Have you set up your workstation correctly to avoid injuries? Ever since COVID hit, there has been an increase in people working from home and working on the computer. We are going to go over a few simple steps to try and avoid some of those common repetitive injuries.
Step 1: Set the screen to be about eye level. I do not want to be looking up, but I definitely do not want to be looking down considering we are looking down at our phones more often.
Step 2: Getting the keyboard and mouse location in the ideal spot. Your arms should be in a relaxed position. If the table/desk is too high, your shoulders will shrug up, or to low and you will hunch, which will both be a problem. Also, setting up so you are not reaching for the keys or scrunched up. Try and set it up after checking that the monitor is about arm’s length away from you and place the keyboard in a comfortable position in that space.
Step 3: Make sure the screen size is visible to you. This is important because if the text is too small and you are leaning forward and having to squint, both issues could become long term problems. You can change that by altering the zoom on the screen or page to make it more comfortable for long durations.
Step 4: Find a chair that puts you in a good position and that is comfortable. There are a lot of chair options out there, but one that I typically recommend is a gaming chair. These are built for people sitting for long durations and can be a little bit more affordable. Again, the big concern is that when you are sitting for long durations in a poor position, you are going to have problems arise and some sooner than others.
Step 5: Every 30 minutes, get up and walk around for 10-20 seconds and then get back to work. Or vice versa if you have a stand-up desk is to sit down and move around for 10-20 seconds. If you are moving a little bit more often, this will offer more benefit that going longer times and then doing a big movement once a day.
The reason for these changes is more people are coming into my office with neck pain, headaches, back pain, and even carpal tunnel. This is all because of this repetitive trauma. This is not saying that sitting at the computer is dangerous, but that it is a long duration of repetitive action type trauma. In the sense of how the body reacts, muscle will react by stretching back and forth like a rubber band, but a ligament will stretch similar to a plastic bag, but it will return to normal length after a lag time. This lag time is when you are likely to get injured. The longer you are in that lag time, the longer it will take to get back to normal.
Get up and move around often, getting your workstation setup right, and check in and adjust things occasionally. Things like the chair wearing out or your eyesight changing can be good reason to reassess your workstation.
Tahoe’s Premiere Sports Chiropractor
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