Xtensor: Useful if you have hands!
Everyone here at Truly Obscure uses a computer, obviously. Some of us play video games, most of us do photography of some sort, and one of us is both a dental hygienist and a knitter. All of us, like most of you, have experienced hand fatigue or some form of repetitive stress injury stemming from these various activities. Repetitive stress injury (RSI) is an all-encompassing term used to describe injury or trauma to the upper limbs and torso. The occurrence of RSI has increased at such a rate that almost everyone who uses a computer has dealt with it on some level. So, what are we doing about it?
The Xtensor, which won the 2007 Medical Design Excellence Award for a new rehabilitation device, was designed to help prevent and recover from RSI. The idea is to exercise the muscles in your hand and arm that are used to extend your fingers, which are opposite of those used to type, or hold a video game controller. We’ve been using our Xtensor for a couple of months now, and couldn’t be happier with the results. (You know something is working right when your massage therapist notices a difference!)
It comes in a couple of fun colors, and is very easy to use. It’s fairly self-explanatory in it’s set-up, and has nice foam pads that can be placed inside to insure comfort of use. (There is also the added bonus of looking like you have a cool robot hand while using it.) We’ve found that it’s easier to play video games, type on the keyboard and knit with less fatigue than a few months ago. The Xtensor will run you $40, and ships out very quickly when ordered directly from their site. Do yourself, or your favorite techie, something great and give it a try!
