Typing posture, ergonomics, prevention, treatment The most important element of both prevention and recovery is to reduce tension in the muscles and tendons. This requires learning how to relax. If you're under a load of stress, this is doubly important. Tune out the world and breath deep and regular. Relaxing should become a guiding principle in your work: every three minutes take a three second break.

First, and foremost of importance: if you experience pain at all, then you absolutely need to go see a doctor. As soon as you possibly can. The difference of a day or two can mean the difference between a short recovery and a long, drawn-out ordeal. GO SEE A doctor (medical) . Now, your garden-variety doctor (or physician/medical professional) may not necessarily be familiar with this sort of injury. Generally, any hospital with an occupational therapy clinic will offer specialists in these kinds of problems.

• Let your shoulders relax.
• Let your elbows swing free.
• Keep your wrists straight.
• Pull your chin in to look down - don't flop your head forward.
• Keep the hollow in the base of your spine.
• Try leaning back in the chair.
• Don't slouch or slump forward.
• Alter your posture from time to time.
• Every 20 minutes, get up and bend your spine backward.

For some people, wrist supports seem to work wonders. If you (or they) drop your arms at your side and then lift your hands up at the elbow, you want your keyboard under your hands when your elbows are at about 90 degrees.

This is a type of nuclear scanning test or myocardial perfusion (mi"o-KAR'de-al per-FU'zhun) imaging test. It shows how well blood flows to the heart muscle. It's usually done along with an exercise stress test on a treadmill or bicycle.

The thallium stress test is useful to determine:

- Extent of a coronary artery blockage

- Prognosis of patients who've suffered a heart attack

- Effectiveness of cardiac procedures done to improve circulation in coronary arteries

- Cause(s) of chest pain

- Level of exercise that a patient can safely perform

- If the test is normal during both exercise and rest, then blood flow through the coronary arteries is normal. The coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle.

- If the test shows that perfusion (blood flow) is normal during rest but not during exercise (a perfusion defect), then the heart isn't getting enough blood when it must work harder than normal. This may be due to a blockage in one or more coronary arteries.

- If the test is abnormal during both exercise and rest, there's limited blood flow to that part of the heart at all times.

- If no thallium is seen in some part of the heart muscle, the cells in this part of the heart are dead from a prior heart attack. (They have become scar tissue.)

The first pictures are made shortly after the exercise test and show blood flow to the heart during exercise. The heart is "stressed" during the exercise test -- thus the name "stress test." The patient then lies quietly for 2-3 hours and another series of pictures is made. These show blood flow to the heart muscle during rest.

Sometimes you can't do an exercise test because you're too sick or have physical problems. In this case, a drug such as dipyridamole (di-pi-RID'ah-mol) or adenosine is given. This drug increases blood flow to the heart and thus "mimics" an exercise test. Then the thallium test is given.

Most people can raise their HDL (good cholesterol) levels by exercising, not smoking and staying at a healthy weight.