• Last updated:2021-10-18

      Researches of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Council of Labor Affairs show that using computer for a long time may easily cause pains of the shoulders and the neck, and that 24% of the computer users have pains that influences their life. To prevent fatigue of muscles and accumulated damages, besides paying attention to the location of the computer display and the keyboard, it is also helpful for relieving pains in shoulders and the neck to do more stretching exercise at break of work, which can also avoid diseases of the muscles and the bones.

       The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has carried out a questionnaire survey on scientific and technical companies where the staff use computers for a long time, the results have shown that the part of human body that more possibly get pains by using computer are shoulders and neck, second possible are wrists and hands. Within one year, there have been about 60% computer operators suffering pains in the shoulder and 63% suffering pains in the neck. Causes of neck pains includes: wearing glasses, long length of service and using mouse for over 4 hours daily. Though the pains will not endanger the life, they do make people’s working efficiency decline, influence their mood, sleeping and daily life, and even make their quality of decline, cumulative injury of the pains after a long term may possibly cause diseases of muscles and bones, which are hard to get radical cure and are easy recurring.

       Prevention is better than treatment, therefore, The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has, aiming to the characteristics of computer operation, designed the computer stretching exercise suitable to be done in offices. According to researches of the Institute, the pains in shoulders and the neck can be effectively relieved by doing the stretching exercise 15 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week, furthermore, indexes of physical functioning, role limitation due to physical problems, bodily pain, self-feeling of general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitation due to emotional problems and mental health etc. will be improved，especially indexes of self-feeling of general health, vitality and mental health, which will be improved more distinctly.

      Suggestions for avoiding muscle fatigue and pains due to use of computer are:

1. The locations of the display and the keyboard should be right in front of the operator, the keyboard should be placed a little lower that normal desk; the display should be below the horizontal sight line.
2. Pay attention to the gesture of operation, the body should be kept straight and naturally leaning on the back of the chair, neither head nor neck should incline forward.
3. Wear glasses for short distance when using a computer.
4. Select the mouse suitable to the shape and size of your hand.
5. Increase the breaks during working, have at lease a rest every 2 hours and stand up for stretching exercise of 5-15 minutes, strengthening the stretching exercise for the neck, shoulders, wrists, stomach and back.

For more information about the computer stretching exercise (occupational vitality exercise) and prevention of computer damages, please visit our the website: http://www.iosh.gov.tw/frame.htm .

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• Publication Date:2005-10-07
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