Common Causes of Neck Tension When Working at a Computer
For the majority of non essential workers, the pandemic and government lockdowns forced many people to work from home. Many companies have since shifted to a hybrid in person/work from home model, downsized their physical office spaces and shifted to a hotelling system where workers potentially find themselves at a different desk each time they head into the office for their workday.
Ergonomic assessments (workstation setups) are not as available as they used to be and can be difficult to execute when the worker doesn’t have a permanent workspace in the office and are setting themselves up on their own at home!
One of the first questions I ask when I’m assessing someone with neck pain is: Can you describe what your work/computer setup looks like? More often than not people are working in all kinds of weird and wonderful positions that are causing their neck pain and subsequent elbow or wrist pain that can also result from a poor work set up. Here are some common mistakes that people make when they’re setting themselves up at their desk.
Optimal Set-Up While Working at a Computer
Screen Setup
Height and Depth: When sitting up tall in your seat, your neck should be in a neutral position, not looking up in extension or down in flexion and the top line of the document should be parallel with your gaze. Your screen should be placed about an arms length away from you when you are seated.
Multiple Screens: If you work on multiple screens, you need to be centrally positioned on both of them and they need to be positioned at roughly the same height. This can be tricky as one monitor is often larger than the other, but do your best. A big error that most folks make is centering themselves on one main monitor then placing their laptop off to one side. This causes repetitive strain on the neck as the person has to rotate and look down at the laptop each time they are working on that second screen. To summarize, centre your body on both and you can also place both screens on a diagonal towards you.
Using a Laptop as your Primary Computer: So we’ve already talked about screen position, but in order to achieve all of the tips mentioned above, you need three pieces of equipment in addition to your laptop.
A laptop stand or something lying around your house to elevate your laptop (a stack of books, shoebox etc.)
A wireless keyboard
A wireless mouse
Keyboard and Mouse:
Positioning: When you’re sitting at your workplace setup, your keyboard should be placed in a position directly in front of you where your shoulders are relaxed, elbows are resting comfortably at your sides at ~110 deg angle and your wrists are in neutral. Your mouse should be just to the right of your keyboard keeping it as close to the midline as possible. Depending on the height of your desk, a keyboard tray can be best to facilitate this positioning.
Keyboard: There are many different keyboards on the market. Some keyboards are split meaning each half is on a slight diagonal. This design feels very comfortable for some but not others. I always like to choose a keyboard that is short and compact in order to keep my arm/wrist position more centralized and to keep my mouse closer to midline. With office equipment it is always best to try it out to see how it feels before you buy it!
Type of mouse: There are many types of computer mice on the market and each one may place your hand in a slightly different position. Here is an article from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety that summarizes some of the options and gives pros and cons. As I mentioned above, it is always best to try equipment first before purchasing. If you are experiencing wrist or forearm pain from mousing, another option that some will try is switching the mouse over to your non-dominant side to give the affected side a break! This may feel very awkward and if an excessive amount of mousing is necessary in your job, this may not be a valid option for you.
Office Chair:
There is no one size fits all: I always find this question so incredibly hard to answer as depending on height & body proportions the chair that works for one person may not be adjustable enough to work for another. Here is another great article from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety summarizing all things chair ergonomics!
At the bare minimum, your feet should be able to touch the floor with hips slightly above your knees (use a stool or book to facilitate this if your feet are dangling!) and your knees should be able to go underneath the desk.
A chair with armrests is ideal to support your forearm but they need to be low enough to keep shoulders in a relaxed position and not hiked. You should never lean on the armrest, their function is simply to decrease the work of the your upper body in supporting your arms while you type.
An ideal desk set-up
Desk:
Sit-stand desk: I am a big fan of a sit-stand desk when you work at a computer all the time, because your next position is your best position! Neither sitting all day or standing all day is good for you. I always ask patients to set an external timer that beeps every 45-60 minutes alerting them to change their position.
If you’re sitting, then stand up and go for a walk, grab a coffee, try a quick mobility exercise or adjust your position to standing if your workspace allows. If you don’t have a sit stand desk, take advantage of switching off your camera if you’re on a call and standing up/walking around if you’re not having to reference your screen.
There are many ways that you can frequently switch up your position throughout the day. Remember, motion is lotion!! Many people are reticent to replace an existing desk which is understandable.
The good news is that there are many adapters on the market that sit on top of an existing desk and then adjust up and down to create a standing workspace when needed.
Where to get help for your neck tension
If you work at a computer and are experiencing neck, elbow or wrist pain, I encourage you to try some of my above mentioned tips!
If you would like some further advice with ergonomics or hands on treatment, book in with one of our amazing Toronto physiotherapists here to start feeling better today!
Next on your reading list:
Website referenced above: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety https://www.ccohs.ca/
