Although our modern way of living imposes daily work on the computer, we are not really created for it. Prolonged sitting in front of the screen can cause some relatively serious diseases, accompanied by very severe pain and distort the quality of everyday life. We all use computers, laptops, and many other devices that put our lives in danger every single day. But there really isn’t much that you can do to stop that, for yourself and your family. Technical action group decided to share with you some of the most common problems people experience when they work on computers for a longer period of time. You cannot isolate yourself from technology, but you can find a right way to protect yourself from possible problems.
Simply nature did not foresee such activities for us, which brings certain consequences. The most common are a pain in the hand (index finger and the root of the hands), low back and neck.
All movements of the body are accompanied by friction, causing a microscopic tissue damage. Normally, after completing the movement, the body can regenerate the damage very quickly. However, in situations where appropriate, moves constantly repeat in the long run, the body does not have time to recover. Then it comes to an accumulation of microscopic damage, which eventually leads to local inflammation and pain. Such diseases are given a lot of attention in developed countries, however, you will also notice that each keyboard and mouse have an adequate warning. Otherwise, the diseases of this type are usually known as RSI (Repetitive strain injury) or RMI (Repetitive motion injury).
The most common disease of repeated movement is tendinitis, i.e. inflammation of tendons. The tendon is a tight connective tissue in the form of a ribbon, through which the muscle attaches to the bone. With repeated movement, inflammation of the tendon most often occurs in the place of the attachment to the bone. Since the tendon is in its sheath (the synovium), repetitive motions can lead to causing inflammation. In relation to the mechanism of occurrence, symptoms, and methods of treatment, there is no essential difference between tendinitis and tenosynovitis.
When working on a computer, the most frequently occurring changes are on the tendons of fingers and hands. A typical example is the inflammation of the tendons of the index finger, which is due to prolonged use of the mouse. The disease will be more likely to occur if the mouse is used improperly by putting the fingers in an unnatural position, which creates an additional damage.
Symptoms and Causes of Tendinitis
The leading symptom of tendonitis is a pain. The skin over the tendon may be red and warm. The pain is sometimes present at night or when the hand is “resting.” In severe cases, movements may be painful to the extent that they prevent the person to perform some simple day-to-day tasks, such as writing, brushing their teeth and so on.
