Sit back properly, get rid of that pain

BANGALORE: If your muscles protest and your back aches, then it is time you sat up and took notice. For sitting up is setting it all off, including nagging knuckles, tired eyes and a pain in the neck. You are either not seated right, or the furniture is ergonomically wrong.
Hosmat recently conducted a study on 15 software companies in IT-city Bangalore, and came up with distressing news.
“More than half their employees suffer from repetitive strain, leading to headaches, vision defects, wrist, neck and back pain.’’
“With more IT companies coming in, doctors will see more of this problem. It is time companies began investing in ergonomics at the workplace,’’ orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sanjay Pai warns.
Undue postural stress is the cause, and simple corrections in seating and posture techniques and exercises can prevent complications leading to surgeries or physiotherapy, the study concludes.
Most employees are prone to carpal tunnel syndrome. During repetitive activity like typing accompanied by wrist flexion, the median nerve gets sandwiched between tendons of the wrist, resulting in burning, bursting pain or loss of sensation in the region,� physiotherapist at Hosmat Precy Lawrence says.
Sticking your neck out, especially by more than 15 degrees for long periods, and you could risk chronic shoulder pain. Static neck postures also invite pain.
Eye fatigue and viewing difficulties after strenuous If you work in a computer-intensive office, then watch out for carpal tunnel syndrome, a potentially disabling and painful injury of the hand.