Computer addicts

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Occasional use of a computer carries no particular risk for the back, especially if the user's muscles are in good condition and s/he follows the relevant rules of postural hygiene.

Conversely, prolonged use of a computer can increase the risk of developing back problems because it can induce the adoption of bad postures and result in sedentary behavior.

However, there are simple and effective measures that you can take to offset these risks, even if you are a heavy computer user.

What is it that increases the risk of back pain in computer addicts?

There are several factors:

• Position. When you are sitting down, the load on the vertebral disc is greater on the front wall. Since the disc is flexible, this tends to increase the pressure on its back wall. If the position is held for a long time, this can increase the risk of breakage or malformation of the disc and the development of a fissure, protrusion or herniated disc. Under normal conditions, the disc is protected by the back muscles. Therefore, the risk is greater if these muscles are weak.
• Bad posture. People who work at computers very often adopt bad posture, unnecessarily increasing the pressure on the vertebral disc. In the long term, this can lead to the development of a fissure, protrusion or herniated disc and increase the effort demanded from the muscles, which can cause them to spasm. However, disc injuries or muscle spasms are much less likely to occur if you adopt a good posture and your back muscles are strong and trained.
• Lack of muscular strength ("muscular atrophy"). Sitting at the computer for many hours at a time causes loss of muscular strength. Weakness of the back or abdominal muscles have been shown to be factors that increase the risk of new or persistent pain. Muscular weakness renders the musculature liable to overload and spasm in response to apparently slight strains. Moreover, the less muscle mass there is, the more exposed the vertebral disc and other structures in the spinal column are, which render them less able to withstand loads and more prone to spinal disorder.

Can back pain have detrimental consequences for computer users?

If you suffer from back pain and do not adopt the necessary measures to avoid the risks involved in heavy computer use, the pain can become chronic. Once this occurs, there is a neurological process that makes it more difficult to treat. In fact, the duration of the pain has been shown to be one of the factors that increase the risk of its persisting.

If you use a computer for long periods of time and do not adopt the necessary measures to prevent back pain, bouts of pain will generally occur more often and last longer, until your ability to work is compromised. People in this situation can easily acquire beliefs and attitudes toward pain that have been shown to increase the risk of more persistent pain and physical disability, and to increase the risk of long-term consequences for their work. These beliefs and attitudes are:

• A mistaken belief that lower back pain always signals a serious or persistent injury.
• A counter-productive attitude to pain, the main features of which are:
  • Pessimism with respect to the pain, in that you assume that it will go on indefinitely and will always constitute a limitation on your abilities and your quality of life.
  • Fear of pain and limitation of activity to avoid it, overuse of medication, and abandonment of any task which causes the slightest increase in the pain or which you believe may do so even if it does not.
  • Lack of confidence in your ability to control the pain and the disability that it entails, and shifting of the responsibility for doing so on to others - i.e., doctors or other health professionals.
• Reduction of physical activity,
• A depressed state of mind,,
• A bad relationship with your surroundings and employer,
• Placing more reliance on passive treatments than on treatments that require active participation, such as physical exercise.

What to do to prevent or treat back pain in heavy computer users.

There are several effective ways of preventing back pain in heavy computer users:

• Keep up a minimum level of physical activity. Even little things can help: get used to making day-to-day journeys on foot rather than sitting in the car, subway or bus. Take the stairs up a few flights rather than always taking the elevator. If possible, it is even better to do some aerobic exercise like running or swimming. With 20 or 30 minutes on alternate days, you will begin to notice a considerable difference. If you are going to start engaging in regular exercise, you should first consult a doctor to assess your general condition. It is important to observe the rules of postural hygiene in sport, to lessen the risk to your back.
• Know and observe the rules of postural hygiene when seated. Learn how to sit and work in the posture that is best and safest for your back. If you are a habitual computer user, this also entails getting up briefly every 40 or 50 minutes and walking a little or stretching your back gently backwards.
• Maintain and develop the back muscles. Training of the muscles involved in back function reduces the risk of spasm. If done correctly and regularly, some aerobic exercises like swimming may be enough to keep your back muscles and your general physical condition in good trim. Specific exercise programs for the back are only effective for these muscles and not for general fitness, but they require less time and can be alternated with aerobic exercises when you have time. There is a section of this site that shows effective exercises for this.

If you experience pain, you must apply the right treatment. This site contains sections that list all the existing treatments for back pain and indicate the common patterns of treatments that have proven effective.