Spending long periods at a computer workstation is a significant risk factor
for developing back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, repetitive strain injury
(RSI) and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
These painful, and potentially life-affecting, conditions can develop gradually
as a direct result of poor sitting posture and working habits, or begin with
unrelated injuries that are then made worse by poor ergonomics
Liz, a software tester at a successful IT company, was in exactly this
situation. After many years of computer working, she began to suffer from
severe back pain at work
Despite physiotherapy, her back pain persisted for 3-4 years, and was sometimes
so bad that she needed to needed to take sick leave
'Since I started using PostureMinder my back pain has definitely
improved,' Liz reports. "If I change desks or work on a different
computer the pain comes back again, so I know it is definitely working"
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Posture research
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Besides causing back pain, neck pain or shoulder pain, sitting in a
poor posture has knock-on effects on other aspects of your health. If you lean
forwards, you're likely to experience more eye fatigue and headaches. It
will also make it difficult to type or use your mouse with your hands and
forearms in the correct position. In particular, if you type with your wrists
bent back, you're at greater risk of developing repetitive strain injury
(RSI)
If you're slumping in your chair, you're likely to be overstretching to
reach your mouse or keyboard, which can also cause RSI, and may find you crane
your neck forwards to peer at the screen. This posture is often known as
'vulture-necking', and can lead to severe neck pain
To reduce the chances of developing pain, regular computer users should:
- Make sure they avoid sitting in poor postures that put strain on their back,
shoulders and neck
- Make sure they take regular breaks from the computer
- Try to reduce their stress levels, which can increase muscle tension
- Try to keep in good physical condition so supportive muscles can do their job
properly
PostureMinder helps protect your health by:
- Providing ergonomic training (often known as display screen equipment, or
DSE, training) so you're fully informed about how your workstation should
be setup and how to sit better
- Acting as an early warning system to remind you whenever you sit in a bad
posture
- Promoting healthy working habits such as regular breaks, stretching and good
hydration
Various research has highlighted the high prevalance of musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs) amongst computer users. For example:
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A study of over 4000 Scottish schoolchildren found that 60% of regular computer
users reported frequent headaches, over 40% frequent neck pain or shoulder
pain, and around 15% frequent back pain (Alexander, Currie 2003)
- A
study of 270 clerical, technical, call-centre and managerial staff in 15
Australian companies found 76% had experienced neck pain, back pain or other
upper limb pain that they felt was due to computer use in the past year, with
46% reporting symptoms in the past week (Cook,
Burgess-Limerick, Chang 2000)
- A further study (Evans,
Patterson 2000) focused specifically on professional and managerial
staff and found that 65% of subjects reported experiencing neck pain, shoulder
pain or stiffness in the preceding month
- (Mulry 1990, Professional
Safety Journal) found that 80% of US citizens seek treatment for back pain at
some point in their lives, at an annual cost of $24bn in direct medical costs
alone
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