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Back pain
Computer and Health
By Dr Trisha Macnair
Back pain is a fairly universal experience. Some see it as an inevitable legacy of our evolution, the result of turning a body designed to hang from a horizontal spine into a vertical spire, where a carefully balanced mechanism of muscles and joints must support organs and tissues pulling the column of vertebral bones downwards.
Back problems often start at work. Take an office worker who typically spends up to 40 hours a week hunched solid over their desk, nurses who need to frequently lift patients, a taxi driver bent into the driving seat for over 25,000 miles a year, a farmer constantly lifting sacks, seeds and machinery, or a checkout assistant sat on a poorly designed chair at her till all day (57% experience lower back pain each year). Our backs may be put under prolonged strain by our jobs and its hardly surprising that something within the delicate balance of bones and muscles so often fails.
Why do we get back problems at work?
Back problems at work are the result of abnormal strains put on the spine, which lead to damage to the tissues. These strains may be sudden (e.g. lifting a heavy load awkwardly) or chronic (spending hours in a certain posture). The result is traumatised, bruised or inflamed muscles (which may go into spasm), damaged ligaments, misalignment of tiny vertebral joints or damage to the discs between the vertebrae. Sometimes a back problem directly follows an injury but often it appears quite unrelated to any specific event. It can be difficult to establish clearly what damage has been done to the back (back pain is too common to routinely use expensive MRI scans to investigate the problem) but there is no denying the misery of back pain.
Abnormal strains on the back at work are more likely if:
- You are generally unfit - this makes all injuries more likely.
- You are overweight: this puts extra stress on the back.
- Your job involves lifting, bending or moving heavy objects: lifting badly is a very common cause of back problems at work.
- Your job involves being seated in one place for long periods of time. An unchanging posture can put prolonged abnormal tension on the back.
- Your work involves frequent use of a telephone without a headset. 31% of office workers who use a telephone for at least two hours a day and also use a computer have lower back pain.
- There is a high level of stress, anxiety and tension in your job, or at home. This can generally increase muscle tension throughout the body and increase the chances of a sudden sprain.
Reducing the risk to your back
There is a lot you can do to reduce the risk to your back from your job. Your employer should help you - they may be legally obliged to provide training and appropriate equipment for you or give you regular breaks. But it is also in their interests to keep their workforce healthy - its estimated that each year in the UK 180 million working days are lost due to back problems, costing UK business millions of pounds.
One way to tackle the problem is to apply ergonomic principles to adapt the workplace to suit each specific worker, depending on what their job involves and what their physical make up is. See spine-health.com (ergo01) . Computer ergonomics, for example, will minimize the risk of repetitive injury, neck strain, lower back pain and leg pain.
Should you stop work if you have a back problem?
There has been a huge change in thinking in recent years about treating back pain. Bed rest, once widely recommended, is now to be avoided. It may be useful in certain cases for 24-48 hours but it can do more harm than good and most people are much better off carrying on with activities as far as possible, although avoiding anything too strenuous.
The box below suggests what you should do when you first develop back pain. The aim is to avoid it becoming a chronic problem. The sooner you are active, the better you will feel and the less likely that you will need to keep taking painkillers. It may seem like an impossible struggle to get back to work but the longer you are off work the lower your chances of ever returning.
Treating an acute back problem
Take things easy but avoid bed rest if at all possible.
If the pain gets worse or you have unusual symptoms such as numbness, pins and needles problems passing urine or pain down the leg, talk to your GP immediately.
Keep as mobile as possible, with gentle exercise (a stroll in the garden, a gentle swim).
Take regular simple pain killers (paracetamol, ibuprofen etc).
Use alternating hot and cold packs on your pack for 15 minutes each, several times a day.
Consider manipulation or other treatments from a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor.
Try to stay working or return to work as soon as possible, even if you still have some pain. If necessary talk to your employer about making temporary changes to your duties to help your recovery.
Keeping your back healthy at work
Improve your general fitness and lose weight if you are overweight.
Take regular exercise, especially to keep the muscles around the spine and abdomen strong and toned so that they act like a corset helping support the back while it does its work. Back Care have some suggestions at backcare.org.uk (exercise) .
Wear comfortable clothes, with shoes that cushion your spine especially if you have to stand for long periods. Avoid high heels.
Think about your working environment - is your desk layout or comfortable for your back, and does your chair support the natural S shape of your spine? Avoid getting locked into one prolonged static position. There's detailed advice to help get your workstation right at spine-health.com (ergo03) .
Make sure you have regular breaks - you shouldn't stay seated in one position for too long and should get up and move around for at least 5-10 minutes every hour.
Work on your posture: you might try the Alexander technique, a set of exercises which can be particularly helpful in reducing the risk of back problems. There is more information at: alexandertechnique.com .
If your job involves lifting or moving heavy weights, your employer should teach you how to lift safely - see spine-health.com (ergo04) - and provide lifting equipment where appropriate.
TopTips
Learn about your spine and how to look after it. backcare.org.uk are a good resource or try the US government's interactive tutorial.
Check your working environment - could it be kinder to your back?
If you develop a back problem, try to get back to work as soon as possible.
Bookmark Back pain
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What things should you do if using a computer for a long time for health reasons?
Computer work can be quite strenuous for the body, especially for the eyes, the back, the wrist and the hand.
The first thing to do is to have a good position in a nice environment: comfortable straight chair, monitor and keyboard at the right height and distance, quite room, well lit.
There are several ways to minimise eye strain. Modern flat screens are better than standard monitors. Also, special screen filters that fit in front of a monitor are good for the eyes.
Can you tell me two health and two safety risks that need to be considered when using computers, or just give examples because i don't understand the difference?
Health & Safety risks include anything that can affect your well-being, physical fitness or endanger your life. Here are some ideas of what type of risks these include with regard to computer equipment:
Health
Using laser printers can affect your health if they are not properly positioned in a ventilated space. This is because fumes are given off when the printer is going through the process of producing a printed page.
Using computer equipment can affect your health if it is not correctly and ergonomically set-up. By this we mean - correct desk, chair and keyboard heights; proper positioning of monitor and lighting around it; use of wrist rests for mouse and keyboards. The health effects of poorly set up working environments can include eye strain; repetitive strain injury on joints and muscles; back aches.
I would like to have some points which will help me write my own notes on the topic: the social,ethical,legal and economic implications of computer use.
Here are some points to get you started:
Research, identify and discuss changing trends in computer
use as a result of developments in computer technology. Remember,
computers don't just include PCs, but anything with built-in computing
power such as mobile phones, CD/DVD players, digital cameras etc.
Explain why computers are best suited for tasks requiring
speed, accuracy and repetition.
Explain changes to society (consumers) brought about by the
introduction and use of computer systems.
Describe the impact of computers on jobs.
Health and safety
There are various health problems associated with the regular use of computers, and because of this employers must be aware of the regulations surrounding computer health and safety.
Employer regulations, General working environment, Possible dangers and solutions, Glossary.
Employer regulations. The law states that an employer must:
Provide tiltable screens, Provide anti-glare screen filters, Provide adjustable chairs, Provide foot supports, Make sure lighting is suitable, Make sure workstations are not cramped, Plan work at a computer so that there are frequent breaks, Pay for appropriate eye and eyesight tests by an optician.
Note:These regulations apply only to offices - not to students or pupils in schools or colleges.
In order to provide the satisfactory equipment for their employees, employers use ergonomics to assist the equipment design process. It is the science concerned with designing safe and comfortable machines for humans. This includes furniture design and the design of parts of the computer like keyboards.
Health at Work - physical health
You don't have to work on a building site for your job to affect your health; even the more sedentary occupations can be a risk.
