| It's a basic truth that the human body wasn't | | | | them. |
| made to sit still for too long. We spent tens | | | | |
| of thousands of years evolving in an | | | | HOW CAN WE AVOID BECOMING A STATISTIC? |
| environment that required us to move - to | | | | |
| find shelter, to catch food, and to keep | | | | Research has identified three things we can |
| ourselves safe from predators. We've only | | | | do to help ensure we don't become one of |
| been living lifestyles that allow us to stay | | | | those statistics: posture, breaks and |
| sedentary for the lesser part of a hundred | | | | stretching: |
| years - not nearly enough time for our bodies | | | | |
| to adapt to this new way of living. | | | | Proper Posture |
| | | | |
| Not all of us make our livings sitting in | | | | If you don't already know how to sit properly |
| front of a computer, of course. It is, | | | | at your computer, it's critical that you |
| however, becoming more and more common - and | | | | learn quickly. Most companies have someone |
| many of us then go home and use our home | | | | in their Human Resources or Training |
| computers to stay in contact with friends and | | | | departments who's been trained to set up |
| family, study, or play games - all of which | | | | workstations correctly, and ensure you're |
| adds up to a lot of sitting still! | | | | sitting properly - ask them for a workstation |
| | | | assessment. If you work from home, you can |
| SO WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? | | | | find an excellent article on the subject at |
| | | | and a diagram at or contact your local |
| Our bodies, as mentioned above, were built | | | | Occupational Health & Safety office for more |
| for movement. Movement encourages bloodflow | | | | information. |
| - ensuring our cells are supplied with oxygen | | | | |
| and nutrients, and ensuring waste products | | | | Regular Breaks |
| are collected and transported to where they | | | | |
| can be eliminated. Lack of movement leads to | | | | Most of us know how important it is to take |
| cells being both starved of needed nutrients | | | | regular breaks. Simply stopping and relaxing |
| and left to wallow in waste products. When | | | | for a few moments every 20 minutes can make a |
| this is then combined with stress-induced | | | | huge difference. Actually standing up and |
| muscle tension (which further constricts | | | | walking around once an hour will do even |
| bloodflow) - or lots of repetitive small | | | | more. It doesn't have to be far - just enough |
| movements - well, I'm sure you can see where | | | | to get you to move, and get your blood |
| problems might lie. | | | | flowing a little more freely. Set an alarm on |
| | | | your computer to go off regularly to remind |
| These dangers aren't news to us. We've all | | | | you when you should be taking a break. |
| heard of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), | | | | |
| Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) or WRULD | | | | Stretching |
| (Work Related Upper Limb Disorder). These are | | | | |
| different terms for what is essentially the | | | | The final thing you can do to protect |
| same problem - constant repetition of small | | | | yourself is to stretch out all the muscles |
| movements (like keyboarding, or using a | | | | and joints that end up cramped up when you're |
| computer mouse) in a context of very few | | | | sitting at a computer. Stretching helps |
| larger movements. Left for too long, this can | | | | relax muscles that have a tendency to tense |
| cause tingling, numbness, pins-and-needles, | | | | up, and is probably the singlemost important |
| and gradual weakening of the affected area. | | | | part of helping you avoid OOS. For a short |
| And let's not forget that it can also cause | | | | list of some of the stretches that will be |
| intense, debilitating pain, and prevent us | | | | helpful to perform regularly, please click on |
| from working. OOS is *not* a fun condition | | | | |
| to develop. | | | | |
| | | | NEED HELP PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE? |
| A 2002 Australian study (quoted on found | | | | |
| that these work-related muscle and soft | | | | Just as the dangers of OOS aren't news to |
| tissue injuries made up more than 60% of all | | | | many of us, neither are the things we can do |
| workplace injuries. Another study (quoted on | | | | to avoid it. However, it's easy to get caught |
| showed that out of just over 1,000 | | | | up in our work - in the pressures of looming |
| questionnaire respondents, over 130 had | | | | deadlines. All too often, we sit down with |
| actually put in compensation claims for OOS | | | | the best of intentions for working safely, |
| and well over 600 others reported symptoms of | | | | then look up and discover three hours have |
| OOS without claiming for them. These | | | | gone past since we last took a stretch break. |
| statistics can be very frightening - | | | | And then, of course, there's the question of |
| especially for those of us who work with | | | | exactly which stretches we should be doing, |
| computers on a daily basis, and could lose | | | | and making sure we're doing them right. |
| our livelihoods if we became unable to use | | | | |