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Over the past fifty years, there have been a lot of changes in the way we work. More and more people now work in office buildings doing largely sedentary work, whilst proportionally fewer people are employed to do non-office based work, such as the traditional trades, manual labour and transport.
Even office work itself has undergone major changes in the last half century, with computers revolutionising both administrative tasks and the content of jobs alike. Millions of people work in the IT sector, providing support services to the company's workforce or working on programming for applications and websites.
On the surface, sitting at a desk tapping away at a keyboard seems like one of the safest possible ways you could spend your working hours and not at all likely to cause work injuries. Unfortunately, this isn't the case, and each year thousands of office workers are signed off from work suffering from pain and discomfort from prolonged computer use.
There are three main types of computer-related work injury:
Overuse injuries
It is common for office workers who spend a lot of time typing, for example writers and data input workers, to suffer from overuse injuries (also known as repetitive strain injuries). Symptoms of this type of computer injury take the form of pain and stiffness in the hand, wrist, elbow or shoulder.
There are a range of disorders which are linked to the overuse of certain muscles and these include carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tendonitis and epicondylitis. All of these disorders tend to get worse over time if the causative action persists, so it is vital that sufferers take action sooner rather than later.
Computer users are advised to keep their mouse and keyboard at a similar height, type lightly, take regular breaks from typing and to learn proper typing techniques. Between typing activities, people are encouraged to stretch and relax their wrists and arms in order to prevent this kind of work injury.
Posture problems
People who spend much of their time at computers, and laptops in particular, are also vulnerable to work injuries caused by poor posture. Back, shoulder, arm and neck aches and pains are symptomatic of musculoskeletal problems which are more often than not linked with a poor sitting posture.
Having a poor posture or sitting in one position with relatively little movement for long periods of time can cause damage to the muscles, tendons and nerves in the upper body. Research has also revealed that stress in the workplace is linked with a high incidence of back injuries, as workers tend to be tenser and more sensitive to pain.
Computer users who are experiencing back pain or who know that they are vulnerable to back injuries should ensure that their workstation has been set up ergonomically. This can include using a footstool and a chair with back support, positioning the monitor and keyboard appropriately, and taking regular breaks.
Eye problems
Staring at a monitor all day, especially in an office without any natural light, is bad for the eyes and as many as 50% of computer users report that they have experienced problems with their eyes. Blurred vision, headaches, aching eyes and visual disturbances are all common symptoms of eyestrain and employers must take action to prevent workers suffering this kind of work injury.
Whilst few eye injuries relating to monitor use tend to be short term, this does not mean that they are by any means minor. A poorly set up workstation with light coming from behind the monitor or with the monitor being placed too close to the user can result in persistent headaches and much discomfort.
In order to prevent eye injuries in the workplace, employers should ensure that monitors are positioned a little below eye height for users, and tipped at a slight angle to prevent interference from reflections. Employees should be encouraged to take breaks from staring at their monitor and look at objects at a distance from time to time.
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