Your fatigue your posture
A US study has found that poor posture while working on the computer can lead to fatigue, increased muscle tension and even injury to the vertebrae over time.
Erik Peper, a professor at San Francisco State University in the U.S said ‘When your posture is tall and erect, the muscles of your back can easily support the weight of your head and neck —as much as 12 pounds, but when your head juts forward at a 45 degree angle, your neck acts like a fulcrum, like a long lever lifting a heavy object,’
It is therefore not surprising for people get stiff necks and shoulder and back pain.
Erik Peper further said, ‘You can do something about this poor posture very quickly.’
To increase body awareness, Mr. Peper advised purposefully replicating the head-forward/neck scrunched position.
‘You can exaggerate the position and experience the symptoms. Then when you find yourself doing it, you can become aware and stop,’ Erik noted.
Other things one can do to reduce fatigue include increasing the font on your computer screen, wearing computer reading glasses or placing your computer on a stand at eye level, all to make the screen easier to read without strain. Taking frequent breaks (2-3 mniutes of break for every 30 minutes of work also helps.
In short, having a proper workstation ergonomic assessment is necessary for all employees, especially in the setting of an office!
