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.

When something causes these muscle to work constantly, or repetitively without a chance to recover, the muscles become constantly tense and they then shorten, and pull on their attachments such as where you feel your headaches from working on the computer.

There is usually no or very little discomfort in the muscle itself, but from pulling on its attachment at the base of the skull, it triggers a headache.

This article will present the equipment and technique situations that contribute to these computer caused headaches, and how to eliminate the [tag]computer headaches[/tag] by customizing your workstation and technique, and simple 5 second exercises that will reduce or eliminate the muscle tension and headache when it is present.

This first concept is necessary to understand why your equipment position can cause headaches from working on the computer.

If I sat with my elbow on a table, my forearm straight up, and a 14-pound bowling ball balanced in my hand, I could easily hold that position for quite a while.

But if I held my arm with the bowling ball off center, how long could I hold it? I would be shaking in a few seconds and would drop it in 1-2 minutes, probably with arm-muscle pain for a few days.

Your head weighs as much as a bowling ball. If you set up your work so your head is above your body, then muscles do not have to work to hold it up and they stay relaxed. But if you work so your head is bent or off center, then upper back and neck muscles must constantly work or contract to hold your head/ bowling ball up. From the constant work they become tense, causing neck and upper back pain, headaches, and can lead to other injuries.

Now let’s look at the computer workstation set-up that can cause the operator to work with the head off center.

Causes and solutions are offered in a 6 part series of short articles. View them under computer headaches

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