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Whether you are “Cyber Monday” shopping at home, watching Youtube at work or sitting at your computer desk naked looking for a new car it is important to have your computer station set up properly.  As you may have noticed, occupations in today’s workforce that require physical labor are decreasing in number. In turn, they are being replaced by faster and more efficient computer based equipment. Due to this, the average employee is spending much more time sitting in front of a computer screen. Also, as the number of households that have computers increases in leaps and bounds every year, people are spending even more time at home in front of the computer. Many repetitive strain injuries such as shoulder/arm tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, headaches and upper back pain are directly related to an improperly set-up computer workstation. 

To start with, make these quick changes to get the ball rolling:

1) In regards to the monitor, the height of the screen is important. The top level of the written text should be at eye level. If it is too low, stack something like old books under it to raise it to eye level. If the monitor is too low, it will cause stiffness in the neck and possibly headaches.

2) The distance between your eyes and the screen should be about an arm’s
length 18-24 inches. Being too close or far away will cause eye strain.

3) If your keyboard is at the proper height, you should be able to type without bending the wrists backwards (dorsiflexion).  If your wrists are bent backwards, put a spongy support under the wrists to help keep your wrist neutral. These can be purchased at any office supply store. You can also fold in the little legs that are under the keyboard. This will level out the keyboard and maintain the wrists in a neutral position. If the wrists are kept in an improper position, tendonitis of the forearm or carpel tunnel will likely arise.

4) When using a mouse, be sure your wrist is not angled left or right.  This will cause tendonitis or carpal tunnel if done incorrectly.

5) If you are typing while reading from a piece of paper or book that is lying on your desk, do not have it placed too far to the left or right. It should be in an upright position and relatively close to you.  When you have your head turned too far one way for a prolonged period of time, the neck will inevitably get sore.

6) Be sure you are using a quality chair. The backrest should give good lumbar
support and be angled 95 to 110 degrees. If the chair has armrests, they should support the elbows lightly. The elbows should be bent at 90 to 110 degrees. The shoulders should be in a comfortable position and hanging loosely, not in a shrug position. Do not let the shoulders roll forward, as this will allow the back to slouch.  A good lumbar supports should help correct many of these issues.

7) Never sit for periods longer than 45 minutes. Get up from your seat and go get some water or act like your doing something important.  It’s not a good idea to keep the ligaments and tendons it a stretched position for long periods of time.

 Try to make these changes to your computer workstation. You will notice a difference immediately and it will help prevent the chronic problems such as tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Chiropractors are treating many patients with neck, wrist, forearm, shoulder, and upper back problems that are mostly related to how their computer workstations are set up. As I have mentioned before, the best cure for these problems is prevention.
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The next time you go to Wal-mart for your weekly outing, try to notice how other people’s heads are positioned. Sound weird? Probably. But if you know what to look for, you can see which people likely have headaches and neck problems. When someone is standing with their arms at their sides, look at them from the side. Their ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle should be in vertical alignment. In other words if you drop a piece of string from their ear it should pass through all of those points. 

Did you know that for every inch a person’s head is positioned "forward", that gravity is pulling their head even further forward, equal to a pull of 10 pounds?! It’s true! As far as the muscles in your upper back and neck are concerned, they have to work even harder than normal in order to keep the head (chin) from dropping forwards onto your chest. This forces the muscles that raise the chin or pull the head back to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure and tension on the joints, muscles, and eventually the nerves of the neck and upper back. As an example, if a person’s head is tipped forward two inches, it would be similar to hanging a 20-pound watermelon from the front of his or her head? It is no wonder that people who do this consistently end up with tension headaches, upper back pain, and neck pain. 

When your head is held in a forward position, the mobility of the joints in the upper four vertebrae of the neck will be significantly restricted. All of our joints need to move and be positioned properly to remain healthy. If these joints have abnormal pressure on them due to improper positioning and are not allowed to glide freely, degeneration of the joints and discs in that area will eventually occur. 

To prevent forward head posture from happening in the first place, practice good posture and keep the muscles of your neck strong and flexible. If you have had forward head posture for some time, see your chiropractor so that the mobility in the joints and flexibility of the muscles within and around the neck can be restored. He or she can also show you some simple exercises to help strengthen and release the chronic spasm of the muscles involved. Once your treatment protocol is complete, your postural habits are improved, and you either commence or continue to exercise regularly, your persistent neck pain and headaches will be a thing of the past.
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Note Homer's excellent head posture
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Did you realize that one of the top reasons that individuals visit their doctor is because of headaches?  Headaches of even the slightest severity can prevent you from enjoying many of life’s day to day activities. Believe it or not, the number of children, teenagers and adults who are seeking chiropractic care for relief of headaches is right up there in numbers with neck pain or low back pain.  Yet, it still surprises me how most of the people do not realize the headaches they are experiencing are primarily tension type headaches, and not migraines.

Tension-type headaches are one of the most common, yet easiest to treat, type of headache.  Muscle tension, joint stiffness, and nerve irritation at the back of the neck and head can create a dull, steady pain over the forehead, temples, back of neck and even down the shoulders. Commonly, there is a band-like pressure on both sides of the head. The pain is usually constant, non-throbbing, ranges from mild to moderate in severity, and usually builds in intensity. It is very common for people to even wake up in the morning and feel the headache before even getting out of bed! Tension headaches may last from 30 minutes to even a week and are commonly related to stress, poor posture, and a lack of regular physical exercise. They affect both men and women in equal numbers, and are common in children. They can cause nausea and are not made worse by routine physical activity.

A study done at Ohio University in 1998 showed that more than 70 percent of people who experience this type of headache also had frequent disrupted sleep due to the associated neck stiffness or pain. In addition, these people reported that, over time, this scenario created further fatigue and headache-related anxiety or stress. The same studies also found that 44 percent of the people who experience this type of headache said that it affected their performance at work or school and 72 percent said the pain caused them to miss work or school an average of 3.5 days in the last six months. (1)

Over the past few years, research has shown that spinal manipulation - the primary form of treatment provided by Chiropractors - is an effective treatment option for tension-type headaches and headaches that originate from the neck.(2,3)  For example, a report released by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication. Also, a study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal manipulative therapy was an effective treatment for tension headaches and that those who ceased chiropractic treatment after four weeks experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in contrast with those patients who received a commonly prescribed medication. 

In addition to chiropractic treatment, anyone who suffers from neck stiffness or headaches should be stretching their neck muscles daily, the ergonomics of their place of work should be reviewed to prevent poor posture, and they should participate in some form of regular physical activity. For more information on headaches, neck pain - feel free to give me an email at landrumdc@gmail.com.

1. http://www.ohio.edu/infocus/headache

2. Boline PD , Kassak K, Bronfort G, Nelson C, Anderson AV.  “Spinal manipulation vs. amitriptyline for the treatment of chronic tension-type headaches: a randomized clinical trial.”  Manipulative Physiol Therapy ; 18:148-54.

3.  Gert Bronfort, Willem J.J. Assendelft, Roni Evans, Mitchell Haas, Lex Bouter.  “Efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic headache: A systematic review” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.  September 2001 (Vol. 24, Issue 7, ages 457-466).
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Probably not a tension headache
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