Technology is an important part of many people’s lives. If you work in an office, there’s a very good chance you wouldn’t be able to work without technology. Many of us spend many hours of the week sitting at computers, looking at screens, etc. The unfortunate reality is that technology use can lead to injury if we do not take the proper precautions, and make sure to take care of our bodies.
TechQuarters is a London-based company that provides IT support services, they are very passionate about educating and supporting their customers so that they can avoid common injuries related to technology use. We spoke to them about some of the most common tech-use injuries and how they can be avoided.
Tech Neck
The condition commonly known as ‘tech neck’ is usually caused by the way we look at our phones. We tend to hold our phones below our eye line and therefore we have to crane our necks to look at the screen. Our heads are fairly heavy, and our necks are designed to support them so long as we hold our heads at the correct angle. Some estimates suggest that when we crane our necks down to look at our phones, we are adding an extra 40 pounds of pressure on our necks, hence the increasing number of people experiencing neck injuries due to their smartphone habits.
We can avoid tech neck by holding our phones up higher when we look at them. Rather than lowering your head to look at your phone, try raising your phone closer to your natural eye level – this will reduce how much you crane your neck. However, reducing screen time and introducing more exercise into your routine is the best way to avoid this type of injury.
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)
This is the group of injuries that most people will be familiar with when it comes to tech use. RSI can be any type of strain or pain experienced in muscles, nerves or tendons, and is caused by repetitive movements, such as typing, using a mouse, or even sitting in a particular position at your computer all day. RSI is most commonly experienced in the hands, wrists and forearms, but is also very prevalent in the neck and shoulders, due to how people tend to sit while working. Most IT support companies will make you aware of the dangers of RSI, and may even be able to provide you with equipment like ergonomic keyboards and mouses. RSI is becoming quite common with remote workers, because a lot of people are now sitting at a dining chair all day, instead of a desk chair designed for computers. If you use a computer all day, you should definitely make sure to take regular breaks to stand up, stretch, and move around a bit. When you take lunch, try and go out for a short walk.
Eye Strain
Most of us have experienced fatigue in our eyes related to staring at screens all day, and this can even lead to eye pain. The most important thing is to take breaks from your screen regularly. A good tip is to regularly find something that is far away to look at and focus your vision on; when you’re staring at something that is just a few inches away from your face all day, you need to make an effort to exercise your eye focus and vision.
What is more, if you do need to start at a screen all day for work, you should at least make sure that the screen is of sufficient quality, as this will help reduce eye strain. There are several main aspects of a PC monitor that will help with eye strain – to start with, having the right size monitor will help, and using a high-resolution monitor (at least 1080p and up to 4K) will help eye strain because the display will be sharper. Brightness is another good thing to look out for, as a dark screen will cause you to strain your eyesight more. Finally, the refresh rate may also help, as it provides a smoother display. TechQuarters’s business IT support London service sometimes includes providing customers with computer equipment like monitors.
