Insurance |
|
Your Money > Insurance Articles > Avoid internet injury
|
|
By Yahoo! staff
Our obsession with the Internet continues to grow, with 8 million people in the UK now accessing the web on the move, according to research by Yahoo!. As this figure grows, there are increasing concerns that we are damaging our posture and putting ourselves at risk of RSI, or "Repetitive Surf" Injury. The ways people access the web via different devices when at home, work and on the move - and the frequency with which we do it - means that the pressure we put on our bodies is tremendous. Repetitive Strain Injuries already affect half a million workers in the UK with an estimated 5.4 million days lost to sickness from RSI, according to the Trades Union Congress. Members of the British Chiropractic Association claim that the increasing amounts of patients suffering from back and neck pain is due to using laptops and mobile phones. Research reveals that over 56% of the population think they have bad posture, and 43% blame their posture problems on the use of a laptop. As a result Yahoo!, in association with the BCA, has put together a series of useful tips designed to help users avoid RSI.
Tim Hutchful from the BCA explains: "Sitting down puts almost twice as much pressure on the spine than standing up. When on the move, people are balancing laptops on their legs so users stare down at the screen which in turn puts strain on their necks, spines and legs." Iain Thomson, General Manager for Yahoo! Finance, adds: "RSI-type conditions have been estimated to cost industry of up to £20 billion a year, which has huge implications when it comes to productivity. "As a nation, we are demanding more and more from the Internet and we want access anywhere and everywhere. "Location is no longer a barrier when it comes to logging on, but it does mean we are laying ourselves bare to potential RSI problems. We don't need to stop surfing - we just need to surf safely to continue to enjoy all the brilliant content the web offers." Hutchful says that the combination of more built-in Internet browsers on phones and gadgets, increasingly decreasing in size, are causing problems. "As technology is developing, gadgets are getting smaller and so the buttons are closer together. Small, fine movements also tend to aggravate more than larger movements. This, coupled with the smaller buttons, can lead to injury as smaller buttons are harder to activate. "These movements may cause a lack of blood flow to the tendons and muscles of the thumb and may cause inflammation of the joint at the base of the thumb." In an attempt to help all the Internet addicts from avoiding surfing side-effects, we offer the following recommendations: 1) If you must use your laptop on the move, don't sit in the same position for long periods as you are looking down onto the screen with your head unsupported. 2) Rest the laptop on a table not on your lap. 3) Relax when sitting into your chair, making sure you have your bottom against the seat back and your shoulder blades are touching the back rest of the chair. 4) Your arms should be flat and your elbows level with the desk or table you are using. Use a seat with arm rests. 5) If you carry a laptop use a rucksack design laptop case, carry it on both shoulders and adjust the straps so that the bag is held close to your back. Mobile phones 1) Support your arm on a chair or table to take the 'load' off the neck and shoulder muscles. 2) Massage your arm from the wrist to the elbow at regular intervals 3) Swap hands regularly and vary the fingers you are using 4) Sit in a neutral upright position - head over shoulders and arms comfortably near the body 5) The best way to avoid injury is to flex your hand muscles as this will keep the blood flowing and will break up the repetition. 6) The weight of a phone may not feel much, but it is significantly increased if the arm is held out stretched, as it will increase the load of muscles and joints. Useful links: |
| ||||||||||