Computers Can Be A Pain In The Office
The Age
Friday July 3, 1998
That chair you are sitting on right now may be damaging your health; when your kids play computer games, they may be developing injuries that could prove serious in their 20s; if you spend more than 20 per cent of your working day sitting still, you probably risk muscle and joint pain. In other words, your computer is more dangerous than it looks.
This warning comes from Nigel Rose, a physiotherapist with a mission to remind people of the dangers of poor posture and poorly designed chairs and equipment.
Doesn't sound like you? Think about it. Do you ever get twinges, a sore neck, back or eyes? Did you attribute that recent headache or attack of pins and needles to stress? Rose says these and other symptoms are signs that your body isn't coping with the load you are placing on it.
Just because you sit all day - in fact because you sit still all day - you may be at risk of serious injury. The trouble is you won't recognise there's a problem until the symptoms have become painful.
Back pain is a serious public health issue. In his new book Fit to sit - Fit to live, Rose notes that in 1997, back pain made up half of WorkCover's total claims costs of $900 million. Many of these claimants don't work on building sites; a large number have sedentary office jobs.
To assess your risk for injury, take a good hard look at your office equipment. Are your chair and terminal adjustable? If they are, make the most of the chair and screen tilt controls. If not, inquire about obtaining replacements. If resources are scarce, improvise. For example, use a telephone book to raise your terminal or as a foot rest.
To protect your health, Rose says computer workers must move out of position, preferably for five minutes every half hour. Movement during the day is better than tensing muscles all day, and then going to to the gym. "If you sit correctly, but for six hours at a time and then have a half-hour break, you are still going to be sore," he says.
The secret to working well is to adjust your work station to the correct position (pictured) and take regular breaks where you achieve "postural reversal". At least, stand up, arch your back, do some stretches and rotate your head and neck.
"Sprains and strains affect well-being and productivity," says Rose. "They are insidious, building up over many years. You might have symptoms one day and not the next. If you don't listen to your body, you can face tightening and stiffening that will lead to chronic problems."
After work or study hours, relieve the static muscle tension with stretching exercises. Aerobic exercise will also be protective. Any exercise, even if it's only walking the dog, will help more than going home and flopping in front of the TV, says Rose.
"But people shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that if they are fit they won't get injured. Some of the fittest people in the world suffer back and neck pain. That's because these injuries stem from holding your body in a poor position for a long time. If you let them go, you may face long-term stiffening and reduction in spinal mobility. If you are middle-aged and have lost spinal mobility it is difficult to regain it."
One of the most common side-effects of computer work is headaches. Rose says most people don't recognise that their headache is caused by peering into the screen, which compresses the neck and affects the spine's top three vertebrae. "The joint pain that results is a major cause of headaches," he says. "They are incredibly common, a lot of people take panadol and conclude that they are stressed out."
Physiotherapists routinely assist people with headaches using a range of therapies, "but you have to correct your work station and habits as well, otherwise you are back at the physio within a short time. There can be a vicious circle of injury".
If you have shooting or aching pains in your arms - a symptom associated with Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) - Rose will pay attention. He sees RSI as a label to describe a complex range of symptoms.
"I think it's quite dangerous to give people a label. The symptoms of RSI are so diffuse and hard to localise. They can be local tendinitis, neck pain, muscle weakness and even swelling. Medical practitioners should be open to the words 'shooting', 'throbbing', and 'a line of pain'. We shouldn't make the mistake of writing these people off as having psychological problems or playing the system."
He believes there are likely to be more computer-related symptoms in the future, simply because children are playing on terminals from age three. "The Australian Physiotherapy Association has been trying to educate people about laptops, and therapists have been speaking in schools, reminding of the risks to children.
"When I was young, we had a tremendous balance between work and play. Now kids are growing up on computers, playing on them, surfing the Net and studying on them. By the time they enter the workforce, many already have postural problems and headaches. I didn't used to see these problems before until people were in their 20s."
He says parents should limit play on a computer to an hour and remind children to change positions when using them.
Similarly, employers should be aware that they provide poor equipment at their peril. Rose says one person with chronic disc prolapse will mean an expensive WorkCover claim that would cost 10 times more than an education program and good equipment.
He says one of the reasons the problems have increased is because, with cost-cutting in many companies, people are working twice as long. He says some people - at times himself included - struggle to have their evenings or a weekend off.
"That's because computers don't fatigue, they go 24 hours a day. Information technology hasn't freed people from the office, it has made new things possible. But every new technology has an impact on our bodies."
EXERCISING AT WORK
It is important to exercise during regular work pauses, stretching your muscles and joints through their full range of movement. Stretching should give a tight and mild straining feeling, not pain.
Hold the stretches for five to 10 seconds. If exercising at home, hold them for up to 60 seconds. A physiotherapist can develop a program for you or refer to exercises in Fit To Sit - Fit To Live.
BENEFITS OF REGULAR EXERCISE AT WORK
* Reduced risk of muscular pain, fatigue and stiffness.
* Reduced risk of common computer-related injuries such as tendinitis, back pain, neck pain and headaches.
* Improved circulation and ability to tolerate sustained positions.
* Reduced fatigue and stress, improved quality of work and work relationships.
© 1998 The Age
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