Are laptops bad for you?
Be proactive to avoid neck and wrist pain
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· For every convenience, there seems to be an inconvenience, and laptops are no exception.
Though handy and portable, laptops also may promote poor posture and may lead to overuse injuries and pain in people who use them a lot, some health experts say.
“Neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel — there's quite a few things you can develop,” including upper back pain, said Chad Garvey, a physical therapist with the Kentucky Orthopedic Rehab Team (KORT) in Jeffersontown.
People also can develop problems from using desktop computers, but laptops have unique features that can undermine users, said Dr. Kevin Carneiro of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
“The keyboard and the screen are joined, and so it doesn't allow you to manipulate either one,” said Carneiro, an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “You either overuse your wrist-hand motion, or you sit poorly,” which means people tend to stoop or slump.
Carneiro recommends using a docking station or other means to get the laptop into an ideal position.
“Ideally, your eyes should be looking at the top third of the monitor,” he said. “You shouldn't be looking down for a prolonged period.”
Carneiro also suggests taking breaks every 20 minutes and getting involved in a general exercise program to try to avoid problems.
“Balance the sedentary work we do on the computers with an active lifestyle,” he said.
“I don't think we're designed to … sit in front of a computer all day.”
Garvey, director of KORT's J-town physical therapy clinic, made similar comments, adding, “The body needs to move. If you're sitting in a fixed position for a prolonged period of time, your joints and your muscles … can actually generate pain and have tissue changes as a result of it.”
If you experience pain that starts to limit your daily activities, see your health care provider.
It's important to “look for ways to make changes, not just ignore your symptoms,” said Garvey.
People who ignore persistent pain put themselves at risk for things like “carpal tunnel syndrome, where you have scarring of the tissue within the wrists from repetitive usage,” he said. There's also a risk of “postural changes within the upper back.”
“You'll get folks who have more of what we call rounded shoulder posture.”
Remember, “Pain is a communication,” he said. “It's your body's way of trying to draw attention to an area. Definitely, listen to it.”
Reporter Darla Carter can be reached at (502) 582-7068 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (502) 582-7068 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
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