Office Work Injuries and Improper Working Position: Causes and Remedies

Over time injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, damage to muscle, and spine issues are common work-related injuries. Workers who use poor techniques are the ones affected, and sometimes this is due to the improper form of working.

Sometimes you may not experience any pain or discomfort for quite some time, but eventually, symptoms will make themselves known in the least expected, making individuals miss work. 

Some injuries can be treated by taking medication and through physical therapy. However, other types of injuries can keep you out of work for months because they require extensive treatment.  

There are also work injuries that are caused by a lack of awareness and concern. This, along with other contributors, is making an unsafe environment for the workplace. 

In today’s article, we will help you identify the most common injuries, symptoms, and causes so that you can understand how you can prevent most of these uncomfortable diseases.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

It is a medical condition caused by pressure on your median nerve, which runs throughout the arm’s length, including the wrist, which is called the carpal tunnel and ends in the hand.

One of the leading reasons for this injury is the improper hand position while working. Spending too much time working on a computer while typing away at your keyboard and scrolling your mouse can cause hand pain and numbness. Sometimes, the laptop’s design or console of the desktop computer is also to blame; they are not convenient nor ergo-friendly.

Doing household chores after a long day of work can also lead to experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome. This activity triggers the swelling of your tendons. Movement such as making a fist or gripping tends to cause pain over the wrist’s thumb side that may radiate down the thumb and up the forearm.

The primary treatment for this is self-care. To help ease the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, you may put lukewarm water on your wrist. Try it for 5 – 10 minutes every day. You may also undergo therapy using paraffin wax. 

In fact, paraffin wax has been shown to treat conditions like arthritis. It acts as heat therapy to help manage conditions by increasing blood flow, relaxing muscles, and reducing joints’ stiffness. For pain that wakes you up at night, you can gently shake your wrist or hang it over your bed.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can also be prevented by using a wireless ergonomic mouse from AnthroDesk. The right mouse can cause less strain in your wrist and arm. Since it is wireless, it will also keep your desk space clean and organized.

Back Pain

The most common cause of back pain is poor posture. Back pain is a leading cause of distraction and work challenges. There are so many reasons for back pain, but most are unaware of it. Here are some ideas on how this pain can get triggered.

You are pinning the phone between your shoulders. 

This happens when you want to multitask, but this will hurt your neck and upper part of your back. Working while talking over the phone can be done; however, you need to use a headset or put your phone on a speaker mode for a conversation that will last for more than three to five minutes.

Hunching over a computer. 

You may not notice it, but we often tend to hunch and slouch for an extended period. To stop and prevent this unhealthy behaviour, the first thing that you need to do is choose the right desk and chair for you.

AnthroDesk has a variety of sit-to-stand desks that are ergonomic, have many health benefits, and will help you make better lifestyle choices to improve your health. They can be adjusted and converted to standing desks so you can escape sitting for a long time. 

While many office workers complain about back pain as they sit all day, standing desks reduce back pain because they prevent you from slouching and hunching. They also improve your overall core strength that helps in the betterment of good posture.

Choosing the right chair also contributes to the betterment of your posture. The AnthroDesk ergonomic wobble chair is a fun, active chair ideal to use with your standing desk. 

It engages your core muscle and stimulates your metabolism. It has a wide range of height adjustments, and it accommodates all sizes. Wobble your way to better health today!

One of the best solutions for back pain is to take a break. Do some shoulder rolls, it reduces pressure on the spinal disk and boosts blood circulation. It makes you more limber and less stressed.

Slips and Trips

These are some of the most common work-related injuries. 

Tripping over a cord or messy tables brought by unarranged cable wires in your office space is a pretty concerning occurrence. Sometimes the lack of accessories to hold the cable wires is one reason people slip or trip over cables.

One of the best ways to prevent an injury from recurring is to fix the cords and cable wires at the workplace. This can be done through the AnthroDesk cable clip organizer. You can neatly organize cords or cables. 

It has a three-metre adhesive and won’t fall off like other brands. These cable clips will solve your problem and will make sure that your desk cables are organized and easily accessible when you need them.

The other way to prevent this is by ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly, so people do not slip. Drawers should also be kept closed to ensure people do not trip.

Conclusion

Office work injuries should not be taken lightly, it happens more than we would like to admit and the consequences could pose a real danger to our health. Discipline is always key when it comes to making our lives better. 

When you are aware and responsible enough to admit the fact that you need to work on yourself to be more healthy, you are not only ensuring your welfare but the welfare of others. Safety must be a priority to ensure that accidents will be prevented.