Worrisome Workstations

If you thought that a desk job is cushy compared to that of the ever mobile sales executive, think again.

If you thought that a desk job is cushy compared to that of the ever mobile sales executive, think again. Twelve hours of sitting in front of a com-puter screen may prove injurious to your health and you might need a neck massage at the end of the day. Your computer workstation restricts mo-bility and actually poses a much bigger health risk. Doctors say that sitting in the wrong posture over a long period of time everyday can lead to compli-cations later.

SIT RIGHT

So, is deskwork harmful to your health? Ac-cording to doctors, sitting constantly in one po-sition is. 8220;Sitting constantly in one position in office and leading a sedentary life outside often results in neck and back pain,8221; says Dr Yash Gu-lati, senior orthopaedic surgeon at In-draprastha Apollo hospital in Delhi. According to him, low mobility and usage of unergonomic furniture results in wrong posture, often lead-ing to muscle fatigue and degeneration of bones. Wrong posture also puts pressure on soft tissues, resulting in long termdamage. The re-sult? Pain in the lower back and the neck.

THE FALLOUTS

8226; Chronic muscle pain, anywhere along the spine. Could be a tight shoulder, a nagging ache around the waist or tension at the base of the neck

8226; Early onset of spondylosis or degeneration of bones and soft tissues

8226; Degenerative disc disease, in which the nu-cleus at the centre of the disc starts drying up, affecting the shock-absorbing capacity of the discs

8226; Muscle strains, Fibrofascitis Syndrome or pain at the base of the neck and shoulder areas

8226; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Pain in the lower back. Pain in the tendons of the hands

8226; Tennis elbow

8226; Pain in fingers

DR GULATI8217;S DOS

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8226; The monitor should be at the right height so that the individual does not have to bend or look up at the screen

8226; The keyboard must also be at the right height so that your elbows are correctly bent

8226; Take a break. Walk around the office, take the stairs and stretch those static muscles

8226; Wrong posture includes prolonged periods of looking down at work on the desk, reading on a flat surface requiring the neck and head to bend forward, working continuously on a computer using repetitive hand movements

8226; Maintain a 25-degree angle while typing on the computer

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8226; For the hands, take a five-minute break after using the keyboard for an hour

8226; Use a chair that allows the seat to be tilted for-ward by 5 to 15 degrees, a position that main-tains the curve in the lumbar spine by rotating the pelvis forward. Or use an adjustable chair with a high, hard and straight backrest l Support your back and neck with a pillow l Use a footstool so that the feet can rest flat on the floor

8226; Put your feet up while sitting or sit cross-legged on the chair

8226; Go for walks in the morning and evening.

8226; Do your yoga.

DON8217;TS

8226; Opt for those soft, low-level chairs

8226; Perch on the edge of the seat

8226; Use sloping desks

8226; Let your knees be at a lower level than the thighs

8226; Don8217;t use unergonomic seating