In 2000 40% of the European workforce spent more than 25% of their day at a computer and i cannot imagine what that statistic is now. Musculoskeletal injury in the office workplace is also on the increase. Poor posture in the workplace and specifically poor posture whilst sitting at a computer or whilst using a hand held device may be one of the main causes’ of this.
There is a current trend in increase computer use for everyone coupled with an increase in use smart phones.
The internet was used daily or almost daily by 82% of adults (41.8 million) in Great Britain in 2016, compared with 78% (39.3 million) in 2015 and 35% (16.2 million) in 2006.
In 2016, 70% of adults accessed the internet ‘on the go’ using a mobile phone or smartphone, up from 66% in 2015 and nearly double the 2011 estimate of 36%.
Common computer and smart phone based injuries may be linked with shoulder, elbow, wrist and neck and back pain. The mechanism of injury is likely to be caused by long term exposure to risk factors within the office environment resulting in cumulative trauma (repetitive strain) to those areas;
I.e.: spending too long sitting in front of your computer or on your phone without rest and with a poor posture.
Osteopathy can help reduce some of the symptoms caused by repetitive strains.
Further to this I can give individually tailored advice on posture to use whilst at the computer to further reduce the risk of these symptoms returning.