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BS: Computers are bad for your health
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BS: Computers are bad for your health |
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Subject: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: GUEST,Bluesman Date: 28 Dec 11 - 08:33 AM More than half of computer users each year develop neck or shoulder symptoms and just over one-third develop an impairment or the loss of some function, according to researcher Dr. Frederic Gerr of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Contrary to the results of previous studies, carpal tunnel syndrome was among the least common of all conditions examined, affecting 1% of computer users in their first year at a new job, the investigators note in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. "Carpal tunnel syndrome is not occurring in a staggering epidemic proportion among computer users, but that does not mean that computer users have no increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome," Gerr stated. The study included 632 men and women newly hired in jobs requiring 15 or more hours per week of computer use. Study participants recorded their work practices and symptoms in daily diaries for 3 years, and those who reported symptoms were evaluated by clinicians to determine whether a disorder existed. Researchers point out that this is the first prospective study to follow a group of computer users over time, although previous studies have reported the number of computer users experiencing pain at a given point in time. "What's different is that we can actually describe the number of new cases per year, and that's something no one has ever described in any previous study," Gerr told Reuters Health in an interview. In other findings, hand and arm problems were also common. Nearly 40% of people develop a hand or arm symptom each year while using a computer and 21% actually develop a disorder. Women were more likely to report symptoms and develop disorders than men are, the investigators found, but the reason for this finding is unclear, they note. The results of a companion study of the same group of computer users suggest that maintaining specific postures while using a computer can reduce pain and related medical conditions. Their findings are not consistent with conventional recommendations regarding posture and positioning of video display terminals. According to the report, positioning the keyboard lower than the elbow and some distance away from the computer user (with an inner elbow angle at greater than 121 degrees), tilting the head downward at the monitor and supporting the weight of the arms, for example by using chair armrests, can lower the risk of neck and shoulder symptoms and disorders. In addition, the researchers conclude that spending more time using a computer poses an increased risk of hand and arm symptoms and disorders. "People who type 20 hours per week more than others are a little more than twice as likely to develop a symptom or disorder in the hand and arm region," Gerr said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Little Hawk Date: 28 Dec 11 - 08:39 AM Quite so. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: katlaughing Date: 28 Dec 11 - 10:40 AM my osteopath told me using armrests causes the shoulders to hunch up and can cause all kinds of problems. I can personally attest to the hand and arm problems. Am using a voice recognition program to alleviate some of the overuse and terrible pain. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: JohnInKansas Date: 28 Dec 11 - 04:01 PM As a recycling of old fo It sounds lke a recylcling of the tales my dad told about the myth that "you won't get her pregnant if you dangle your balls in the Model T radiator before ... ." (Claims were that a few of his buddies may have tried it. No reports of successful use of the method - or of really serious injuries.) The joint and muscle problems associated with long sessions at the keyboard (or thumbpad) are apparently quite real, and are something to be considered on a daily, or hourly, basis. Long sessions of staring at something at relatively close fixed distance have also been implicated in an apparently increasing occurance of premature near-sightedness, although it's not clear that the reports have separated the "monitor effect" from the similar natural aging effects. (Claims of this result have probably been around since the invention of books; but that doesn't mean it's not real.) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: gnu Date: 28 Dec 11 - 04:23 PM "you won't get her pregnant if you dangle your balls in the Model T radiator before ... ." Especially if it's just after driving a distance. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Little Hawk Date: 28 Dec 11 - 05:09 PM My eyesight deteriorates markedly if I sit staring at the computer for a couple of hours, whereas if I spend the day doing other things instead, my eyesight is not adversely affected. It takes some time away from the computer to get my eyes focusing well again, specially the left eye. And I do get neck and shoulder tension from using the computer too, no doubt about it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: JennieG Date: 28 Dec 11 - 05:18 PM I've been noticing more neck and shoulder problems for a little while now, but I swap the mouse from hand to hand which I've found helps even up the wear on wrists and fingers. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: akenaton Date: 28 Dec 11 - 05:23 PM Dont get soooo stressed out Hawk.....chill man!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: GUEST,Bluesman Date: 28 Dec 11 - 06:33 PM I had surgery last October,inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons and the bursa. Most likely cause I now feel is using the computer. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Little Hawk Date: 29 Dec 11 - 12:22 AM I'm not stressed out. There's just something about staring at a glowing screen a couple of feet away that messes up my eyesight after awhile. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: akenaton Date: 29 Dec 11 - 03:51 AM Only jokin' LH :0)....you're about the most unstressed guy i've met. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 29 Dec 11 - 07:04 PM Affects my nether part more than my eye part. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Dec 11 - 07:26 PM I have glasses I use while on the computer that resolved the stiff neck and shoulder problems. They have a close-to-mid-range focal plane so I sit up straight and look at the screen without leaning forward and tipping my head back to read through the bifocals. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: JennieG Date: 30 Dec 11 - 12:34 AM My glasses are regular, not bifocals. Part of the problem is Himself wears multifocals and has set up the computer desk and screen to suit his stature, while I'm shorter. But in the interests of domestic harmony, I make do. At least I have my sewing machines set up for me. Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Computers are bad for your health From: Don(Wyziwyg)T Date: 30 Dec 11 - 06:44 AM ""PTL - (can it declutter too? and plant tomatoes? what about wipeing your equestrian hindquarters?)"" Aahuhh! There's always one pig ignorant, anonymous, GUEST, and that's usually the ONLY Horse's Arse in sight. Don T. |
