Frequently Asked Question

1. My shoulder on the side that I mouse gets sore if I'm working too long - what could be causing this?
   
   
2. My hand gets really sore and cramped if I mouse for too long. Is there anything I can do besides stop mousing?
   
   
3. I get sore across my shoulder blades and at the base of my neck by the end of the work day. What could be causing this and how can I prevent it
   
   
4. I need a new chair and don't know where to begin to look. Can you give me some tips?
   
   
5. My lower back gets sore if I sit for too long and sometimes I get pain and numbness down my leg. What could this be caused by and how can I prevent this?
   
   
6. I am getting more headaches since working longer hours at the computer. What is it I'm doing and how can I prevent this?

Q. My shoulder on the side that I mouse gets sore if I'm working too long - what could be causing this?

A. First look at where your mouse is positioned. If it is forward of the keyboard and up higher on the desk, you are forced to repeatedly lift your arm and reach for the mouse. This not only pulls you out of a neutral sitting posture, it also over-uses the shoulder girdle muscles on the mousing side. When muscles become fatigued, they feel sore. The soreness is due to the build up of lactic acid (a waste product) in the muscle. The muscle is not getting an adequate supply of oxygen from the blood. In order to PREVENT this, your mouse should be brought down to the same plane and close to your keyboard and you should use a well-padded wrist rest. A good stretching exercise for these muscles is shown at right. This should be done intermittently throughout the day and ideally, BEFORE the soreness sets in.

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Q. My hand gets really sore and cramped if I mouse for too long. Is there anything I can do besides stop mousing?

A. This is a commonly reported problem. Rather than waiting until your hand is really sore, incorporate frequent stretching breaks into your day. If you are mousing a lot, you may want to stretch every half hour or so. Some suggested exercises are shown at right. Often mouse users tend to keep their hand on the mouse even when they are not performing a mouse function. The small muscles of the hands are still contracting slightly around that mouse while you are sitting reading your email. So take your hand off the mouse when not using it. This would be a good time to do your stretches. Many mouse users are starting to revert back to shortcut keystrokes instead of mousing (i.e. ctrl 'p' for print, ctrl 'o' for open, ctrl 's' for save, ctrl 'x' for cut, etc.; there are several pages of possible shortcut keystrokes that can be downloaded from www.bilbo.com/shortcut.html). You should also check to see if the mouse you have can be programmed to "double click" (one click of a cetain button performs a double click). Another suggestion is to consider using a different pointing device such as a track ball. A track ball does not require that you move it, as you move the mouse, so there is less gripping involved and less shoulder movement. Larger track balls allow you to use different fingers or different parts of your hand to move the ball, thus allowing some parts of the hand to remain at rest.

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Q. I get sore across my shoulder blades and at the base of my neck by the end of the work day. What could be causing this and how can I prevent it?

A. This is likely due to the way that you sit. Quite often when you sit for long periods you start to slump as is shown at right: your hips slide forward, your lower back flattens, and your head comes forward. This could possibly be due to the fact that the chair is too far away from the keyboard, so you reach for it which pulls our head forward. It could also be because the chair is too long in the seat and in order to relieve the pressure against the calves, you slide forward. It could also be because the chair is too high and with no foot rest you tend to slide forward to put your feet on the floor. In doing all these things, contact with the back support for the chair is lost and you end up slumping. The head forward posture creates a lever system in the upper spine, with the pivot point of the lever being the base of the neck. The head positioned forward as such puts increased force through the pivot point and makes your upper shoulder girdle muscles work up to 3 x harder to hold your head up. The over-worked muscles get sore due to lactic acid build up. Solutions to these problems? Move your chair in to avoid reaching, make sure your keyboard its positioned at the correct height, make sure your chair fits your correctly (see FAQ # 4), sit back in it properly, keep your head up and use a foot rest if you can't reach the floor comfortably with your feet. The chin tuck exercise shown at left, is also a good one to do intermittently throughout the day.

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Q. I need a new chair and don't know where to begin to look. Can you give me some tips?

A. We always suggest that you go to a reputable dealer and ask to be able to try the chair out for at least a week. Most furniture representatives will provide this service. If unsure as to who to contact in the Ottawa, Ontario area, contact info@injurypreventionplus.com. When selecting a chair for computer use, you should look for one with the following features: height adjustability while seated good lumbar (lower back) support five point base of support independent adjustment of backrest relative to the seatpan (height and angle) height adjustable arm rests that do not interfere with the desk surface to assess correct seat pan depth: when seated with the knees at 90 degrees of bend and the hips well back in the chair (back in contact with chair back), there should be enough room between the edge of the seat and the back of the knee, for a fisted hand. If your hand does not fit, the chair is too big; if 2 fists will fit, you will need to order a chair with a deeper seat pan. Some chairs come with a sliding seat pan feature which allows the seat pan depth to be adjusted.

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Q. My lower back gets sore if I sit for too long and sometimes I get pain and numbness down my leg. What could this be caused by and how can I prevent this?

A. When you sit, there is twice the amount of compressive force through your discs in your back vs. when you stand. This increased force combined with sitting in a flat back or slumped posture as described in FAQ #3, creates more bulging of our discs. This can cause nerve root compression and or irritation, which in turn can give you pain or numbness radiating down the leg. When you sit, it is best to sit in a upright neutral posture as shown in the diagram at left. Hips should be well back in the chair and shoulders positioned squarely over the hips. Shoulder blades should be kept in contact with the chair's back support. It is also helpful to stand frequently (every ½-1 hr.) to relieve disc compression and bulging, and reverse your lumbar curve as shown in the exercise at right. However, should this exercise cause increased pain, discontinue it and consult your physician or physiotherapist.

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Q. I am getting more headaches since working longer hours at the computer. What is it I'm doing and how can I prevent this?

A. The distance of your face from the computer may be a factor. If the screen is too close to the computer, the brightness of the screen could be causing the headaches. The larger the monitor, the further away from your face it should be. The average distance is between 18" and 25", however if using a 21" monitor, the distance will be closer to 30". If you are a bifocal wearer and your monitor is too high, you may be constantly extending your neck to look at the monitor through the lower part of your lenses. This repetitive or sustained neck extension (poking chin) can irritate your neck and contribute to headaches. Therefore, if you wear bifocals you should place the monitor directly on the desk so that when looking through the lower part of your lenses, your head still remains in a neutral posture. Sometimes poor posture as described in FAQ #3 can contribute to headaches. The head forward posture overworks the upper trapezius muscles, some of which attach to the base of the skull. Muscles fatigue and soreness can contribute to headaches. Staring at the monitor for too long can also contribute to eye strain. It is suggested that you look away from the monitor every 15 minutes and focus on something at a distance. This rests the muscles you use to focus on the screen.

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