Question

Discuss what changes will you make to decrease your risk of developing injuries related to computer use. Discuss why these changes are necessary, and how they will benefit you.

Answer 1

Computer related injuries are pretty common among the computer users and those whose work depends on daily use of computer suffer more. These injuries develop slowly over the course of time while the person is mostly unaware of it. Hence, it becomes important to discuss these problems and the changes we should make in our daily lifestyle with respect to computers to minimize the risk of having these problems.
Let's quickly look at the kind of injuries one can have due to bad daily lifestyle with computers, and then we will talk about the changes we can make in our lifestyle to minimize the risks:

1. Posture-related injuries: Headache, arm and shoulder pain, Back pain, muscular pain.
2. Computer Overuse injury: stiffness in the joins, numbness, pain in the wrists/joints, weakness.
3. Eye-related problems: Eye fatigue, headache, blurred vision, not able to focus, burning and/or teary eyes
4. Other Health risks: Obesity, Muscle and joint problems, exposure to bad light, stress, loss of appetite, heart disease, stomach issues, Sprains and Strains, Weak abs etc.

What needs to be done:
No matter we are using a laptop or a desktop daily, these small changes in the lifestyle will help un in the longer run.

Avoiding posture-related injuries:

Posture while we are siting on a chair and using the computer at our desks:
1. For keeping our spines healthy, the head should be kept upright and over our shoulders.
2. Eyes looking slightly downward(30 degrees from horizontal line of sight is what doctors recommend) without bending from the neck. It's good for the both spine and eyes.
3. Back should be supported by the backrest of the chair that promotes the natural curve of the lower back. It helps our spine and back muscles to relax and stay in a good posture.
4. Elbows bent at 90 degrees, forearms horizontal. Shoulders should be relaxed, but not depressed. It's good for the arm muscles as well as for the spinal structure.
5. Wrist in a neutral posture(straight). It keeps the joints healthy and avoids numbness for working over time.
6. Thighs horizontal with a 90-110 degrees of angle at the hip. It helps us not develop back pain and other spinal issues.
7. Feet fully supported and flat on the floor. If this isn't possible, then the feet should be fully supported by a footrest. Again it helps maintain a good posture and keeps our lower part of the body injuryless.

Avoiding Computer overuse injuries:
1. If we are using desktop computer with keyboard and mouse, it'a always better to have the mouse positioned at the same height as the keyboard. It is good for the wrist joints and the arm.
2. We shouldn't sit for too long in front of the computer. We should take small breaks every 15-30 minutes. It helps the entire body refresh and not develop unusual tendencies for working long continuous hours.
3. We should relax and stretch our muscles for obvious reasons.
4. Our eyes also need relaxation because it's exposed to continuous screen light. Taking small breaks or closing our eyes for 1-2 minutes every 1-2 hours will help.
5. At the end of the day, it's good to do a good massage or take a warm/cold shower that helps our muscles regain the energy it needed.

Avioding Eye-related injuries:
1. There is a very popular 20-20-20 rule that says every 20 minutes, take a break for 20 seconds and look at an object 20 feet away. This is scientifically proven that it helps our eyes relax and also avoids any vision related problems that may occur faster.
2. The computer screen should not be too close to the face. It's true for both desktop and laptops(or even mobile phones).
3. Use softwares that make the color of the computer's display adapt according to the time of the day. For example, in daytime our eyes should feel the screen like the daylight, while in the nights it should appear like the indoor lights. Our eyes are adapt to these sensations and so should our computers too.
4. Even after all this, one should also have regular eye tests, just to make sure if anything else is causing any other issue.

Avoiding general health risks:
1. One should learn the right typing techniques. Not being too hard on the keyboard/mouse helps our palm, fingers and wrists.
2. We should keep our mind stressfree. Work-related stress are common and over the time they start taking toll on our body too. It should be communicated well in advance and one should seek therapy, if needed.
3. Use computer only if needed. Avoid unnecessary usage.
4. Put anti-glare screens on the desktop.
5. We should keep the fonts large enough so that our eyes don't have to be strained.
6. We should assess our health and fitness at least monthly.