5 tips to prevent you from “computer neck”
When I was in my second year of Osteopathy school and we had just learned about the cervical spine and upper extremity, the topic of “computer neck” came up in class. The teacher simply put his hand on his forehead and sighed.
“Yes, “computer neck” is a huge problem. In fact, I would even call it a pandemic.”
Pandemic is a word that is typically used to describe a serious disease or illness that has become a worldwide problem. Although we have recently become quite familiar with the word pandemic, back then it wasn’t often used so you can imagine how confused I was when our teacher called “computer neck” a pandemic.
‘Computer neck'' is that achy, tight area in the back and sides of your neck that seems like it won’t go away no matter how many visits you make to the massage therapist. The neck can turn into numbness and tingling in your arms and fingers, cause low back pain, tension headaches, and eventually irreversible damage in your spine. On top of that, a lot of tubes run through our neck area that are in charge of lymphatic drainage, arterial flow, digestion, and respiration. What does this mean? Well, if we are chronically tight in our neck muscles, this can lead to not only issues in our spine and upper extremities, but respiratory issues, cardiovascular diseases, and even changes with digestion. This is a big problem!
After that class at Osteopathy school, I had a whole new outlook on how much computers are affecting our health. That evening I went to a concert at Rogers Arena and I thought it would be fun to look at everyone’s neck! “How bad could this pandemic be?” I thought to myself.
As I was looking at all the excited fans I realized just how many people had limiting mobility in their upper thoracic and cervical spine. It looked like everyone had their head jutted forward and a pin stuck in their upper necks. Almost everyone at Rogers Arena that night had some sort of “computer neck” – definitely more than 90% of the crowd.
“It is a pandemic!”
What is even worse is that kids growing up now are going to experience the most negative impact from this phenomenon. Their bodies are in their growing stages while they sit in front of their computers or look at their phone screens. We haven’t even seen the impact that long term abuse on our necks can do for these kids.
So, what can we do about it? As we are all aware, computers and smartphones are not going anywhere anytime soon, so eliminating the problem is simply not an option. We need to learn to adapt to our technologies and we need to be educated on how to prevent “computer neck” from creating damage in our bodies in the first place.
Today, I want to give you 5 tips that I give my clients to help prevent “computer neck”.
Raise your monitor
The optimal height for your monitor should be positioned so that your eye level is approximately 2/3rd up the screen. This allows you to look at your whole screen without creating eye strain or tension in the upper levels of your neck. If you have a laptop computer, try keeping your computer on a stack of books or purchase a computer stand that you can carry with you as you travel.
Lower your keyboard
The optimal place for your keyboard is at a level so that your arms can be at a 90-degree angle when you are sitting in your chair – or lower if needed. This prevents us from raising our arms with our shoulder and neck muscles to reach the keyboard – creating neck tension. If your table is too high, think about purchasing a separate ergonomic keyboard tray for under your desk to lower the keyboard. You would be surprised just how big a difference this change will do for your neck! If you have a laptop, think about getting a Bluetooth keyboard and a lap desk. Then you can keep your laptop on a stack of books in front of you and type with a lowered keyboard with ease.
Use a proper computer chair
If you have a chair that is too high or too low, this creates issues in our pelvis. When you have an issue in your pelvis, this leads to issues in your neck – always. Surprisingly, one of the biggest culprits for “computer neck” is sitting on your tailbone. This is because when you sit back on your tailbone, you are hyperextending your lumbar spine (ie. your low back). In our spine, our lumbar spine and cervical spine (ie. your neck) are both curved the same way. So, if you hyperextend your lumbar spine, you are forced to hyperflex your cervical spine in order to be able to continue looking at your screen – creating neck tension. This is one of the main reasons why poor posture creates neck tension tension in the first place. We get tired, sit back on our tail bone, and our neck has to do all the work to accommodate for our poor posture.
Another issue with using a dining chair instead of a proper computer chair is the back support. Again, at the beginning of the day it is easy to sit up straight, but as the day continues we need to rest our muscles. If you have a proper computer chair, you can lean back on your lumbar support and not have too much of an issue. A dining chair however has no lumbar support and the chair doesn’t lean back slightly as you lean back onto it. This makes it hard to stay comfortable without rolling back on your tailbone and leaning on your desk – cricking your neck. Make sure you invest in a quality chair for your computer desk.
Use arm rests
Arm rests are also very helpful to prevent neck tension. At the beginning of the day, it is easy to sit up straight and practice good computer posture. However, as the day progresses we start to get fatigued. Arm rests allow you to rest your elbows on something so that you can avoid leaning onto the table and cricking your neck. They also give you support so that you don’t flex your wrists at the keyboard, leading to issues like carpal tunnel syndrome. Lastly, if you do not have arm rests you are more likely to roll your shoulders forward and drop them down. This puts a strain on your scalene muscles, cervical fascia, and trapezius muscles – leading to tension headaches and weakness in your upper arms. Using arm rests keep your neck muscles in a neutral position – not too stretched and not too tensed – which leads to a healthier neck.
Get up and stretch your legs and your mind!
Lastly, sitting at a computer continuously is shown to have many negative effects – not only on your body but also on your mind. Make sure to get up and stretch your legs every once in a while, to prevent lymph pooling in your lower extremities, back and neck tension, and mental fatigue. Most studies show that 90-minutes of consecutive time spent in front of a computer is maximum (this is why the average movie is about 90-100 minutes long, or else you will start aching in your chair). For me personally, I like to get up every hour so I don’t ever hit the fatigue threshold. I will usually take a 10-20 minute break where I get myself a cup of tea, take my dog out for a pee, or change over the laundry. This way I can clear not only my mind, but give my body a break as well. Avoid taking your mental breaks by checking your Facebook - instead get up and move! You will be surprised how much more productive you will be if you start to incorporate spaced breaks in your computer schedule.
Tip**Watch out for my blog next month on specific stretches and exercises you can do to support your spine to prevent injury from our computers, tablets, and phones.
We need to start thinking about our computer setup like we do our mattresses. Everyone needs a good mattress because we spend nearly half our lives on it while we sleep. Many people today spend much of the rest of their time on their computers. Some spend more time on their computers then they do in their beds! If you or your family members spend extensive time on your computers, it is not only worth spending the time and money to make sure all you have the right set up, it is imperative to the continued health of you and your family to make these changes.
Take care for now,
Britte