Avoiding Repetitive Strain Injuries – What You Should Know

When trying to come to grips with the seemingly counterintuitive nature of repetitive strain injuries, it can boggle the mind that such small movements can wreak such havoc on your body. But, as it was once put, musicians are “athletes of the small muscles”, and the same is true for workers who put their body through unknown paces each day. Over time the cumulative impact of all this hidden work can be debilitating.

If you work in an office environment where your job is tied to a computer, you may be likely to sustain a repetitive strain injury if you do not take some precautions to ensure that your workspace is set to reduce your risk.

The Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., 610-667-7511, have compiled a list of three things that you can do to help to reduce some of the risk associated with confinement to a computer and keyboard.

What Can I Do?

In an office world where laptops have gradually begun to insinuate themselves into the workplace, workers are placing undue strain on their spine, shoulders, and neck by constantly looking down at the monitor screen. Align the top of your monitor so that it is level with your line of sight as you sit naturally and looking straight ahead.

Deadlines and quotas can make you feel like you need to be a work machine, skipping lunch, fighting against restroom breaks, and ignoring the clues that your body gives you that something is not quite right. It is important for your health, however, that you do not become bound to one position for an extended period of time. To help your body cope with periods of stasis, be sure to take short breaks of 5-10 minutes, in which you stretch and let your muscles relax.

As with virtually everything else you do in life, daily exercise can prepare your body to better manage your activity (or inactivity) and to heal the damage that will inevitably occur. Staying hydrated and eating well can pay large dividends, so this is a case where doctor’s orders certainly offer you immediate and lasting benefit.

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has suffered a repetitive strain injury due to a workspace or work practices that are less than ideal, contact Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., at 610-667-7511.