ARE YOU A PAIN IN THE NECK?
Computers are an amazing tool for our work lives, our home lives and our social lives. We use them all the time. We compose emails. We work on spreadsheets to compile and interpret data. We use them at home for our facebook and twitter accounts. We even use them to pay our bills and schedule our lives. It is truly amazing what the computer has done to change our lives. Yes, computers help us to be more efficient and get more work done, but did you ever think what kind of toll they take on our bodies? If you are on the computer during most of your waking hours, then yes, you probably have pain in your neck!
At Ramsey Rehab, we constantly deal with clients who have pain in their necks and backs that are truly related to over use as well as poor ergonomics at the computer. It is very common for most of our clients that have neck and or back issues to be in some awkward and unfavorable positions while they are sitting using the computer for hours on end. Lap top computers are worse. Now with the advent of the note book, our clients are straining more to see and work at the computer. Yes, it's small and portable, but it's probably causing your pain in your neck.
Since we see this issue so much, we decided to be a bit proactive on this. We developed an educational video that is on our home page at our web site: www.ramseyrehab.com. It also shows some easy activities you can do right at the desk to help out your neck pain. We invite you to check it out.
First of all, your posture is always getting worse. We do all of our daily activities facing forward, so we get a forward head, rounded shoulders and weak and tight muscles in the trunk. Take a few minutes while sitting at your work station and ask yourself these questions: How do you think your posture looks? Does your posture change as the day goes on? How can you make your posture better?
If you really have a "pain in the neck", you need to make some changes. The first thing to do is to make an assessment of your work station. Think about these 4 things while you are sitting at the computer:
Hopefully we have given you a few things to think about in between spreadsheets and emails. Don't procrastinate if you have a "pain in the neck". Contact your physical therapist today to help you be more productive and pain free.
Kevin Flaherty, PT, CSCS is a physical therapist and the Vice President of Operations for Ramsey Rehab. Ramsey Rehab is a physical therapy company with offices in Leominster, Fitchburg, Devens and Tyngsborough. More information can be found on their web site at:
OTHER NEWSLETTERS:
