Sitting in a courtroom or deposition suite all day, while capturing every word spoken by attorneys, witnesses, and judges, is a physically demanding activity. Court reporters, perhaps surprisingly, have a high percentage of repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and degenerative neck and back injuries.

In order to stay physically comfortable and prevent injury to their most valuable piece of equipment – their bodies – court reporters must make special efforts to regularly stretch and get their exercise in. One long-time court reporter, Donna Linton, recently shared some of her tips and tricks with the Washington Post.

“Court reporting is very intense and I love it, but if you’re sitting there typing all day, your shoulders and your neck get tight. It’s stressful sitting there like that for a long period of time. As soon as we get a break, I’m running to the bathroom and looking at my phone to check my email. Then I’m also popping a piece of chocolate in my mouth. I’m doing shoulder rolls, and I might be doing pushups on the wall in the bathroom. I do squats in the bathroom.

“If my wrists start bothering me, which is very rare, I have some gloves with a thick wristband I bought years ago. [Therapeutic support gloves from Handeze.] I wear them for a couple hours, then I’m fine. I heard about them from someone who did knitting and crocheting. I don’t know how it works, but it works.”

Court reporters’ “office days” – days they’re in the office preparing transcripts – are just as physically demanding. Linton has a little more flexibility about when she can stretch on those days:

“When I’m working at home, I try to get up every hour to do stretches. I have bad arthritis in both my hips. I had hip surgery, and my other hip will have to be done. I do specific stretches with bands and I work my glutes. I do hip flexor stretches, but I’m an allover body workout person.”

By consciously making exercise and stretching a part of their daily routine, court reporters can extend their careers and more comfortably endure long days in a deposition suite. The next time you’re in a deposition, be sure to give the court reporter enough time during the break to get those stretches in – and who knows, maybe if all of the deposition participants exercised for a minute or two during breaks everyone would benefit.

We would love to cover your next deposition in the Chapel Hill area, and we promise we won’t force anyone to stretch or do squats. Schedule using our handy online tool or call 919-682-7757.