Health and Computer Professionals
There are many health risks common to computer professionals. The majority are due to repetitive tasks for long periods of time with limited movement.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most well known. Typing for extended periods may cause inflammation of the Carpal tunnel in the wrist resulting in pain or numbness in areas of the wrist and hand.
Aching muscles are also a frequent symptom to those who find themselves working with a computer for extended periods. Neck, back, shoulders, hands, elbows and even your head may ache due to strains from your daily work.
For those who don’t find additional activity outside of work, there are additional common health hazards. Weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and blood clots are not uncommon for those who lead sedentary lives.
So, now you know my medical history. I seem to have experienced them all. I’m not looking for sympathy here; in fact, I am finding some success in changing my lifestyle in positive ways without having to give up a job that I really enjoy. So, here are a few of the tips I have been learning:
- Get up and move around, at least once an hour. This really helps clear your mind, reduce stress on the muscles, and reduce the risk of blood clots. Even healthy people need to move around at least once an hour. Long trips and flying are activities with high incidence of blood clots even for people with no other health risks. While you’re moving, stretch and it will help with the muscle aches as well.
When I’m working I can’t keep track of time. I can’t remember the number of times I have just kept right on going past quitting time because I’m focused on solving a problem. I actually had to write an alert program to let me know when an hour had passed.
- If nothing else, bounce your legs frequently. You can also do isometric exercises at your desk with great success.
- Don’t cross your legs or fold them up under where you are sitting. Try and keep stress off them. It’s best if your chair height is such that your knees are at a 90 degree angle when sitting.
- Take time to organize you work area to reduce strain on your muscles. The middle of your monitor should be so that you can look directly at it with your head level. If you have bifocals, that may mean you want your monitor a little lower if the magnified portion of your glasses is at the bottom of your lens.
- Carpal tunnel is one of the most difficult problems to address. The goal is to have your wrist straight while typing. On a normal rectangular keyboard this is nearly impossible. But it can be done with practice. Try not to rest your wrist on anything while typing or using your mouse, putting pressure on the Carpal tunnel in your wrist.
I had a mouse pad with a cushion on it where I would rest my wrist while working the mouse. It felt great. However, when I was doing a lot of mouse work in a Database Diagram, I found my wrist going numb from the constant pressure.
- Your shoulders and back get a lot of strain if your keyboard or mouse is too high or too low. For me, just letting my arms drop to my side and putting my elbows at 90 degrees is a pretty good height for a keyboard and mouse. The problem is that most desks don’t fit that for me.
- A good chair is essential. Think about it; if you are going to be a computer professional, you are going to spend 1/3 or more of your working life sitting…so get a comfortable, adjustable chair. If your company won’t buy it for you, then maybe you need to find a way to take care of yourself.
- I use a natural keyboard the majority of the time. Be careful there too. If you don’t have the keyboard at the right height, it can be just as bad as a standard keyboard. Also, it can move the stress from your wrists to your elbows and/or shoulders.
- I have found that exercise before going to work really helps sharpen my mind. I get a lot more done in the morning after having exercised before going in to work.
Those are a few of the things I have found helpful for me, having learned them from health professionals or other persons. If there are any that you feel would actually be detrimental, please let me know so I can post it immediately. I know there is a lot of debate about how to solve Carpal tunnel issues.
I can confirm that exercise, stretching and moving frequently have plenty of collaboration for their effectiveness. The ergonomic suggestions are harder to correlate to the desired outcomes.
Do you have tips that have helped you improve your health in your work environment? Share them with us by sending them to btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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