UK Resources

• Prevention and Treatment

• Pain Management Clinic, St Thomas Hospital

• The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists

• The Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice

• British School of Osteopathy

• Society of Teachers in Alexander Technique

• The Feldenkrais Guild

• HEALTHLINE

• Body Action Campaign

• Advice and Information
  • RSI Association

  • SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities

  • London Hazards Centre

  • Sheffield Occupational Health Project

  • Local Self Help and Support Groups

• Help with Legal and Employment Issues
  • Health and Safety Executive

  • ACAS

  • Trade Unions

  • Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

  • Allied Lawyers Response Team

  • Accident Line

• Adaptive Equipment: Advice and Assessment
  • Ability Net

  • Disabled Living Centres

• Help Buying Adaptive Equipment
  • PACT and the Access to Work Scheme

  • The Disabled Students Allowances (Mandatory Grant)

  • Telephones

This clinic specialises in management of chronic pain, and many of those referred to it are suffering from RSI. The approach is holistic, involving physiotherapy, ergonomics, exercises, and pain management. The waiting list is long.

There are pain clinics at some other hospitals also, though it seems none of the others have specialised in treating RSI. If you are referred to a clinic (by your GP or consultant), you might be offered treatment such as TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation), which some people have found helpful for RSI.

The Pain Society have made available for download from their website an informative booklet about chronic pain. This booklet includes a list of books and tapes that have been found useful by others.

Can put you in touch with a physiotherapist experienced in the treatment of RSI. The website also has some brief general leaflets and something called "the A-Z of Care", which unfortunately turned out to require Shockwave so I am no wiser as to whether it's worth waiting for the 350K download.

The website has details of the BSO clinics.

Can put you in touch with an Alexander teacher in your area. Website also has information about the method.

Email [email protected]

Can put you in touch with a Feldenkrais teacher if there is one in your area. Website also has information about the method.

A freephone health information service (0800 66 55 44)

You can ring during office hours to ask questions on any health subject. You can ask them to send you an information sheet. Within London, the service is partly automated. During office hours, the line is answered in person. Outside those times, if you have a touchtone telephone you can listen to a pre-recorded tape on any of several dozen subjects, by inputting the tape number to the automated answering service. Tapes of interest to RSI sufferers are:

• 353 Repetitive Strain Injury
• 319 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• 174 Pain Clinics

The Body Action Campaign seek to raise awareness of the need to protect schoolchildren from RSI by training teachers to show them how to avoid it. Enquiries from within education are welcomed.

The RSI Association provides information, support and advice to people with Repetitive Strain Injuries. The Association also promotes better understanding of the condition through research, publicity and campaigning.

It currently has about 2000 members and publishes a quarterly newsletter. It provides a telephone helpline Monday to Friday 11.30 am to 4.00 pm and a comprehensive information pack £3.95 including post and packing. The information pack contains details on: What is RSI, how to avoid it, what to do if you get it, book lists etc.

SKILL advise disabled students on how to get help to enable them to continue with their studies. They produce a very good set of Information Sheets, including one on applying for the Disabled Students Allowances and another on special arrangements that can be made for students taking examinations. All the information sheets are available on the website.

Advice and information on all aspects of health and safety at work, including RSI risks. The Centre has an extensive database on occupational health hazards. It can be searched online but only if you affiliate to the Centre. You may be able to access the database if your union is affiliated.

Advice and information for people living in Sheffield. They produce some really excellent leaflets and broadsheets, with information on assessing jobs and workstations (large s.a.e.).

The HSE are the statutory body responsible for ensuring safety at the workplace, and hence the body responsible for ensuring that employers comply with the "Display Screen Equipment Regulations (1992)".

The HSE can give you general advice about the legal requirements. (The number above is the public advice line.) They offer advice to employers about the prevention of RSI, and they publish a very useful free leaflet, "Working with VDU's" (downloadable from the website).

Local HSE offices will be listed in the telephone directory.

ACAS can tell you your employment rights, if you are threatened with dismissal. They do not advise on individual cases over the telephone, but they can explain the law, and tell you in what circumstances you might be able to bring a successful case of unfair dismissal.

There are regional offices throughout the country, listed in the telephone directory.

Also available from ACAS, though actually published by the Employment Department, are two extremely useful booklets: "Fair and Unfair Dismissal", and "Unfairly Dismissed?" These booklets tell you exactly what is meant by "unfair dismissal" -- essential information, if you do lose your job as a result of your RSI.

Your union, if you belong to one, can give you advice on RSI and help you deal with any problems at work. Many unions have produced their own reports and booklets on RSI. For further information, contact:

Trades Union Congress
Congress House
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LS (Tel. 0171-636-4040)

Contact information for individual unions can be found on the TUC website; search for "TUC Affiliated Unions".

10a Byard Lane
Nottingham NG1 2GJ
Tel 0115-958-0585

If you find yourself in need of a lawyer, whether to defend yourself against dismissal, bring a case before an industrial tribunal, or sue for compensation, you will need someone who is familiar with RSI and the legal background. The APIL can give you names of lawyers near you.

Tel 0151-284-8585, Fax 0151 236 6035, email [email protected]

ALeRT is a network of solicitors' firms around the country working as a team sharing evidence, tactics and skill through a central office. Member firms can offer free initial advice on RSI cases.

The Head of ALeRT, Graham Ross, has kindly contributed a very helpful article about litigation to the RSI-UK archives.

Tel 0500-192939

The Accident Line is a freephone number provided by the Law Society. It's purpose is to put members of the public who have suffered accident or personal injury in touch with a solicitor in their area who can offer free initial advice as to whether or not there is a viable case for compensation.

PO Box 94
Warwick CV34 5WS

Freephone 0800 269545
Email enquiries: [email protected]

Ability Net, which used to be Computability, is a national centre of competence in the use of computers and other technologies by people with all types of disabilities. They will assess you and advise you on the different kinds of adaptive equipment that might be best for you. There are regular "Open Days" which allow an opportunity to try out different keyboards, pointing devices, software packages and so on.

Look in the telephone directory to find your nearest Disabled Living Centre. They stock items of equipment which help in coping with day-to-day life.

The Access to Work Scheme is intended to provide help to anyone at a disadvantage in getting or keeping a job. Most significantly for RSI sufferers, this can include providing specialist computer equipment, e.g., a computer and software to enable an employee to use voice-input instead of a keyboard. Many RSI sufferers have been helped by this scheme.

To join the PACT scheme, contact the Disability Employment Advisor at your nearest Job Centre.

If you need to talk on the telephone without holding the receiver, DO NOT cradle it between your neck and shoulder -- this is very bad for anyone, but especially if you have RSI. If you rent the Converse 300 telephone from BT, they will throw in a headset free of charge. You can also buy (from any high street shop, not just from BT) a hands-free telephone.

To find out more about the Converse 300, ring BT's freephone number 0800 800 150.

Students in higher education can apply for the Disabled Students' Allowances. This includes, or can include, a "specialist equipment allowance" to pay for "major items of specialist equipment you may need to enable you to participate in your course." For instance, you could use it to buy a computer and software to enable you to use voice-input instead of a keyboard.

If you are or expect to be a student on a degree course, and you suffer from RSI, you can find out more about applying for the Disabled Students Allowances from SKILL.