Technology can help make things easier for us, but in some cases it can injure you body. Here are 4 ways technology is injurying your body.
- Thumb strain – Most of our handheld devices encourage a lot of thumb movement from swiping, typing, and tapping. Overuse in this area can lead to thumb strain. Take a break from your handheld device, especially when you start feeling thumb fatigue.
- Tablet neck – Tablets are easy to use portable computers, but they come with inherent ergonomics risks. It is difficult to hold a tablet that encourages a good posture. This will lead neck and shoulder problems. Use a properly set up desktop computer that encourages better posture when you know you need to be on the computer for more than an hour.
- TV neck – Mounting you new TV high on the wall may seem like a good idea, but mounting a TV that is above eye level encourages an extended neck posture. This can lead to neck pain. The best place to mount your TV is right at eye level.
- Selfie-elbow – Yes this is a real thing. The selfie culture encourages holding the phone above your head with the arm extended. This puts more stress on your elbow. This stress increases when you put the device on a selfie stick. The occasional selfie is not likely to increase the risk. Alternating the camera hand and reducing the number of selfies can help protect elbow from increased risk of strain.
The common theme is that repetition and static postures lead to most of these types of injuries. Reducing the repetition and amount of time in static postures will help minimize the risk of injury.