on crutches for two weeks (no load bearing at all), then another 6 on crutches, followed by 3 more months light work and then a year or two recovering your fitness. If she had seen the Doctor earlier maybe the invasive operation would not have been needed and the resulting problems avoided.

To be boring: Go and see your Doctor. *SOON*