Computers can be a real pain in the neck

Two San Francisco State University students show how people compress their neck at the computer.

Credit: San Francisco State University

"When your seat is tall and standing, your back muscles can easily support your head and neck weight - as much as 12 pounds," Professor of Eric Peiper's overall health of San Francisco State University explains. "But when your head grows at a 45-degree angle, then your neck works like a full-scale, heavy object like a long liver. Now the weight of your head and neck muscles is about 45 pounds. It is not surprising: people have severe neck and shoulders and back pain. "

Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey and his colleagues, including two student researchers, examined the effects of head and neck conditions in a recent study published in the Biofeedback magazine. First, he asked 87 students to sit directly with their head, properly aligned their neck and asked them to turn their head. Then the students were asked to bow their neck and bow their head forward. Ninety-nine percent reported that their head was able to go very far without getting scratches. In the second test, 125 students pressed their neck for 30 seconds. Later, 98 percent reported some level of pain in their head, neck or eyes.

Researchers also monitored 12 students with electromyography equipment and found that tension in the trapezial muscles in the forward position of the scrunched, the head increased.

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So if you have pain in a headache or neck and back of computer work, then check your posture and make sure your head is attached to the top of your neck, as if the roof is organized by an invisible thread. "You can do something very quickly about this bad posture," Peeper said. To increase awareness of the body, peeper heads purpose-oriented advice while imitating the stinging position of head / forward / neck. "You can exaggerate the situation and experience symptoms. Then when you find yourself doing this, you can become aware and stop."

Other solutions presented by them include increasing the font on your computer screen, wearing computer reading glasses or keeping your computer on a stand at the eye level, to make the screen easy to read without stress.

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Materials provided by San Francisco State University. Originally written by Lisa Owens Viani. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.