Category Archives: Ergonomics

Anterior knee pain is a common injury for cyclists (read my post on cycling and knee pain). This injury is also present in the general population, typically amongst growing children and teenagers. Overall it affects 25% of the population at some point in their life.

Anterior knee pain occurs when the quadriceps muscles are unable to support the mechanical requirements placed upon them through activities in daily life (such as climbing up or down stairs) or sport and recreational activities (such as cycling or mountain climbing).

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Mechanical failure of the quadriceps muscles results in compression of the underside of the knee cap (the cartilage) onto the thigh bone (femur) below. This results in pain and inflammation in this area and makes loading of the knee and knee cap as well as bending of the knee, painful. The result is a reduced ability to participate in previous activities, especially sport.

In cyclists, anterior knee pain is commonly created as a result of too rapid or too many increases to a training schedule, but, importantly, research also shows that anterior knee pain can also be due to your bike’s saddle height being set incorrectly.

cycling, seat height, knee pain — ” Bradley Wiggins, col d’Eze paris-Nice 2012″ by Dacoucou under Licence CC BY 3.0

From the research, it appears that the height of your bike’s saddle has an influence on the amount of compression that is placed through the knee cap, thus influencing the development of anterior knee pain or not. The lower the height of your saddle, the higher the compressive forces on your knee cap and the greater your risk of developing anterior knee pain.

Apparently there are a number of recommended ways to set your saddle height correctly, but not all are supported by scientific research. According to a research review published in 2011, the researchers determined that using the knee flexion angle method was the preferential method to determine the correct saddle height for your bike and that when using this method, your knee angle should be set at 25-30 degrees. Another benefit of this saddle height position is that it optimizes your oxygen consumption when cycling at a steady pace.

Now, how do you go about setting your bicycle saddle height according to the knee flexion angle method with the knee angles set between 25-30 degrees?

Firstly, you need to be seated on your bike and remain seated throughout the process.
Secondly, you need to place your foot on the pedal with your ankle in the neutral position and keep it neutral especially when you’re checking your knee angle. If you don’t keep your ankle neutral, and you place your foot into plantar flexion (toes facing downwards towards the earth), the greater your degree of plantar flexion, the greater you knee flexion angle will become and you will not have set your knee angle correctly.
The ball of your foot should be positioned slightly anterior (i.e. forwards) to the midpoint of your bike’s pedal. This improves hamstring function.
Once all the above are in place, then, drop one pedal to the 6 o’clock position. The knee joint angle of this leg should be bent (flexed) to 25-30 degrees when the pedal is at this 6 o’clock position. To accurately determine this angle, you may need a joint goniometer or someone with you who is good at judging angles. It may be useful to go see your sports physiotherapist to get them to help you set up your bike correctly.

Reference:

Bini R., Hume P.A., Croft J.L. (2011). Effects of bicycle saddle height on knee injury risk and cycling performance. Sports Medicine, Jun 1;41(6):463-76. doi: 10.2165/11588740-000000000-00000.

Ergonomics, Lower Back Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

Correcting Your Driving Posture to Reduce Lower Back Pain

29th February 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

People who suffer from lower back pain often find it aggravated by driving, or some people who drive a lot find themselves experiencing lower back pain.

Either way, there are a few things to be aware of regarding your posture in the car that will help both scenarios reduce their lower back pain and improve their driving experience.

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You need to maintain your lumbar curve in your car seat.

poor driving posture, lower back pain, loss of lumbar lordosis — “Poor slouching driving posture. Loss of lumbar curve”by CS Body Health cc. All Rights Reserved. 2016

Good driving posture, driving ergonomics, lower back pain — “Good driving posture. Lumbar lordosis maintained and supported by backrest” by CS Body Health cc. All Rights Reserved. 2016

Vertebral Column by Unknown and is licenced in the Public Domain

Your lumbar curve is there to help reduce the loading on your spine. When you slouch, you increase the pressure on your spinal discs and increase your risk of developing a spinal disc problem that may result in lower back pain. The backrest of your chair is specially shaped to help maintain your curve. To gain the benefit of your backrest, ensure that your buttocks are positioned right back against the backrest and that you are leaning backwards into it.

2. In order to sit properly while you drive and maintain your lumbar curve, you need to position your legs at the correct distance from the pedals to prevent tight hamstrings on stretch from flattening your lumbar curve (read my post on tight hamstrings and lower back pain).

Your hamstrings attach to the bottom of your pelvis and go on stretch when you straighten your knee. If you have tight hamstrings, when you straighten your knees to reach/press down on your car pedals, the stretch in your hamstrings will result in your pelvis being rotated backwards and your lumbar curve flattening, increasing the pressure on your spinal discs and increasing your risk of developing lower back pain.

In order to determine the correct distance of your car seat to the pedals, place one hand in your lower back and feel the curve of your lower spine, then move your seat forwards and back until you can comfortably reach the pedals while still maintaining your lower/lumbar spinal curve.

Driving Ergonomics — “Optimum chair pedal distance” by CS Body Health cc. All Rights Reserved. 2016

3. Incline your car seat’s backrest to -8 degrees to reduce the loading on your lumbar spine and reduce spinal fatigue.

There is more loading on your spine when your backrest is upright than when it is reclined backwards. You instinctively know this, and when you are tired from sitting upright for too long, you will intuitively move your buttocks forwards on the chair seat and lean backwards to take the strain off your spine. Thus, positioning your car seat too upright will cause fatigue of your back and increase your risk of developing lower back pain if you are driving for long periods of time.

Too upright driving posture — “Driving posture too upright” by CS Body Health cc. All Rights Reserved. 2016

4. Elevate/lower your chair so that your hips are 90 degrees or less. If your hip angle is too sharp, this will also increase your risk of slouching in your chair, which in turn will lead to increase pressure on your spinal discs and increase your risk of developing lower back pain. If your seat does not allow you to sit high enough, help yourself by sitting on a small cushion.

5. Move the steering wheel up/down/forwards and back until you find a comfortable distance from yourself to the steering wheel. Your elbows should be slightly bent. This will prevent your shoulders from fatiguing, which when it occurs, will also increase your spinal loading and spinal fatigue when driving and increase your risk of developing lower back pain or aggravating your current pain.

6. Stretch your hamstrings (read my post on how to stretch your hamstrings if you have lower back pain) if they are tight to help yourself maintain good spinal posture when you drive.

Ergonomics, Lower Back Pain, Monitor Ergonomics, Neck Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

Is Your Computer Monitor Positioned Too Far Away from You?

24th February 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

Neck and lower back pain are such common complaints that we all know someone (if it’s not ourselves) who has experienced at least one of these complaints. There are many causes for neck or lower back pain. These can include different types of injuries, disease processes, genetic predispositions, and most importantly and commonly of all, our posture. Our posture at work and our posture at home and at play.

Our work posture is getting more and more attention, especially since the advances in technology have relegated most of us to work behind a computer for long hours each day. There are a host of things to consider in our work environment that can negatively affect our posture and cause our neck or lower back pain.

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Part of my job is going around performing office ergonomics for people. One of the most common things I hear is people blaming their chair for their neck or lower back pain. Most often, however, this is not correct and the real culprit is the monitor and where it has been positioned on the desk. Luckily, this is a much cheaper and easier solution to the problem.

Your poor monitor position (read my post on 4 poor monitor positions that cause neck pain) is definitely one of the first places to look if you suffer from neck or lower back pain and you think your work posture is to blame. There are a number of factors to consider in relation to your monitor position, but one very important and neglected element is the correct monitor distance that your monitor is positioned away from you while you work.

If your monitor is positioned too far away from you, you will find yourself leaning forwards in order to see your screen better, creating all sorts of problems in your spine (especially in your neck and lower back) and over activating your shoulder muscles, all leading you down the path of aches and pains.

Monitor Positioned too far — Image by US Navy under Public Domain

So what is the correct distance that you should place your monitor?

Generally, your monitor should be positioned a lot closer to yourself than you think it should. And if you don’t believe me, ask yourself why you keep leaning forwards when you work.

How do you determine the correct distance that you should position your monitor at? I call it the “Frankenstein” test.

Firstly, position your chair as close to your desk as possible while your arms and wrists are still able to comfortably work on your keyboard and be supported with an elbow angle of 90-120 degrees. (In order to get close enough to your desk, you might need to adjust your armrests. Generally I find that most armrests get in the way of the desk when you want to come closer, so one solution is to raise your armrest so that it just slides onto the surface of your desk, allowing you to bring your chair closer. If you are unlucky enough not to have adjustable armrests and your armrests are really stopping you from bringing your chair sufficiently forwards, I recommend getting your building maintenance to remove them. Use your desk for your arm support instead).
Then, lean backwards against your backrest and replicate Frankenstein’s outstretched arms – where your fingertips end, that is where your screen should be.

Closer than you think? Give it a try and remember to keep leaning back against your chair’s backrest. Your backrest is there to help keep you in good posture while you work. A combination of those two factors (leaning back in your chair and having your monitor at the correct distance away from you) will go a long way to reduce your neck or lower back pain associated with poor working posture.

Ergonomics, Neck Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

Touch Typing and Neck Pain

14th February 2016 Cecily Schmidt 1 Comment

Which one are you? The painstaking 2 finger typer or the smug finger flying touch typer?

Who would’ve thought that typing at school would come in so handy? Or are you kicking yourself because as it turns out you never had the foresight to take typing as a subject when you had the chance?

finger typing — “An alphanumeric computer keyboard” by R. Jason Brunson, U.S. Navy under Public Domain

Touch Typing — “Computer keyboard” by Gflores under Public Domain

Does it really matter if you can touch type or not? What are the implications for your health in the workplace? How does something so seemingly insignificant make such a difference?

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I’ve written a number of posts on computer posture (click here to read about how your monitor position can cause neck pain) and neck pain (Click here to read about correcting a monitor positioned too far or too low on your desk causing neck pain). One thing I haven’t discussed is how touch typing (or not) can influence your neck pain.

As I mentioned previously, 30-50 % of people will suffer from neck pain and office workers are at a greater risk than others for developing neck pain. One of the reasons that neck pain is so common in the office environment is that people bend their neck too much in an office job. Research has shown that individuals who bend their neck for 70% or more during the day dramatically increase their risk of developing neck pain compared to their colleagues who don’t.

What are some of the reasons that cause people to bend their neck for too in an office environment?

The computer/laptop/tablet monitor that you’re using is positioned too low on your desk while you work, forcing you to bend your neck.
You are working with documents a lot and don’t have a document holder to hold them up at eye level, thus causing you to bend your neck while you work.
You don’t know how to touch type and you are forced to keep looking at your hands when you use the keyboard, forcing you to bend your neck throughout the day while you work.

When I go around to companies and perform office ergonomics, helping people to sit correctly at their computer workstations, sometimes correcting someone’s computer ergonomics is not enough to resolve the problem. If an employee constantly still develops neck pain despite having their computer workstation setup correctly (click here to view software to help you correct your computer ergonomics) , and neck injuries such as whiplash, or arthritis, or any systemic diseases which may cause neck pain are not clouding the picture, the reason why they may still be developing neck pain is possibly due to the fact that they are 2 finger typers, constantly looking down at their keyboard.

What is the solution when an inability to touch type is the problem? Simple, but it does require some effort. Learn how to type properly. There are a number of FREE online typing courses:

I’m sure there are more, just google it if you don’t like any of the one’s I’ve mentioned above. If you do use any of the above, I would appreciate feedback to help with the recommendation to others. Please post comments to this article.

Learning how to touch type will help you to keep working in a healthy body posture, reducing your need to bend your neck so often through the day and therefore reduce your risk of developing neck pain. Another bonus to learning to touch type is that the increased fluidity and speed of your new found typing skills will also help you to work faster which may also help reduce some of the deadline stress associated with your job. Stress in and of itself can also be a factor in your neck pain (read my post about stress and neck pain). A double bonus. Good luck and please let me know how it goes.

Reference:

Ariens G.A.M., B. P. (2001). Are neck flexionk, neck rotation, and sitting at work a risk for neck pain? Results of a prospective cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 200-207.

Cagnie B., D. L. (2007, May). Individual and work related risk factors for neck pain among office workers: a cross sectional study. European Spine, 16(5), 679-686.

Guzman J., H. E.-J. (2008). A new conceptual model of neck pain linking onset, course and care: The bone and joint decade 2000-2010 task force on neck pain and its associated disorders. Spine, 33(4S), S14-S23.

Guzman J., H. S.-J. (2009, February). Clinical practice implications of the bone and joint decade 2000-2010 task force on neck pain and its associated disorders. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 32(2S), S227-S243.

Ergonomics, Monitor Ergonomics, Neck Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

How to Correct a Low Computer Monitor Position Causing Neck Pain

11th February 2016 Cecily Schmidt 2 Comments

So, you’ve discovered that your monitor (laptop, tablet or desktop computer screen) is positioned too low on your desk (read my post about 4 monitor positions that cause neck pain) causing you to bend your neck for too long, straining your neck. How can you go about correcting this and ease up the strain on your neck causing your neck pain?

Poor Desktop Monitor Position — “Catching Up On Email…” by Ed Yourdon under Licence CC BY 2.0

Well, firstly, the changes to your monitor are entirely dependent on the type of technical device that you use. There are, however, certain principles that apply to all types of devices with a monitor that you might use that you need to be aware of in order to adjust your monitor correctly and reduce your neck pain.

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Using the same device’s keyboard, mouse (or touch pad) and monitor and sit in the correct position for your body can be a bit tricky. Often this scenario will place you in a really poor posture when using your device, and if this posture is prolonged, it will likely result in you developing neck pain. The way out of this it to lower your chair until your head is looking straight ahead at your screen and place the keyboard of your laptop far enough away so that your elbows are >90 degrees (open elbow angle) but not so far that when you lean back in your chair, your monitor is further than arms’ length away (which will result in forward leaning posture creating high risk of back and neck pain). Phew!!
Again, whether you are using a laptop or desktop (or tablet), your monitor needs to be at eye level, allowing the curve in your neck to remain neutral (chin level, not tucked in or poking out). Your cervical lordosis (neck curve inwards as in the xray below) is pivotal for good posture behind your device.

cervical curvature — “Medical X-Rays” by Nevit Dilmen under Licence CC BY 3.0

3. You will need some assistive device to help raise your monitor to the correct height. Some desktop monitors have a built-in system that allows you to move the monitor up or down as desired, but most do not.

Let’s consider each scenario separately:

If You Use a Desktop Monitor

If you are using a normal, old fashioned desktop monitor, this will be one of the easier scenarios to raise your screen to the correct height. Just use books (it’s cheaper), a monitor raise or an adjustable monitor arm (check our our monitor raise and adjustable monitor arm in our shop).

Computer ergonomics — “Computer Workstation Variables” by Yamavu under Licence CC 1.0 (Public Domain)

If You Use a Laptop

People who use laptops sit in terrible postures unless they use a laptop raise (check out our laptop raise) or books to elevate the laptop monitor to eye level and use a second keyboard and mouse. Please ensure that you purchase a proper laptop raise that elevates the monitor sufficiently and doesn’t do a half job and leave you bending forwards over your machine. Alternatively, lower your chair until your monitor is at eye level as described above.

“Alu MacBook Desk shot” by David under Licence CC BY 2.0If You Use a Tablet

Tablets are an even greater ergonomic risk than laptops. Their screens are small and their keyboards laughable. If you’re crazy enough to use it like a working computer, you will have to get a tablet stand (and more than likely need to raise even that up on books to get it to the right height) as well as a second keyboard and mouse (check out our tablet stand).

This tablet raise/stand allows you to use your tablet like a computer, however, it will still need to be raised further on books etc to get the screen to eye level. In addition, you will also need a keyboard and mouse to allow for proper ergonomics and to avoid unnecessary back and neck pain.

Ergonomics, Monitor Ergonomics, Neck Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

4 Computer Monitor Positions that Give You Neck Pain

9th February 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

Are you an office worker suffering with neck pain? If so, you’re not alone. Office workers are one of the population groups most at risk of developing neck pain, with an incidence of around 55% in some countries.

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If you are an unfortunate office worker suffering from neck pain, is there something that you can do yourself to reduce or prevent your neck pain rather than popping pills or going to see your OMT trained Physiotherapist?

The answer is, yes, of course there is!

The first and simplest things that you need to consider is where your monitor is positioned in relation to yourself on your desk (check our our desktop software designed to help you correct your computer ergonomics). A poor monitor position is one of the most common reasons why office workers suffer from neck pain associated with poor posture. It’s happily also one of the easiest things for to change to help improve poor posture that could be causing your neck pain.

Consider the following 4 monitor position scenarios. Do you see yourself in any of them? All of these poor monitor positions are high risk postures for creating neck pain.

In this scenario, your monitor (laptop or desktop computer screen) is positioned too low on your desk causing you to bend your neck for too long, straining your neck and resulting in neck pain. This is quite common, especially for people working on a laptop or tablet. Mobile computer devices are handy to have, but they all need assistive ergonomic devices to help you work in a safe posture. Read this post on correcting a low monitor position to help you correct this problem.

"Catching Up On Email..." by Ed Yourdon under Licence CC BY 2.0 — “Catching Up On Email…” by Ed Yourdon under Licence CC BY 2.0

2. In this second scenario, your screen is positioned too high for you, causing you to raise your chin and compress the joints in the back of your neck causing you both neck pain and headaches. This monitor position will cause neck pain faster than any of the others and is one of the worst postures possible for a computer worker. This posture is common in people who are aware that a computer monitor often needs to be elevated, but are unaware of their own posture and what the correct position for one’s head and neck needs to be to prevent or reduce neck pain. Correct your position asap

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Poor monitor position, poor ergonomics, neck pain, monitor positioned too high — “Starcraft II: Triple Monitors” by Kyle James under Licence CC BY 2.0

3. Here, your screen is positioned too far away from you, causing you to lean forwards away from your backrest and poke your chin out. This posture will cause both headaches and neck pain. Read this post on correcting a monitor positioned too far away to help you correct this problem and reduce your neck pain.

Poking chin posture — “Man uses laptop” by Bill Branson under Public Domain

4. In this last scenario, you are working a lot from notes/papers/files and don’t use a document holder. This means that you are looking down too often during the day and this constant bending of your neck puts you at a very high risk of developing neck pain.

Alternatively, you’re working a lot from notes and have positioned them on your desk between your keyboard and monitor causing you to push your monitor too far away and take a poking chin posture.

Both of these postures will create neck pain and possibly headaches.

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I will write about how to correct these postures and position your monitor correctly in the near future, make sure you come back to find out how you can help yourself reduce your neck pain.

Ergonomics, Monitor Ergonomics, Neck Pain, The Spine, Work Place Injuries

How the Position of Your Computer Screen/ Tablet Can Cause Neck Pain

27th January 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

You’re stuck at your desk behind your computer, hour after hour, day after day looking at that darn screen! “This can’t be good for my health”, you think. Actually, you are right. It’s not.

Besides the glare and fatigue, and let’s not mention the stress (all of which add up and contribute to your frequent aches and pains) (read my post on stress and neck pain), there is something else, something mechanical which WILL end up in neck pain. Simply bending your neck for too long (read my post on 4 computer monitor positions that cause neck pain).

Bending your neck is so common and so ordinary and most of us do it for far too long during the day, which is why at least a 30 -50% of us will experience neck pain.

Why do we bend our necks for too long increasing our risk of developing neck pain? The most common reason that we bend our necks for long periods of time during work hours is because our computer screen is positioned too low on our desk. Alternatively, if we’reworking with a tablet (or smart phone) in our hand for far too long, these devices with their small screens and integrated keyboards cause us to work in a hunched over position with our heads hanging down. Prime posture for developing neck pain (read my post on how to correct a low monitor position causing neck pain).

Another reason is because we are working with papers on our desk as well as trying to type on our keyboards, or because we can’t touch type (read my post on touch typing and neck pain). All these things cause us to bend our necks for too long.

Researchers have discovered that bending your neck for more than 70% of your working day will double your chances of developing neck pain.

So, what position should your neck be in when you work? What posture will help prevent you from suffering from neck pain? Remember that spinal s-curve? (read my post on spinal posture and back pain)

Vertebral Column by Unknown and is licenced in the Public Domain

Well, that spinal s-curve needs to be maintained when you’re looking at your screen/laptop/tablet/smart phone for extended periods of time. It also needs to be maintained when you’re typing or working on papers! (check out our store for assistive devices to help place your monitor/tablet in the correct position).

"IMG_3771" by Joe Loong under Licence CC BY 2.0 — “IMG_3771” by Joe Loong under Licence CC BY 2.0

In order to maintain your spinal s-curve and the curve of your neck, you need to raise the screen of your monitor/laptop/tablet to eye level using books, monitor raises, adjustable monitor arms, or a proper laptop raise/ tablet docking station (I’ll discuss this further in another post) to achieve this. If you’re lucky, some desktop monitors are adaptable, allowing you to elevate them without aids. Ensure that when they are on their highest setting and that your monitor is in fact at eye level, otherwise you still need some books etc to get it to the correct height.

Need more help with computer ergonomics? Check out our ergonomic desk exercise software.

All in all, make sure that your neck is in a good position while you work if you’re suffering from neck pain or want to avoid suffering from neck pain.

Reference:

Ariens G.A.M., B. P. (2001). Are neck flexionk, neck rotation, and sitting at work a risk for neck pain? Results of a prospective cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 200-207.

Cagnie B., D. L. (2007, May). Individual and work related risk factors for neck pain among office workers: a cross sectional study. European Spine, 16(5), 679-686.

Ergonomics, Musculoskeletal Injuries, Work Place Injuries

Do You Experience Wrist Pain? How Do You Know if it’s Carpal Tunnel

15th January 2016 Cecily Schmidt 1 Comment

Have you been experiencing pain in your hand, especially in the thumb, index finger and middle finger area? Or maybe a fuzzy feeling or pins and needles and/or numbness in the same described area?

wrist pain — Image by FreeImages under FreeImages.com Content Licence

These are all symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

What is carpal tunnel syndrome? Carpal tunnel syndrome is a problem where one of the nerves (the median nerve) that feeds the hand, becomes irritated and inflamed. This inflammation of the median nerve in the wrist area results in swelling of the tissue surrounding the median nerve. Because there is very little space in the area where the median nerve passes through the wrist, swelling in this area causes pressure on the median nerve. This pressure on the median nerve in turn causes your symptoms of pain, pins and needles and numbness in the thumb, ring finger and index finger and the area in the palm just below it.

Inflammation of the median nerve is normally due to overuse of the hand, and this condition is also known as repetitive strain injury or RSI. Office workers and factor workers are both at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

In office workers, RSI/carpal tunnel syndrome is quite a common injury. Not quite as common as neck pain or lower back pain (read my post on 4 computer positions that cause neck pain) but quite common nonetheless.

One of the reasons office workers end up with RSI/carpal tunnel syndrome is due to excessive use of the computer mouse. Strangely enough, too much typing is not associated with the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. Another reason office workers are susceptible to developing carpal tunnel syndrome is due to pressure on the underside of their wrist. People who use mouse pads place themselves at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome due to the pressure they place on their wrist when they rest their wrists on their mouse pad. This is slightly ironic, since the mouse pad was developed to help with carpal tunnel syndrome. Research has shown though, that mouse pads actually increase the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome rather than reducing it. So, please throw your mouse pad away!

Factory workers are at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome due to excessive hand use, particularly in activities that cause them to bend their wrists, such as jobs that involve repetitively folding boxes all day.

Sometimes, carpal tunnel syndrome can also be due to mechanical compression that occurs as a result of scarring in the area from a wrist injury. Injuries result in inflammation, and inflammation always creates scarring in the inflamed area.

One of the reasons it’s always important to get physiotherapy when you have an injury, is because your physiotherapist will help to reduce secondary complications that in themselves can cause problems for you down the line, such as the scarring mentioned above. Your physiotherapist has many many years of training and specialising in injury management (Find a Physio near you).

How do you test whether you may or may not have carpal tunnel syndrome? Simply bend your wrist forwards (fingers and hand moving palm downwards towards the forearm) and sustain that position for a few moments (about a minute). If your symptoms appear or increase, you likely have carpal tunnel syndrome. If you go see a specialist (e.g. a neurosurgeon/neurologist), they may do a nerve conduction test to see if the nerve is functioning properly and to assist in diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome. Ensure that you also go see your physiotherapist for your rehabilitation. Physios work hand in hand with your specialists to help get you back to normal as fast as possible.

Ergonomics, Work Place Injuries

What are common causes of headaches at the computer?

13th January 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

A pounding headache. Thump, thump, thump…. Who of us, stuck behind a computer for hours, has not experienced this?

Headaches and neck pain are very common in office workers and have a debilitating affect on our mood, concentration levels and productivity.

Since headaches are so common, it’s worthwhile understanding what can predispose us to developing a headache in the work place. What are some of the common causes for developing headaches at work?

Glare on your computer screen

Glare can be a real problem in the office, especially when it causes you a headache. To resolve glare, you need to first find the source of your glare. Is your glare coming from the light above you or is your glare coming from a window? To help reduce glare, you may need to move your computer screen and sometimes even your desk so that the glare is no longer a problem. If that’s not an option, you can get anti-glare films to put onto your computer screen or even changing the angle of your screen to reduce the glare may help. If the glare is from a window, consider blinds or curtains to help address the problem. Speak to your co-workers, I’m sure that they will understand that headaches caused by glare are not fun and then they will be more willing to help you find a solution.

2. A poking chin posture

A poking chin posture is a common cause of headaches for people working behind a computer. A poking chin posture causes compression of the neck joints just below the skull, which in turn causes your headaches. A poking chin posture is often as a result of a poor computer monitor position. Ready my post on 4 monitor positions that cause neck pain or my post on how the how the position of your monitor causes neck pain to learn more about it. Neck pain and headaches often go hand in hand.

3. Working for too long without a break

Working for too long without a break is a common mistake that most people make. We forget that we are not robots, and that our bodies require time out to function properly. Read my post on work breaks to learn more.

4. Tension in your neck muscles

Tension in your neck muscles will most certainly cause both neck pain and headaches. This tension will be created as a result of stress or poor posture at your desk. Read my post on stress and neck pain to learn more.

5. Using the wrong spectacle prescription

Using the wrong spectacle prescription while working at a computer or reading will strain your eye muscles that commonly leads to headaches. When last did you have your eyes checked?

6. Not drinking enough water

When you are dehydrated, one of the symptoms is a headache. You may be dehydrated because you don’t enjoy drinking water, or because you’ve been drinking too much coffee and tea which stimulates your body to eliminate water. However, if you drink too much water, and eliminate too many salts from your body in the process, you may also develop a headache. Moderation is key.

7. Hunger

When you don’t eat properly, you affect the finely tuned equilibrium that your body is constantly seeking and designed to seek. When you don’t eat properly, you affect the sugar levels in your blood and low blood sugar levels trigger a system of responses that can lead you to experiencing a headache. Do you often suffer from headaches and do you also eat badly? Have you had your blood sugar levels tested? Maybe it’s time to go see your GP and maybe a nutritionist to help you look after yourself better.

Overall, working for long hours without a break can cause many of the problems mentioned above. Too many people tend to neglect themselves at work, without realising that doing so negatively affects their work and their health. Are you one of them?

References:

Johnston V., Souvlis T., Jimmieson N.L., Jull G. 2007. “Associations between individual and workplace risk factors for self-reported neck pain and disability among female office workers.” Applied Ergonomics 39: 171-182.

Grimby-Ekman A., Andersson E.M., Hagberg M. 2009. “Analysing musculoskeletal neck pain, measured as present pain and periods of pain, with three different regression models: a cohort study.” BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 10 (73). doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-10-73.

Helland M., H. G. (2008). Musculoskeletal, visual and psychosocial stress in VDU operators after moving to an ergonomically designed office landscape. Applied Ergonomics, 39, 284-295.

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Ergonomics, Lower Back Pain, The Spine

Why the Spinal S-Curve is Important in Back Pain

11th January 2016 Cecily Schmidt Leave a comment

Lower back pain is extremely common. It is so common that 8 out of 10 people will experience it at some point in their lives.

Lower back pain can be caused by many factors. These include factors such as genetics or birth defects (spondylolysis), trauma (falls or car accidents), infections (bacterial infections or even TB of the spine), and poor posture and movement patterns. Sometimes a combination of causes is to blame for our lower back pain. Out of all the factors I’ve listed, the one that we have the most control over on a day to day basis, is our posture and our movement patterns.

The most at risk postures for developing lower back pain are sitting and bending postures. These two postures when performed badly put our spines at a high risk of developing lower back pain, and people who do a lot of sitting and people who perform a lot bending are often the people who complain of lower back pain. Think of office workers, drivers, nurses, machine operators, fatory workers, manual workers and more. These people and others who engage in a lot of sitting and/or bending on a day to day basis are the people who are at risk and who do develop lower back pain. Does that sound like most of us? Exactly, hence the high incidence of lower back pain!

Read my post on driving postures and lower back pain.

One of the most important elements of our posture in helping to prevent lower back pain, is the s-curve of our spine and maintaining the s-curve of our spine in different postures and movement patterns.

Read my post on correct lifting posture for picking up children.

The spinal s-curve consists of 3 different curves. There’s a curve that goes in at the neck (the cervical lordosis), followed by the curve that goes out in the upper back (the thoracic kyphosis) and the curve that goes in again at the lower spine (the lumbar lordosis). The depths of these curves may vary in different people, but we all have the 3 curves illustrated below and they are very important for our biomechanics and general spinal health.

The importance of these curves in helping to prevent lower back pain, is that these spinal curves throw our centre of gravity between our feet. With our centre of gravity lying between our feet, the compressive and shearing forces on our spine which may lead to lower back pain are reduced. Keeping these shearing and compressive forces as low as possible acting on our spine helps to keep the forces acting on our backs within limits that our body tissues can naturally withstand, which then helps to reduce or prevent lower back pain.

When we change these curves through engaging in poor posture while sitting, standing, lifting, driving, picking up children etc., we increase the forces on our spine unnecessarily causing many problems with the complex spinal biomechanics and anatomy that result in injury and lower back pain.

How often do you lose your spinal curve in your activities during your day? Do you suffer from back pain? Is your poor posture partly to blame?

CS Body Health

Category Archives: Ergonomics

Positioning the Saddle Height on Your Bike Correctly to Reduce Anterior Knee Pain

Correcting Your Driving Posture to Reduce Lower Back Pain

Is Your Computer Monitor Positioned Too Far Away from You?

Touch Typing and Neck Pain

How to Correct a Low Computer Monitor Position Causing Neck Pain

4 Computer Monitor Positions that Give You Neck Pain

How the Position of Your Computer Screen/ Tablet Can Cause Neck Pain

Do You Experience Wrist Pain? How Do You Know if it’s Carpal Tunnel

What are common causes of headaches at the computer?

Why the Spinal S-Curve is Important in Back Pain

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