Paper-free office pain
August 29, 2012
MORE time spent in front of the
computer, coupled with less task
variety are causing office workers
of all professions to unprecedented
levels of neck, back, shoulder and
arm pain, according to a new
survey.
Conducted by researchers at the
University of Sydney, and published
in WORK: a Journal of Prevention,
Assessment and Rehabilitation, the
survey of more than 900 office
workers found a direct correlation
between the amount of time spent
at a computer and the likelihood of
experiencing musculoskeletal pain
over a 12 month period.
“Better workstation design,
seating and health education has
not resulted in any observable
decrease in the number of office
workers reporting pain over the last
20 to 30 years,” said study head
Karin Griffiths, doctoral candidate
in the University’s Faculty of Health
Sciences.
“In fact, recent research shows
that prolonged sitting and the lack
of physical activity associated with
computer work is the main
problem, and may be contributing
to cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and obesity along with
musculoskeletal pain,” she added.
In the study researchers argue
that offices need to be designed to
stimulate physical activity among
employees.
“We need to start including
standing workstations and
encourage more standing and
walking within offices as a matter
of course for everyone who uses a
computer for most of their day,”
Griffiths said.
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