All the aches and pains resulting from working at a computer every day may be successfully relieved by providing your forearms with supportive arm boards or pads.
The latest research indicates that offering forearm support can considerably decrease neck and shoulder pain as well as hand, wrist, and forearm pain related to computer use.
"Based on these findings, employers ought to think of providing employees who use computers with proper forearm support," says one of the investigators David Rempel, MD, MPH, director of the ergonomics program at San Francisco General Hospital, in a news release.
Arm Boards and Ergonomics Training
In the course of the research, the scientists observed the effects of providing forearm support (in the form of a padded device known as an arm board that attaches to the front of the work surface) and ergonomics training on upper body pain. The participants of this research were one hundred and eighty two operators at a call center who worked at computers almost all the day.
The scientists divided the operators randomly into groups that obtained ergonomics training only, ergonomics training plus an arm board, ergonomics training and use of a trackball (instead of computer mouse), or ergonomics training with forearm support and a trackball. A trackball is a device using a rotating ball to position a cursor on a computer screen.
Later, the participants presented weekly pain scores. The scientists monitored them for any medical conditions that developed in the upper extremities (hand, wrist, arm), neck, or shoulder areas. The majority of the participants used the mouse or trackball with their right hand (98 per cent).
After one year, the findings proved that operators who used the arm board had a 50 per cent lower rate of neck and shoulder disorders than those in the control group. Use of the arm board was also connected with less pain in that area and the right upper extremity. And what’s interesting, the use of a trackball decreased pain and problems in only the left upper extremity.
Pain Relief Tips
The results appeared in the British Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. They proved that offering forearm support along with ergonomics training had the maximum effect in protecting from muscle pain related to computer.
According to the estimates of the investigators, the cost of providing arm boards to employees would be returned to employers in the form of considerably greater efficiency within about eleven months of purchase.
According to Rempel, "Based on this research, it is in the best interest of both the firm and the employees to offer forearm supports and training,".
According to the scientists, other tips to decrease the risk of computer-related pain include:
* Taking scheduled breaks
* Maintaining an upright posture
* Adjusting chair height in such a way that thighs are parallel to the floor
* Tailoring arm support and work surface height so the forearms are also parallel to the floor
* Adjusting both the mouse and keyboard location to minimize reaching
* Adjusting the height of monitor so that the center of the monitor is about 15 degrees below the visual horizon
