Working with colleagues Rick Harvey, Vicci Tibbets, Dianne Shumay, and Katherine Gibney, we began our initial research in 1995, applying a systems perspective and biofeedback to prevent computer injuries. Our research led to the development of group training programs for employees at San Francisco State University, with the support and encouragement of Marsha Allsopp and Denise Fox from human resources.
Our work was a holistic approach to optimize health at the work site. To remind employees to practice health-promoting habits at the computer, Dianne Shumay and I created “Healthy Computing Email Tips,” which were sent weekly. These tips were continued with my colleague Katherine Gibney for the next ten years, in approximately six hundred mailings. Our research studies at San Francisco State University showed that 98.7 percent of the recipients continue to subscribe and more than half (58 percent) of the respondents reported feeling better since receiving the email tips. They were also translated into Dutch by my colleague Albert C. Weijman.
The intervention program at San Francisco State University received a positive response. Our work was subsequently acknowledged with a 2004 State of California Governor’s Employee Safety Award that recognizes performance of individual state employees and groups.
Our research emphasized monitoring psychophysiology at the work site (the actual physical responses of people as they work) resulting in the publication of numerous scientific articles and a book: Erik Peper and Katherine Hughes Gibney, Healthy Computing with Muscle Biofeedback: A Practical Manual for Preventing Repetitive Motion Injury (Woerden, Netherlands: Biofeedback Foundation of Europe, 2000), written for practitioners. In 2006, we published an updated edition complete with a manual: Erik Peper and Katherine Hughes Gibney, Muscle Biofeedback at the Computer: A Manual to Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) by Taking the Guesswork Out of Assessment, Monitoring and Training (Amersfoort, Netherlands: Biofeedback Foundation of Europe, 2006).
The concepts that emerged from the research and from collaborations with my Dutch colleague and friend, biologist Albert Weijman, PhD, provided the basis for our 2003 book published in the Netherlands for the general public: Erik Peper and Albert Weijman, De Computermens: Evolutie en preventie van RSI (Rijswijk: Elmar, 2003). We wrote the first draft of that book together facing each other, working on two separate computers, one cold January in Ameland in the Netherlands. Albert wrote in Dutch while I wrote in English. This collaboration also was the basis for the train of thought that came to fruition in this book, seeing contemporary issues from an evolutionary perspective.
The current book in its present form would not have been possible without collaboration with Rick Harvey, PhD. Rick’s exceptional capacity for research has provided an additional dimension to the work, enriching and expanding the concepts, and anchoring them in the research literature. He also has an aptitude to translate complex ideas into a series of logical, pragmatic steps so they are more accessible to readers. His ongoing good nature, humor, and generosity have made this project enjoyable and cemented our friendship.
We thank the many people and students who so generously contributed to the concepts explored in the book: Vietta Wilson, PhD, whose knowledge of sports psychology helped shape our thinking; I-Mei Lin, PhD, who investigated our first exploration of the psychophysiology associated with cell phone use; and Annette Booiman, MSCT, who generously shared the important clinical training insights developed from integrating biofeedback and the Mensendieck method. I also want to thank Michael Schermer and other colleagues from the Nederlands Paramedisch Instituut for providing me the opportunity to participate in and teach the postgraduate training workshops for Dutch physical therapists. We also thank Alex Rodi, who helped distribute the Dutch “Email Tips” and shared our concepts with the general public.
There are so many people who knowingly and unknowingly have contributed to the development of our ideas: Susan Middaugh, PhD; Gabe Sella, MD; George Whatmore, MD; William Taylor, MD; Dennis L. Ettare; Lawrence Schleiffer, PhD; Mari Swingle, PhD; Jeffrey R. Cram, PhD; Kees Lanser; Deborah Quilter; Cathy Holt; Kathy Bender; Alex Pierce; Lawrence Klein; Didier Combatalade; Arlene Frobish, OT; Jasmine Mitose; Emily Rogers; Lauren Mason; John Chetwynd; Yuval Oded, PhD; Devra Davis, PhD; and many others. We thank all the employees, clients, and students who generously shared their experiences and were willing to participate.
We especially want to thank the Backshop, Bakker Elkhuizen, Kinesis Corporation, and BackJoy Orthotics, LLC, for their generosity in sharing the elegant photographs included in the book. We also thank Erik Rosegard, Aiko Yoshino, Christian Martinez, and Matt Thompson for their help with the photos.
This book would never have seen the light of day if it were not for the encouragement and ongoing support of Nancy Faass, MSW, MPH, and her terrific team at HealthWritersGroup.com. Previously, she also skillfully assisted Robert Gorter and me in completing the book Fighting Cancer: A Nontoxic Approach. We also thank our gallant editors at North Atlantic Books, Keith Donnell and Trisha Peck, for their support and encouragement; and Emma Cofod and Kate Kaminski their artistry in the production and design of the book.
Rick thanks his friends and family, and especially Lily Wang Harvey, whose love and support have enormously enriched his life for the better.
I thank my own family, and my caring wife, Karen Peper, for her ongoing support and love that allow me to work creatively and productively and that continue to deepen our relationship.
Rick, Nancy, and I hope you find this book useful.
—Erik