News

Posture

Much progress has been made in the past decade in addressing carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries through the use of ergonomic keyboards and computer stands. But less focus has been given to correcting how people sit in front of their screens all day, according to Brian McKeon, M.D., chief medical officer for and an orthopedist at the. Poor posture, coupled with the natural process of losing bone density and flexibility as we age, sets up a perfect storm for a host of back, neck and shoulders problems, such as rotator cuff disease, McKeon says.

Turn Yourself Around

“Poor posture can lead as well to digestive problems such as indigestion and constipation”, McKeon explains, “as well as pulmonary disease as lungs become restricted, making it harder to breath. Bad posture is something we don't take seriously  most people don't see surgeons for these problems, and we just tend to neglect it," McKeon says. "If we treated posture aggressively from the outset, shoulder, elbow and hand injuries would dramatically decrease.“

Back

Without the proper ergonomic setup, deskbound workers like IT professionals run the risk of back and spine injuries, McKeon says. Problems can include anything from cervical radiculopathy (a compression of the nerve roots in the neck) and bursitis of the shoulder on down to pulled or strained muscles, ligaments and tendons in the lower back.  More than 1 million people lose time from work each year due to musculoskeletal disorders, which can be easily avoided.