Combating the Effects of a Desk Job

by Ainsley Laing MSc

As you might already recognize from my previous articles, I am a crusader for correcting muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances occur in all of us through daily activities and movements. In this article, I would like to discuss the types of imbalances that occur in people who sit for long periods of time, say in a computer related job or taxi driver.

If you are reading this now, you are probably in a sitting position (unless you are in a Starbucks at one of the standing internet stations, and also having a coffee YUM). Focus on your body position. What muscles do you feel are shorter and which are longer (contracted vs stretched)? Basically, the muscles of the front of your body are shorter and the back side are longer. If you are using your mouse or typing, your shoulders and neck are rounded a bit forward.

Ok, so the muscles of your chest, abdomen and hip flexors (connect top of legs to torso in front) are tighter, and your butt and back (especially upper back) are looser. Over time, this position weakens the muscles of the back, butt and back of the upper leg and leaves the body with over tight hip flexors (putting stress on the low back) and tight chest muscles (pulling shoulders forward). A rounded spine is not good either!

“That’s ok”, you say. “I go to the gym and do strength training”….great!!! BUT I think you can see where I am going with this…

If you are sitting at a computer or driving a car (or any other sitting activity) for long periods of time, it’s a good idea to emphasize working out the backside of your body a bit more than the front. In other words, build the muscles of your lower, middle and upper back, the gluteal muscles (derrière) and the back of your upper leg. Stretch a bit more those musles of the front like the quadriceps (front of the upper leg), hip flexors (front of the pelvic bones) and pectorals (chest).

To illustrate this further, stand up from your desk and arch your back. Drop your head back and let your arms fall down and back. Basically, this is the opposite position from sitting. How does that feel? I bet your back and shoulders say AAAHHH, good. In this position, the muscles of your back side are shortened and the front ones are lengthened.

In yoga, there are many poses that involve arching the back. Even the ancient masters knew about stretching and building opposing muscle groups to achieve “body balance”!

Taking this idea one step further…. In the gym or in your regular exercise routine, strengthen the muscles of your back, derrière and back of upper leg and you will see and feel the difference in your posture, with less back, shoulder and neck aches from your job.

For advice on which exercises build these muscle groups, talk to your trainer or check out the many books on the subject.

About the Author:

Ainsley Laing, MSc. has been a Fitness Trainer for 25 years and writes exclusively Body for Mind eZine. She holds certifications in Group Exercise, Sports Nutrition and Person Fitness Training. Click here to read other articles by Ainsley.Sources:

“The Weak Point Workout” by Scott Hudson. http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/100

http://www.thepurplegenie.com/healthycomputing.htm

Healthy praxis

Healthy computing.
http://www.thepurplegenie.com/healthycomputing.htm


Healthy praxis

Students reported working an average of 2.9 hours (S.D.= 2.16) per day on the computer and used the mouse 45.1 % (S.D.=29.98) of the time. 81% reported doing something to reduce the discomfort while working at the computer. However, this was not correlated with a reduction of discomfort. They utilized many practices to reduce discomfort (e.g., taking breaks, stretching and limiting the time at the computer). Their practices were combined in common categories and listed:

Practice Stretch
Get up and stretch / arms and legs / 5 min stretches / yoga

Practice Breaks
Stand up / get up and move around a lot / break every hour / small breaks

Practice Posture
Change position / sit up straight and keep my arms in line / 'detective' check

Practice Vision breaks
Look out window instead of screen / don't squint / look at plants

Practice Walks
Walk around / walk outside every hour

Practice Movement/exercises
Neck exercises / shoulder rolls / roll my head

Practice Ergonomic changes
Chair / special cushion / feet flat on floor with back support

Practice Rest & relaxation
Focus on letting tension go in muscles / listen to soft music / yawn

Practice Breathing
Close my eyes & do breathing exercise / focus breathing in my stomach

Practice Massage
Massage my neck occasionally

Practice Eat
Have something hot to drink / tea break

Practice Limit time
Stop when discomfort felt / only sit down for a half an hour

Practice Alternate tasks
Do other tasks between typing jobs

Frequency of remediation practices reported by 77 out of 95 students while working at working at the computer. Many reported more than one practice.
Only 14 subjects (15 %) reported using special ergonomic equipment. The use of ergonomic adaptations correlated 0.37 with the hours worked. There were no significant differences in male and female responses for computer and mouse use, age, sex, hours worked at the computer, percentage of mouse use, and reports of discomfort as shown in table 2 (click to view).


Healthy computing.
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Discussion:

Healthy computing.
http://www.thepurplegenie.com/healthycomputing.htm

This paper was taken from the site:
http://www.backshop.nl/uk_new/main_peper_uk.php

Discomfort during and after computing among college students appears remarkably high for the short amount of time they work at the computer. Almost every student reported discomfort--only 3 reported none. When responses of the discomfort intensity are grouped into thirds (low, medium or high), more than 44 % of the respondents reported a high intensity of neck and shoulder discomfort. The major correlation in the survey is between the symptom areas (e.g., neck and shoulder discomfort is correlated with back discomfort).

Discomfort occurred despite the fact that 81% of the respondents reported doing something to feel better. Many reported doing interventions which are universally recommended (e.g., breaks, stretching or posture changes); none reported doing a system’s approach for prevention nor taking frequent micro-breaks (every 30-60 seconds). Consequently, they continued to work at the computer with covert increased sympathetic arousal and low level muscle tension (Peper et al, 1994; Peper, Harvey and Shumay, 1997).

We speculate that students did something only after experiencing discomfort. At that point they were attempting to remediate pain rather than prevent it. Hence, they did not change their work style patterns which contributed to the etiology of discomfort. When people work they are usually focused on the task and unaware of increased sympathetic arousal as indicated by low level muscle tension, increased breathing rate, and decreased peripheral temperature (Schleifer and Ley, 1994; Peper, 1994). This postulated lack of awareness matches the observations that, when keyboard placement was altered, there was no significant correlation between muscle tension and subjective awareness of muscle tension (Shumay, Peper and Tibbetts, 1995).

Similarly, interpreters for the deaf were usually unaware of the drastic increase in respiration rate and decrease in peripheral hand temperature during interpreting (Peper et al, 1997).

The non-significant correlation between hours of computer use and discomfort reinforces the hypothesis that the etiology of computer related disorders (repetitive motion injury) is multi-causal. Factors such as ergonomics, somatic awareness, strength and flexibility, stress and work style contribute to discomfort. The majority of the respondents reported that their computer work setting lacked optimum ergonomics. Many worked under extreme time pressure to finish papers. Hence, working even a short time at the computer, especially if one is under stress, increases the risk of discomfort.

This disturbing high incidence of discomfort, despite students’s reports of interventions, suggests that they need to actively participate in prevention programs to maintain health. They should be taught similar skills as are taught to individuals in the workforce to prevent RMI while working at the computer. When such employees are trained in an active prevention program, such as the Healthy Computing Program at San Francisco State University, their symptoms are significantly reduced. This six session training program includes biofeedback, somatic awareness, work-style, stress management, strengthening, and ergonomics. Symptoms remain low a year later as measured by a telephone interview (Shumay and Peper, 1997).

Similarly, when employees receive weekly Healthy Computing Email Tips as part of the Healthy Computing Program they report a reduction of symptoms (Peper and Gibney, 1997).

This survey data suggests that students should shift from remediation to prevention. Most important is learning awareness and work style skills that actually prevent discomfort from occurring.

Learning how to stay healthy at the computer should be the first step when they are introduced to computers. This training should be an integral part of every computer class -- from grade school to university. Armed with this training, students can enter the work force with the skills to prevent computer related injuries, and avoid the painful consequences of developing RMI.

References:
Peper, E. and Gibney, K. H. (1997). Computer solutions to computer pain: How to stay healthy at the computer with email tips.Ô BMUG Fall ’97 Newsletter. XIII (2), -175. Berkeley: Peachpit Press. 174-175.

Peper, E. , Gibney, K.H., Giere, L. and Keller, L. (1997). Proceedings of the 1997 meeting of the International Society for the Advancement for Respiratory Psychophysiology. Falmouth, MA.

Peper, E., Harvey, R., and Shumay, D. (1997). How to use applied psychophysiology/biofeedback in the prevention and assessment of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. In: Salvendy, G., Smith, M. J. and Koubek, R.J. (eds). Design of Computing Systems: Cognitive Considerations. New York: Elsevier, 551-554.

Peper, E., Wilson, V.S., Taylor, W., Pierce, A., Bender, K., & Tibbetts, V. (1994). Repetitive Strain Injury. Prevent computer user injury with biofeedback: Assessment and training protocol. Physical Therapy Products. 5(5), 17-22.

Schleifer, L. M. & Ley, R. (1994). End-tidal PCO2 as an index of psychophysiological activity during VDT data-entry work and relaxation. Ergonomics. 37 (2), 245-254.

Shumay, D. and Peper, E. (1997). Healthy Computing: A comprehensive group training approach using biofeedback. In: Salvendy, G., Smith, M. J. and Koubek, R.J. (eds). Design of Computing Systems: Cognitive Considerations. New York: Elsevier, 555-558.

Shumay, D.M., Peper, E., & Tibbetts, V. (1995). Lack of muscle awareness at the workstation: Implications for repetitive strain injury. Fifth International Conference on Stress Management Book of Abstracts. Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 128.

©Prof. Erik Peper Ph. D – San Francisco State University
Copyright © 2004 Backshop bvall rights reserved

Healthy computing.
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