Why Is Your Computer Killing You?

Is Computer Work Killing You? CRPSS is probably the reason why.

I have a love / hate relationship with my computer. When I went to college in the early 80’s, computers were expensive, underpowered and not readily available. I remember doing research papers that would entail chasing down medical journal articles from my schools library and several local colleges. Hours or days would pass with me searching through the libraries of Stanford, San Jose State and Berkley just to find the content for one paragraph of a paper. What I would have done for the ease of our current internet. All of this research could have been performed in a matter of minutes from the comfort of my desk. It is this convenience that inspires the “love” in the love / hate relationship that I have with my computer.

Now for the downside, the “hate” of my love / hate relationship with this computer.

The more time that I spend sitting at my computer, the more I realize that it is the postural stress that my work station generates that is responsible for the “hate” part of my relationship with the computer.

Even though I am a doctor who has taken a special interest in the effects of postural stress secondary to computer use, I too succumb to the stresses of Computer Related Postural Stress Syndrome.

Computer Related Postural Stress Syndrome or CRPSS is a term that I coined to describe the effects of the postural stress that a poorly thought out work station places on the body.

CRPSS often causes neck and shoulder pain, back pain, arm pain and chronic tension headaches.
CRPSS is often confused with carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. While CRPSS is not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, it CAN cause it.

You have probably heard and used the term “ergonomics”. Ergonomics is the study of how we can make a particular work station adapt to meet the physical demands of that stations operator. The idea is to reduce the physical stresses that the work station places on the operator to a minimum. We can use basic office ergonomic principals to reduce or eliminate many of the stresses that cause CRPSS.

CRPSS can result from any one or combination of:

1) Poor Seating Conditions
2) Incorrect Monitor Placement
3) Incorrect Keyboard Placement
4) Over-reaching for the Mouse

Poor seating can be remedied with the purchase of a chair with the following characteristics:

1) Ability to adjust the seating height
2) Adjustable armrests ( up and down)
3) Tilting back support
4) Tilting seating surface

These features combined with a chair that actually feels comfortable when being sat in can be very helpful in reducing Computer Related Postural Stress Syndrome.

Incorrect monitor placement is also a common source of postural stress and neck pain. Your monitor should be positioned directly in front of you. Your eyes should be parallel with the top one third of your monitor when you are looking straight ahead. A monitor that is positioned in a way that requires the operator to look up or down will stress the neck and eventually lead to neck pain.

Much like the monitor, your keyboard should be placed directly in front of you. Its height should allow your arms to rest comfortably next to your body while your elbows are bent no more than 90 degrees and your wrists are as straight as possible. A properly placed keyboard can help reduce neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain wrist pain and hand pain.

The final major factor in reducing the effects of CRPSS involves over-reaching. A mouse operated on the desk top lends itself to producing an over-reaching situation. This is bad news if you do a substantial amount of mousing. A mouse that is beyond your comfortable reach zone is likely to become a primary source of postural stress and aggravation. The solution to this problem is to position your mouse as close to your body as possible. This can be accomplished with a mouse platform that mounts to the armrest of your chair. There are several of these on the market that will do the trick. Make sure that the mouse platform that you choose is adjustable.

Anecdotal evidence from my clinic suggests that over-reaching for the mouse is a primary factor in the development of neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, wrist pain and hand pain.

Reducing the postural stresses associated with computer work stations can prevent you from developing aggravating conditions that can lead to a lifetime of disability and a loss of employment (I see this in my office all the time). In many cases, simple rearrangements of the primary components of your work station can go a long way in reducing your chances of developing CRPSS.