Working in an office looks very attractive only at first glance. On the second, closer one, it turns out that eight hours in a row, spent in a small room, often densely crowded with various equipment, are fraught with many threats. Here and allergy to dust, and blurred vision, and chronic fatigue, and — the scourge of all white-collar workers — backache. However, it is not worth paying for your fanatical work with your own health, if you do not forget about simple methods of prevention.
Spine — "hanger" diseases of office managers
Office work is good because it completely excludes physical labor. Despite this, by the end of the working day, many representatives of the huge army of "white collars" have such severe pains in their backs, as if they had been unloading coal all day. But there is no contradiction in this, the doctors explain.
The spine is inherently mobile, and for it to be in a static, and sometimes uncomfortable position, it is fraught with muscle tension. If you constantly drive him into such a vise — day after day, month after month, year after year, — then problems cannot be avoided. Most often they occur in the cervical, thoracic and sacral regions and in the lumbar region. Starting to "honk" dull or sharp pain, they tend to draw the attention of the owner to the tightness of the muscles and ligaments. But sometimes the pains spread along the entire length of the spine.
What to do?
• Get a comfortable chair and adjust it.
• Sit correctly: your legs should be bent at the knees at a right angle, and your feet should be on the floor.
• During breaks, do exercises for the back: various turns, bends, stretches.
Senya, what's wrong with your hand? Or "computer mouse" syndrome
Those who have to drive a computer mouse all day know the condition of numb fingers or a stiff hand. As a rule, this is not given much importance. And absolutely in vain! A hand injury is not an uncommon office injury. And in difficult cases, it threatens with surgery and a long recovery period. It is no coincidence that in the twentieth century in a number of European countries, carpal tunnel syndrome received the status of an occupational pathology. And recently, British doctors, after conducting a study, found that a similar syndrome threatens every sixth office employee.
Who is to blame? Computer mouse and no one else. The monotony of the hand gripping the mouse causes tension in the muscles and circulatory problems, which can cause a pinched nerve in the carpal tunnel.
What should I do?
• While working at the computer, make sure that your hands rest comfortably on the table.
• Place the mouse next to you so as not to reach for it. Make sure that the elbow is bent at a right angle, and the hand is in line with the forearm.
• During breaks, bend and unbend your fingers, make circular movements with your hands.
Why does my head split into pieces in the office?
Desk migraine can be triggered by various reasons.
Air. Studies by American scientists have shown that the air in office space can be hazardous to health. This is due to ozone, which is an active oxidizing agent released during the operation of various devices. Contacting with sebum lipids, it contributes to the formation of substances, which, in turn, irritate the skin and can provoke respiratory diseases.
Another cause of office migraine can be hypoxia, or a trivial lack of oxygen. Remember how many times your desire to ventilate a stuffy room caused violent resistance from those colleagues who are afraid to catch a cold because of drafts? As a result, a migraine is inevitable.
What to do?
• Ventilate the room more often.
• Green up the office: plants produce oxygen and restore the ionic balance in the air.
General overwork. A dull pressing headache that does not allow one to concentrate on the work process is well known to the country's able-bodied population. Often it is precisely those who are in time trouble of business processes and are forced to endure emotional and mental stress that complain about it.
What to do?
• Walk outdoors daily.
• Engage in physical exercise.
• Exclude smoked products, strong coffee, alcohol from the diet.
• Drink a course of decoction of soothing herbs (motherwort, valerian, peony).
Nervous tension. Constant nervous tension, combined with a static posture at the computer, causes severe headaches, which affect ten percent of the population every week. Localized in the back of the head, it gradually spreads to the entire head, causing sensations as if it were squeezed in a vise.
The episodic headache lasts from a few minutes to a couple of hours and is usually a response to stress. Chronic pain can last more than two weeks and significantly affect quality of life.
What to do?
• Massage your neck to prevent muscle tension.
• Take a pain reliever (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen).
• Observe the daily routine.
• Consult your doctor.
Eye strain can be another cause of headaches. The need to read hundreds of pages directly from the monitor leads to strain in the eyes, which have to do a colossal job: move from line to line, distinguishing small print. This tenses the inner muscles of the eyes, causing them to turn inward and toward the nose.
What to do?
• Take a break after every hour of work. During it, do gymnastics for the eyes. Look left, right, up and down. Close your eyelids and mentally move your eyes clockwise.
• Set up an easy-to-read font.
• Make sure you have the right lighting.
Swelling of the neck muscles leads to impaired blood circulation in the vessels of the brain, which causes headaches. Unlike others, it manifests itself sharply so that sometimes the eyes begin to hurt and it is difficult to turn the head. Along the way, you may experience numbness in the neck.
The cervical spine is generally one of the most common sources of migraine, there is even a syndrome of cervical migraine. And if the pain in the cervical-occipital region is constant, then this is — a sure sign of osteochondrosis.
What to do?
• Self-massage of the neck and shoulder girdle will help.
• Do not carry the load in one hand.
• Try to visit the pool.
The monitor gives off tears and "sand" in the eyes
Another disease that office workers are susceptible to is —
dry eye syndrome. It is diagnosed most often in those who have to spend most of their time at the computer.
Risk group
• Young people who spend more than 8 hours on the computer every day.
• Women of mature age who have low levels of estrogen in the blood.
Unlike non-technical workers, office workers blink three to four times less frequently, which reduces tear production. As a result of "lubrication" the eyeball does not occur, and the person has a feeling of sand or burning in the eyes.
In more complex cases, there is redness of the eyes, rejection of light, sticking of the eyelid. This may indicate various complications, including corneal trauma.
What to do?
• During small hourly breaks, do gymnastics for the eyes: blink often or, closing your eyelids, rotate your eyes clockwise and counterclockwise seven to eight times in each direction.
• Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.
Varicosis and hemorrhoids love diligent employees
Disease of civilization — physical inactivity — provokes stagnation of blood and circulatory disorders in the pelvic area and lower extremities. That is why those who do not get up from the table for almost the whole day, such delicate problems as varicose veins and hemorrhoids lie in wait.
Hemorrhoids.
What to do?
• To prevent hemorrhoids, squeeze-unclench the gluteal muscles. This can be done without even getting up from the table.
• If you have a sedentary job, take 5-minute breaks every hour to walk.
• Replace soft chair seats with hard ones.
• Walk more time.
Varicosis. More than a third of the country's population is well aware of varicose veins, which appears as a result of impaired venous outflow. Appearing on the legs first in the form of nodules and stars, it disfigures the veins, which, like chains, begin to appear on the surface of the skin of the legs and feet. Combined with edema, varicose veins threaten skin changes up to the occurrence of trophic ulcers.
What to do?
• During work, to prevent varicose veins, do exercises for your legs: lift your legs from heel to toe, twist your feet, etc.
• Try to walk around the office every hour. Look in another department or take papers for signature. This will help "overclock" blood.
• Wear comfortable shoes.
Source estet-portal.com
And how you can do gymnastics right in the office, see the three-minute video:
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