Welcome to my cubicle...said the spider to the fly
Do you remember your first day at
your new job? They brought you in for a generous salary. And during first-day
orientation you learned about your 401k, stock options, company values and
mission, as well as where the café and other amenities were. They gave you your
own office (21st century-style, with 5 foot high walls and 20-foot ceiling
you share with 50 or so other professionals on your floor). And you got
started.
Once in your office, you were
introduced to Dilbert – the thinking person’s chuckle-man – who
sometimes made you wince from his satire, but mostly you were laughing.
Source: Comics.com http://www.cafepress.com/cp/sotd.aspx?storeid=dilbert
Then a few months ago, you
started feeling tenderness in your neck and forearm and pain in your back that
made you wince. Only this is no joke. It’s an injury that doesn’t seem to heal.
And you’re not even sure what caused it.
Welcome to office ergonomics and upper back strain!
The pain you are feeling may be
new to you. But it has happened to many, many people who sit for long periods
of time – especially if they sit while working at a computer. I’ve had
patience and friends, who were active all their lives – downhill skiing,
running and even rock climbing – that say the worst injury they ever suffered
came when they began sitting still 8 – 10 hours a day.
The Web in Your Body
Our bodies, like ourselves are
more than just muscle hung over bone. Your body is an intricate structure that is
completely connected – bone to tendon, tendon to joint, etc. And each
piece in that structure is enveloped in a single, amazing web of connective
tissue, called fascia. If you were to strip away your skin and lay yourself
under a microscope, your fascia would look much like a spider web – an
elegant design of cross-hatched threads, covering and protecting every cell of
your body.
The fascia not only looks like a
web, it acts like one.
You see, when you sit for long
periods of time, your body becomes weak in some spots and irritated in others. So,
for example, when you are sitting at your desk clicking away at 70 words per
minute trying to finish your year end financial report before deadline, your
shoulder blades and neck pinch upward in a tense fist. After long hours and
many such reports, that tension becomes knots. And like a spider nabbing a fly,
your fascia binds itself around the tension and soreness to protect it from
further strain.
The real problem comes when you
don’t do anything to loosen and unbind the fascia. Left to fester and nagged at
by more hours spent in front of a computer, the fascia will continue to bind itself
around the tender area, shortening the overall web and pulling ancillary
muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. toward the injury and out of wack!
The result is tenderness along
the spine, limited range in your neck, swelling at the base of the skull and unbearable
headaches.
If this is you, you have reached the
point where you need help (and some ergonomic training). Your company should
have an ergonomics team, who can evaluate your work station and provide you
with furniture and equipment (like an adjustable computer stand a hands free
headset, ergo keyboard, etc.) that will reduce the risk of re-injury. To treat
your injury and restore full range of motion, contact a Structural Integration
therapist in your area. He will design a structural program specifically for
you to soften the fascia, realign your body and promote healing.
For more information about
Structural Integration Therapy or to find a local practitioner, you can visit
my Web site http://corestructuraltherapy.com/ or the International Association of Structural Integration http://www.structuralintegration.org/index.php.
