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How to prevent repetitive strain injuries at your desk

Nearly all of us spend most of our time sitting at a desk or behind a computer. Add up the time—forty hours per week, 52 weeks per year, year after year after year. Additionally, when we are not at work or on a computer, what position do we assume to drive, eat, watch television, and socialize?

Because we are sitting for a majority of our lifetime, our muscles begin to shorten, causing imbalances in our posture and ultimately leading to pain and dysfunction in various parts of our bodies.  Further, awkward positioning and posturing at your desk increases the stress and strain on your upper body, possibly leading to carpal tunnel syndrome, elbow tendonitis, and shoulder/neck/back pain.

One thing you can do to easily counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting is to practice proper posture and ergonomic positioning. Ideally, you should have:

  1. Feet firmly planted on the floor, legs uncrossed

  2. A curve in your low back by pushing your pelvis forward

  3. Shoulders aligned over hips

  4. Ears aligned with shoulders

Finally, stretch your spine upward, like a string pulling up through the crown of your head. By doing this, you are greatly alleviating strain on the neck and back muscles, which are the main culprits in common pain syndromes.

Another thing you can do to promote optimal alignment is to position your chair, computer monitor, keyboard, phone and any other office equipment you use often in the most ergonomic-friendly ways.

While sitting with neutral alignment as described above, you should be able to type on a keyboard with your elbows resting to your sides and bent at 90 degree angles. Your wrists should remain straight during keyboard use and they should "float" above the desk surface and keyboard. I often find people resting their forearms on the desk surface while keyboarding; this compresses the nerves and tendons in your arms and can lead to repetitive strain injuries in the forearm and hand/fingers.

Your monitor should be positioned just below eye level; your hips should be flexed to 90 degrees and your feet should reach the ground fully. You can make adjustments to your chair height or use props (such as a footrest) to achieve this position. If you use the phone regularly, you should use an attachment on the phone (i.e. earpieces or headphones) that prevents you from bending your neck to hold the phone in place. The main goal is to keep all joints in the most neutral position and to relieve your muscles and joints from undue stress and strain.

Additionally, incorporating basic neck, shoulder, leg and spine stretches frequently throughout the day will help to stretch the muscles that are being overworked and tightening. You should be getting out of the seated position 2-3 times each hour.  A brief standing/walking/stretch break (1-2 minutes) will go a long way in maintaining a healthy body.  Some people set reminders on their computers or phones to be sure they get up throughout the day.  Research also shows that taking these short stretch breaks increases work productivity in addition to preventing injuries.

The main muscles to focus on stretching are in the neck, chest, hip and thigh. Tightness in these areas can be the sole cause of some common back and neck pain syndromes. Learning these basic stretches will help to alleviate the problems caused from sitting too much. You can also help yourself by avoiding the seated position as much as possible when not at work. Try lying on your stomach to watch T.V. or for sleeping and be sure to engage in a regular exercise routine.

A majority of my patients are not injured from sustaining one large trauma; instead, most injuries are occurring slowly overtime from micro-traumas of repetitive use and poor positioning in our everyday activities.  If you experience nagging pain that increases throughout your work day, this is a warning sign from your body that you need to make changes!  Many companies have ergonomic professionals, like myself, available to assist you in creating a healthy work space to avoid potential repetitive strain injuries.  Sitting several hours each day is a must for most of us, but sitting prolonged with poor posture and bad ergonomic alignment is a must not.

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.