ABSTRACT

Writing words and numbers by hand was the typical task in an oldfashioned office. Maintaining a firm grasp on a pen and guiding it ceaselessly in finely controlled motions over paper generates a repetitive strain of the musculoskeletal system that can cause, then as today, a repetitive strain injury, called RSI for short. This was simply called scribe’s or writer’s cramp 300 years ago. Keyboarding has replaced much of the handwriting in the computerized office and has created new ergonomic tasks and challenges in the process.