Computer Ergonomics: Work Pain Free

Headaches from computer work are upsetting my life! For the last few years I have been getting a headache at the base of my skull after 2-3 hours working on the computer. It used to be a few times per week and would soon pass after I stopped working. It has been coming more often and now it comes every time I work on the computer, and is so strong I have to take medication or I can not keep working. The thing that is scaring me is that in the last few weeks I have felt it when reading at home. Can I solve this problem or do I have to find a new job? I hope you can help me,

Alisha in Chicago

Dear Alisha,

Do not worry. The headaches you are describing are “Muscle Contraction Headaches” and are easy to eliminate.

Let’s first understand what they are. There are several muscles from your neck and upper back that attach at the upper end to the base of your skull, exactly where you are having your headaches when working on the computer. The most commonly affected muscles are the Trapezious, the Levator Scalula, and the Cervical Erector Spinae.

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6. You must drink water at work.

Without drinking enough water, you become dehydrated and this causes muscles to be unhealthy and tighter, and causes or intensifies headaches. Some people drink soda, tea, coffee, etc. and no water. Increasing water intake will often reduce many minor muscle discomfort.

This series of articles explained the most common causes of headaches from computer work, how to evaluate your workstation and technique to see if you have conditions that need to be corrected, and how to make the corrections.

==>> This is a part of a 6 part series of short articles on the causes and solutions to headaches related to working on computers. View them all under computer headaches.

5. Working on a computer or writing while talking to clients with the telephone held between the ear and shoulder.

RISKS

This posture produces an intense, sustained contraction of the lateral neck muscles, which results in chronic tension and a shortening of the muscles, which can lead to [tag]headaches[/tag]. This can also cause pain, tingling, numbness, weakness or lack of coordination in the arm or hand. The use of a pad or bracket to help hold the handset to the shoulder is not adequate in reducing these stresses.

SOLUTION

A] Telephone speaker.
B] Telephone headset.
C] Keep telephone on the non-dominant hand side, and hold the headset to the ear with this same hand. In this way dominant hand is available, when using the handset, to write, mouse, or key.

==>> This is a part of a 6 part series of short articles on the causes and solutions to headaches related to working on computers. View them all under computer headaches.

4. Sitting without properly positioned low back support.

RISKS

This results in a reversal of the normal low back curve and a forward head posture. The resultant stretching of muscle and ligaments and having to hold up the weight of the forward head results in chronic tension, fatigue, neck and back ache, headaches at the base of the skull, and a tendency to injury from otherwise innocent activities.

SOLUTION

To properly sit and position a low back support, move buttocks to the back of the seat and arch your back. The support is placed at the deepest point of this curve. Keep in mind that as you get more or less stiff, from injury, stress, or exercise, the location of the curve may change. Apply this at your workstation, in your car, when watching TV, eating, etc. The proper size of the low back support is the comfortable size for you.

A] Chair with adjustable size and height Lumbar support.
B] Add Lumbar pillow to your seat.
C] Roll a towel and secure with rubber bands and use this as a lumbar support.
D] Roll a sweater or sweatshirt at a restaurant, movie, or meeting.
E] If the operator leans forward when working, sit on a foam wedge or use forward tilt option on the chair. This tilts the pelvis forward, maintaining the low back curve, and positions the head properly above the body.

==>> This is a part of a 6 part series of short articles on the causes and solutions to headaches related to working on computers. View them all under computer headaches.

This is the third in a series of posts regarding [tag]computer headaches[/tag], causes and solutions.

3. Monitor is off center or to the side, resulting in prolonged and repetitive neck and trunk rotation. It requires constant contraction of neck muscles to hold your head looking at the monitor to the side. This off center position causes this problem even if it is only slightly off center.

RISKS

Twisting of the spine in the neck causes excessive compression of the facet joints on one side, and stretching and tearing of muscles and ligaments on the other side. This risks facet joint injury, spinal instability, and a tendency to spinal degeneration, an arthritic condition too often found in office based workers. There is also excessive pinching of the outer layers of the lumber discs, contributing to the risk of ruptured or herniated discs. Finally, there is significant muscle work to maintain a rotated posture, with resultant fatigue, tension and headaches.

SOLUTION

A] Move monitor by rearranging desktop so operator, keyboard, and monitor are lined up.
B] Leave the monitor where it is and install a keyboard tray so the operator can face the monitor. These hold the keyboard and mouse and attach under the desk and pull out, raise or lower, rotate sideways, and tilt so you can easily work in your most relaxed posture.
C] When the monitor is at the corner of an L-shaped desk, install a corner extension to hold the keyboard.

==>> This is a part of a 6 part series of short articles on the causes and solutions to headaches related to working on computers. View them all under computer headaches.

The back of my legs (thigh area) get very painful after sitting for a while. Do you have some advice as to what will take the pressure off my legs while I’m sitting?

There are 3 things that commonly can cause pain in the back of your legs when sitting.

You can try making one change only per day. The one that takes away or reduces your discomfort is the one that is most important for you.
They are:

1. When the seat pan pushes against the back of your knee. This causes muscle tension in the back of your leg.

Solution: If the seat pan presses on the back of your knees, this will cause leg stress and tension. It will cause you to be fatigued and that leg tension over a period of months will travel up your legs and cause low back discomfort, eventually going all the way to your neck. The solution is simple. Either get a chair with a shorter seat pan so it’s not pressing on the back of your knees or place a pillow or a piece of foam behind you. This will bring you forward and will keep the seat pan from pressing against the back of your knees.

2. When the seat height has your heels off the ground. This causes you to constantly contract leg muscles to hold the position leading to leg tension

Solution: Adjust the chair height so you feet are flat on the floor with your knees slightly lower than the hips. When your legs are in the posture in this position there is minimal stress, tension and fatigue. If the seat is too low and the knees are higher than the hips that will cause a closed angle at the knees which will then result in decreased blood flow to the lower leg.

The decreased blood flow to the lower leg will then result in leg tension. This tension can travel as pain over a period of months up the legs to the hips, to the low back causing low back discomfort, and can even eventually travel up the back all the way to the neck.

Now if the seat is too high the toes or balls of the feet are on the floor and the heels are up off the floor. Unconsciously you are going to be contracting muscles to hold you in an uncomfortable posture and this can cause leg tension and pain.

If you have a proper seat height there’s going to be minimal stress in your legs, you’ll be less fatigued at the end of a work day and there will be less chance of having injury and discomfort in your legs, back and neck.

3. Not supporting your low back curve. This can cause a nerve irritation which causes a pain in the back of your legs. This is actually the most common cause of pain in the back of your legs from sitting.

Solution: To determine where to place the pillow to support the low back curve, this is what you do. Sit up straight and arch your back by sticking out your belly. Put your hand behind you and run your hand up and down your back and feel where the deepest part of your curve is. It’s usually higher than you think with most people.

This is where you need to have your low back support. You are supporting your natural curve. So arch your back as I’ve described. Put you hand back there and feel where the deepest part of your curve is, and that’s where your low back support is going to go. Now what should you use for low back support? Many chairs have built into them a low back support. You simply adjust the height so it’s exactly in this curve.

Other options are you can buy a lumbar pillow, and there are three or four different styles. You want to have access to several of them and try the one which feels most comfortable to you.

Finally, the one that most commonly is used, simply roll up a towel and place rubber bands around it to hold it in place and use that as a pillow for your low back.

Now whether you are using the support build into the chair, a commercial pillow or a rolled up towel, you now know where to place it. But how big should it be?

It’s as simple as this. It should be the most comfortable size. So try using different-sized pillows or different-sized rolled up towels. The correct size for you will obviously feel better as soon as you sit with it.

Do the 2 low back stretches every 15-20 when sitting at your computer. Both will take a combined 10 seconds to perform and you can do them without getting up from your workstation. They are the seated low back extension and the knee pull.

I am confidant this will reduce or eliminate the pain. If it does not, you may have a condition that requires treatment and you will need to see a doctor to get appropriate evaluation and treatment. Then the techniques in www.WorkPainFree.com will keep it from returning.

Question From Letitia: After years of heavy computer usage, I developed hand, wrist, and arm pain. Despite quitting my job, seeking various forms of therapy and minimizing time on the computer, I still experience pain three years later. Is there hope for me to recover, or is it too late?

Dear Letitia,

First of all, every musculoskeletal problem can be cured. The problem is, once hand-wrist-arm [tag]pain from computer work[/tag] is an advanced condition, such as yours obviously is, it is hard to fix, there are several possible components of the cure that works for you, and it takes a long time. You must be patient and continue with the treatment path even though there is little improvement in the beginning.

You mentioned you have tried various forms of therapy. A common problem is someone in your condition may try physical therapy for a while, then a chiropractor, then an MD for medication and rest, then an acupuncturist, etc. The problem here is your condition probably has several components, and you need to see several different practitioners at the same time. They must be in contact with each other and all be contributing to your cure. It is worth it because as you have discovered, it affects your entire life.

Treatment is difficult, and prevention is simple. That prevention is what the work pain free program is about. You will need to learn the lessons of work pain free because you mentioned that you still do some computer work, so you must stop the stress from that activity in order to get better.

There are several issues that you must explore.

1. You need to find health care providers that are secure enough and have relationships with other health care providers to refer you to if they cannot cure you.
2. Despite pain location, is the problem caused by hand, wrist, arm or neck dysfunction?
3. Other conditions to explore as possible contributory causes of the condition are: Pinched nerve in Neck, Brachial Plexus, Thoracic Outlet, Elbow, or Wrist; Muscular imbalance and spasm in forearm, Muscular trigger Point, Chronic Dehydration from not drinking enough water, True Carpel Tunnel, A bony distortion (Subluxation) in the hand, wrist or elbow, Neck Disc Pathology, TMJ Dysfunction,
4. Have you truly customized your computer workstation and technique to eliminate physical stress? (these are the lessons of “Work Pain Free”)
5. You will need to be evaluated for imbalances in your posture due to muscular strength imbalances. These will need to be corrected through a customized stretching and strengthening Rehabilitative exercise program.

Please feel free to contact me with what city you are in. I will help you find you a quality health care referral to help solve your problem.

Good luck.

Regards,

Dr. Barry Carlin

When I work on the computer, I usually have a constant hot sensation in my shoulders and lower neck. It only happens when I work on the computer. It is coming faster and feels stronger. Is this serious and how can I stop it?

Dear Rani,

Your report of a constant [tag]hot sensation in the shoulders and lower neck[/tag] is most likely from your monitor or document position causing a forward position of the head. Even a subtle forward position will cause the muscles where you feel discomfort to constantly contract to hold up your head (which can weigh 8-15 pounds. The constant contraction causes the hot sensation, or it can cause tension, ache, your head feeling heavy and pain

The solution is covered in the full version of Work Pain Free. What you must do is alter the monitor and/or document position so when looking at them your head is relaxed above your body without having to think about it.

The monitor should be directly in front of you. The top of a standard monitor screen or the upper third of an oversized screen should be just below your eyes, or in the middle of the bridge of your nose.

A test to fine tune the position to be exactly correct for you is after you set the correct monitor height, have a fried hold a paper in front of the monitor. Have them slowly raise it until it feels too high. Then have them lower it until it feels too low. Go up and down until you feel the exact most comfortable position for you. That is the exact best monitor height for you. Adjust it to that height. For most people it will be at the bridge of your nose as was described earlier in this article.

Place any papers you must look at on a document holder which will hold them up close to the monitor.