If you are suffering from headaches, back ache, neck, wrist and/or shoulder pain it may have something to do with your posture and your workstation setup. Making small changes to your workstation setup can reduce or prevent injuries associated with sitting at your desk. With further technological advances, people are using computer workstations more frequently and with increasing duration. A large proportion of the population, are spending the majority of their working day using a computer workstation.

At Foundation Sports and Rehabilitation we often treat people for chronic back, neck or arm pain that can be directly associated with a poor computer workstation setup. Furthermore, computer use is not just limited to work which further increases the effect of a poor workstation. How often do you come home from work and use your home computer, laptop or phone for social media, shopping, checking the weather, email, communicating with friends and family or playing games?

The most common musculoskeletal injuries associated with a poor workstation are neck/shoulder injuries, arm injuries (including the elbow, forearm and wrist) and lower back injuries (Griffiths et al. 2012). However, the impact of a poor workstation includes more than just injury. A poor workstation has also been associated with general discomfort, reduced productivity, interrupted sleep, reduced quality of working life and reduced quality of work.

The major risk factors for computer workstations associated with neck and shoulder complaints include (Kiss et al. 2012):

Completing 25 hours or more computer work per week

• Working more than 1 hour on a computer without interruption
• Use of a mouse for half or more of the working time
• Reaching far for the mouse
• Limited or no forearm support
• Use of separate wrist support

If you tick any of these boxes above, let us help you! Foundation Clinic provides Work site assessments! For more information phone 07 579 5601, or email [email protected]