Or, how NOT to get crippled by your computer

• Injuries, not caused by computers but aggrivated by using computers. Needed to make working environment more comfortable.

Anatomy of a Geek What can go wrong:

• Eyes
• Hands, Wrists, Forearms
• Shoulders & Neck
• Back

Your computer is killing you

• All professions have health issues
• Human design as nomadic hunter-gatherers
• NOT designed for sitting
• Problems caused by mobile computing — Laptops are the worst thing to happen!!

Eyes: Symptoms include - pain and discomfort, dryness, itchiness, increased sensitivity to light, double vision, vision changes Eyes going square, wont necessarily happen but the muscles that you use to view get strained over time from looking at the screen, so you might need glasses. Causes include - distance from screen, CRT refresh rate, ambient light, fluorescent light, air conditioning. Solutions - distance from screen should be 56-91cm, Use an LCD screen, adjust ambient light and your monitor brightness - too dark is just as bad as too light, fluorescent light should be natural/incandescent and high refresh. Use eye drops when in air con. Rest - 2mins for every half hour. Stretch, focus into distance.

Wrists and Forearms: Symptoms - discomfort, numbness in hands or fingers - can lead to tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. They can’t be fixed. Causes - Bad positioning at desk, angle of keyboard, distance/reach of mouse and restducting blood flow. Solutions - adjust desk position, ergonomic keyboard, alternatively use trackballs, good cause not using arm but not good for graphic work (imprecise) and pen tablets. Also wrist straps - give extra strength to your arms, and again - Take Breaks! May need custom support e.g. on Thumbs. Q. on keyboards, keep wrists straighter and not on an angle, feels better. Number pad on side causes further to reach for the mouse (esp on natural keyboards). Less distance to reach would be good.

Neck and Shoulders: Symptoms - Stiffness and tension, pain, headaches, nerve degeneration and damage. Causes - screen and keyboard position, mouse and distance to reach — also Stress. Solutions - Screen height should be slightly below head line/eye level. Get a holder/clip for documents, book stands and also all as above.

Bad Backs: Symptoms - stiffness and pain / physio gets questions “where did the pain suddenly come from” kinda compounded from lots of small problems. Causes - poor posture, lack of lumbar support. Solutions - Better chair eg. kneeling stool, foot position, physio, occupational therapy exercises, and Take Breaks! Kneeling stool helped key overcome some back pain (but shins hurt!) Armrests in chairs are bad, create bad habits for using keyboards.

Basically - Make coffee, walk around with phone, go and check the mail - Something to get you moving!

Share - Drink water! Gets you up, and keeps you hydrated. Going to gym during the day, and it sharpens your mind. Go about 1.30pm and have shower, and increases productivity. Switch back and forth between different input, or mouse in different hands. Trackball, mouse, pen - working different muscles. Smartgloves, have to order over the internet. Have a flexible splint. Pocket of beads under the wrists that keep your wrists at the right height. Ambient temperature - eg cold may effect back and shoulder pain. USB warmed gloves and slippers!!