For a vast majority of people today, work involves long hours at a desk in an office. Sitting in one place for lengthy and stressful days, it is no wonder that work-related muscular and joint problems or Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), account for an estimated 11.6 million working days lost each year.*
For most people, we are aware that our posture is probably not that great. Perhaps you are reading this now slumped in your office chair? Have I caught you?!
Do you find that you get an achy back sitting at the desk or a stiff neck looking at the computer screen? These are two of the most common problems that patients present to us at our Osteopathic clinic in Reigate.
Yes, treatments such as Osteopathy or Massage can help to provide excellent relief for these symptoms. But it’s not just about what treatment we can offer for aches and pain, it’s also about what you can do to help yourself...
So why does your neck or back ache when you are working at the computer or laptop? The answer usually lies with your posture and the way your desk arrangement is setup. If you spend hours slouched over a desk and computer, with your head not in the optimum centre of gravity, you will start to run into trouble.
Typically an adult head weighs around 5kg. We can compare the weight of your head to that of a bowling ball, now if you hold that bowling ball with your arms outstretched in front of you, they will tire out pretty quickly. Now, hold it close to your body and you can support it much more easily. The same applies to your head, sitting up straight balances the weight of your head nicely on top of your spinal column. However, if you are hunched over your desk, the muscles and joints in your neck desperately hang on, supporting the weight of your head.
As your head pulls down and forward your neck gets totally overloaded causing strain to those muscles and joints.
So what can be done? Well in almost all cases of work related back, neck pain and various other forms of RSI we come across, the patient has paid little or no attention to desk setup or what is commonly referred to as ‘office ergonomics’.
Why not get a colleague to secretly take a photo using their phone, of you busy at work? It has to be when you do not notice, and then we can see your bad habits at their worst!
How is your posture? Just some of the key checks to make are as follows:
§ Your Chair, is it too low or too far back from your desk?
If it is, this encourages slouching and your back will not be supported, the head tilts forward, your shoulders hunch. You may even hook your feet into your chair base, restricting blood flow in the legs.
Shorter people may need the chair to be low enough so their feet are planted on the floor. But take care, if it is too low this may cause you to overstretch your arms or shrug your shoulders. You may require a foot rest to overcome this.
§ Your monitor, is it too low?
That will cause your head to tip forward and downwards. As a result your whole body leans further forward, moving your back away from the ‘back rest’ of the chair and encouraging you to slouch.
Remember the back rest, it does exactly what it says – rests your back! So be sure to make use of it.
Well I have been typing for far too long; it’s time for a break! Be sure to every so often, look away from your screen and focus on something in the distance this rest your eyes and get up at least once an hour and have a walk around your desk.
For any other work related problems get in touch with us, but we can only deal with musculoskeletal disorders, sorry we cannot do anything about your boss!
