Is Your Computer a Pain in the Neck?

Three tips to help you be kind to your body while working.

Do you find yourself at the end of a work day rubbing your neck to get the kinks out? Feeling the fatigue of working on your computer all day long? Experiencing headaches or difficulty sleeping from those sore muscles? Here are a few things to take note of in your work space to make ergonomic improvements.

First: Is your computer screen in the right location? It needs to be positioned just right to avoid neck strain. A screen that is too low leads to a tendency to slouch, thrust your head forward, and look downward. The strain is felt in your upper back and neck. Likewise, a screen that is too high for you to view comfortably through bifocal or progressive lenses can lead to tipping your head backward in order to focus. A screen that is too far away encourages the head thrust to get close enough to read. Try moving the screen closer, making the print bigger, or getting a prescription with the correct focal length for your screen distance.

Second: Where are you relative to the screen? If you must twist your neck to look at it, you are straining the muscles in your neck and upper back. They will complain after a while. Better to relocate the screen, keyboard and mouse so that they are directly in front of you without having to hold an awkward position while you are working.

Third: Where is your keyboard? Keyboard trays are designed to get the keyboard to the correct height. You should be able to sit comfortably in your chair, shoulders relaxed, elbows bent at 90° and rest your hands on the keyboard. If you are working at the kitchen table, your keyboard is probably not in the right location. Hunching your shoulders to reach the keyboard will lead to tension building in your shoulder muscles. How about that mouse? The farther forward or out to the side that you must reach to get to the mouse, the more that shoulder and neck will ache. A keyboard that is too high also strains the muscles of the carpal tunnel and can lead to aches and pains in the forearm and wrist.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but if you are past that point, acupuncture can help! Contact KatonahAcupuncture@gmail.com today to set up your first visit or for a free consultation. Or call, 917-494-7339.