A chief executive once told me "I will pay anything to fix it but nothing to prevent it". We were talking about staff getting health problems from working at computers all day. You wouldn't think that being sat down, pounding a keyboard, and pushing a mouse is actually a life threatening activity but this kind of work is the direct cause of over half of all the people off sick in the UK today.

The perspective of the CEO was that the cost of the injuries over a year was considerably less than the cost of providing a better working environment. Apart from a lack of concern for the people who were working for him you have to wonder if the sums really add up.

The Health & Safety Executive, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, all have research data which agrees that this is a growing and expensive problem. The problem is called Musculo Skeletal Disorders or MSDs and covers back pain, Repetitive Strain Injury RSI, whiplash, and a host of other conditions including, tendinitis, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, golfers elbow, tenosynovitis, De Quervain's syndrome, to name but a few.

"You don't need to live with this waste of time, money, and people" says Paul Goddard, RSI expert and education officer at Keytools. "For example, you wear a seatbelt to prevent a possible injury, it won't help after the event!" There are plenty of other strategies that companies put in place as preventative measures.

Your organisation very likely has a healthcare programme, safety training, fire extinguishers, and security systems all of which are there for "in case" something bad happens." So why don't employers do a bit more to make workstations easier to use and less damaging for employees?

Organisations have measured the costs but got wrong outputs. Getting all of the sum of the wages, additional workload of employees and the missed opportunity, prevention will earn more than not working. E-bay, Visa and HP who has their own say in their field, the enhancement of their productivity has been positively credited having reduced their costs because of the absence of the employee.

In some case studies, organisations that have planned programme of office ergonomics and using of right equipments can feel within 2 years of return of investment. CEOs now can be proud and say that "I have no worries to fix because I paid to prevent!

The author, Paul Goddard is the UK's foremost expert on assistive technology for people with RSI and his company, Keytools provides ergonomic keyboards and mice to assist with the prevention of RSI.

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I frequently get calls from people who have been told they have RSI and want to know which mouse would be the best choice for relieving their symptoms. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was as simple as selecting the right pill to get an instant cure?

Repetitive Strain Injury or RSI is a term that encompasses a wide variety of conditions but is not an actual diagnosis. Its like the expression "sports injury" it could be a twisted ankle or a bump on the head!

When you think about it most ailments will get the default advice of "take 2 paracetemol and stay in bed" regardless of what might be wrong. It seems to be a method for finding out if your own defence systems will deal with the problem if given a couple of days to get on with it and if you don't get better presumably you will come back. It is not uncommon to hear some doctors recommending that the best way to cure Repetitive Strain Injury is to stop repeating the activity that is causing the strain, which results in the injury.

This is completely impractical advice if your work involves using computers and unless you're prepared to consider a new line of work - you really only have two options: The first option is to avoid the injury in the first place or find a practical way of managing it so you can continue to use a computer.

Avoidance is a really good plan. Anyone who has suffered an RSI can tell you how miserable it can be and how shockingly serious its impact is on your working life.

The following steps are my suggestions for working on a computer without suffering.

1. Adjust your whole workstation to fit you not the other way around

2. If your equipment is not positioned correctly and you can not adjust it - it is not ergonomic and you will suffer as a result.

3. Invest in a good adjustable chair. It may seem expensive at first but it is far more effective (and comfortable) than visiting a chiropractor.

4. Adjust your desk to the right height for you. This is not the same thing as what your chair will allow. If necessary, insert small blocks of wood under the legs or saw a bit off if its too high. Alternatively invest in a height adjustable desk.

5. Get a fully adjustable, Goldtouch keyboard. These are quite simply the best, You can read up on why by Googling "Goldtouch keyboard"

6. Get several different mice and pointing devices in addition to the one you have. Alternate between them in order to minimise the repetition. A trackball may feel awkward to use at first but you will get used to it. Vertical mice reduce twisting or pronation in the wrist

7. Get a document holder that can sit over and behind your keyboard. There are lots to choose from, the Microdesk will fit over the Goldtouch and gives lots of space for papers. The key feature is that you want to keep all your work in a straight line head up position

8. Adjust your monitor to the right height and distance. Monitor arms are ideal and easy to use with flat screen monitors. They also free up space on your desk. If you need to use a laptop make sure you have a stand to get the screen to the right height and always use an external keyboard and mouse

9. Use RSI Guard - ALWAYS. You are part of the problem because you think it won't happen to you or you simply can't be bothered. RSI Guard is simple software that can really help you be more aware of how your behaviour is hurting you.

10. Make changes now. Your body can handle a lot of abuse, but when it gives up - you are in big trouble, and the road back is painful and slow. Some people never recover.

Paul Goddard is an Education Officer at Keytools and a well known Repetitive Strain Injury expert. He claims that RSI problems are easily preventable and his company, Keytools provides assistive technology for people with Repetitive Strain Injury including the RSIGuide software for prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury

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Manic depression, also called bipolar disorder, is a psychological illness that causes a mood disturbance. This mood disturbance can cause significant impairment and disruption of the person's life.

Symptoms Of manic depression affect the person cognitively, emotionally, physically, and behaviorally. Weird ability, euphoria, and depression are common emotional symptoms of manic depression.

A decreased need for sleep, fatigue, changes in sex drive, changes in appetite, and fidgeting behavior are some physical symptoms of manic depression. The fidgeting behavior common during episodes of depression is clinically referred to as psychomotor agitation. During a depressive episode, the person may also experience slowed physical actions referred to as psychomotor retardation.

During manic and depressive episodes, the person can experience increases or decreases in sex drive and appetite. Some people make experience increased appetite or decreased appetite during a depressive episode. Manic episodes often cause an increase in sex drive.

During a manic episode, the person may not become tired as usual and may feel as if they do not need to sleep. Depression can cause a person to have insomnia or to sleep more than usual.

Cognitive symptoms of manic depression can include perceptions of worthlessness and difficulty concentrating associated with depressive episodes. Racing thoughts, increased talkativeness, increased focus and goal-oriented activities, and distractibility are common symptoms of manic depression.

And increased involvement in activities for pleasure without regard to consequences is a behavioral symptom of manic episodes. During a manic episode, the person may engage in drug use or sexual indiscretions even if they would not normally do those things.

While mania causes the person to seek out pleasure, depression inhibits the person from experiencing pleasure. During a depression, the person may lose interest in activities that they once enjoyed.

Both depression and mania can cause psychotic symptoms. Psychotic symptoms are hallucinations or delusions that are not based in reality. The hallucinations and delusions of manic depression are different from those caused by schizophrenia. Hallucinations and delusions from manic depression are related to feelings of euphoria, guilt, or depression.

For example, someone who has manic may have the delusion that they have a superpower related to feelings of euphoria. Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts are severe symptoms of episodes of depression.If the symptoms of manic depression become bothersome, the person may need an adjustment in their medication to better control the symptoms.

Sheila Wilson explains what are the common manic depression symptoms and how to spot bipolar disorder in children in the early days. For details please visit her website to read on further.

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