Neck Pain

Neck pain can be caused by a number reasons and advice should be taken from a GP or specialist if symptoms continue for a more than a week. However, if symptoms occur following an obvious trauma such as a fall or a road traffic accident medical advice should be taken immediately.

 

The set up of a computer workstation and the equipment used can greatly influence neck pain and a full workstation assessment is the most effective way of ensuring these factors are not the cause. Neck pain can also be caused by associated muscle tightness in the shoulders, arms and back and leaning forward on the desk for long periods should be avoided. Also the positioning of paperwork, the computer mouse, keyboard and monitor can all greatly influence neck pain. For example; Placing paperwork in front of the keyboard forces the user to lean forward to type and to use the mouse. This causes the arms and shoulder to stretch forward whilst viewing the paperwork at the front edge of the desk. This causes “static muscle loading” and can very quickly lead to neck pain. Neck pain can also cause numbness to be experienced into one or both of the shoulders and/or arms. This can make typing or using the mouse very uncomfortable and such duties can increase the symptoms.

The DSE Solutions

Equipment such as a Flexdesk document holder is the best way of ensuring equipment and paperwork stays in the safest working positions. It may also be necessary to use a more ergonomic mouse to reduce gripping and elbow/shoulder activity. Also ergonomic chairs with forward tilt will keep the head more in-line with shoulders reducing the weight of the head over stretching the neck and shoulder muscles. It is also a good idea to use a chair with adjustable armrests. If you can support the arms with the elbow position back in line with the shoulders and close to the centre line of the body you can reduce neck pain and other musculoskeletal issues. DSE Solutions are happy to help with the identification of suitable equipment, a full workstation assessment is the most effective way to do this.

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