How often do you feeltension in your neckwhile proofreading yourcompany’s annualreport or knots around

your shoulders as you put the finaltouches on your client’s new logo? Ifyou’re like many technical communica-tors, then you probably answered “fre-

quently” or even “every day.” Technicalcommunication does not seem like aphysically challenging career, but eachday we require our bodies to performphysically demanding tasks—such asrepetitively using a mouse or sitting inthe same position for hours on end.While neck tension, back pain, and arm,wrist, and hand numbness are common

among the cubicle-bound, they are notinnocuous. They are signs of bodilystrain (if not injury) due to your work.

Although you may have the latest four-button trackball and an adjustable chair,it’s likely that these efforts at makingyour workspace more comfortable aren’tenough to prevent long-term muscu-loskeletal problems. The tight deadlinesand perfectionism demanded of techni-cal communicators, combined with longhours at a computer, may send you to aphysical therapist, doctor, or even a sur-geon for relief. However, simple posturalchanges, stretches, and breath awarenesscan prevent the need for such drasticmeasures and possibly lengthen yourcareer in technical communication.

The Forward-Head PostureIdeally, when viewed from the side,

our ears would be directly over ourshoulders and our shoulders directlyover our hips as we sit in ourergonomic office chairs (Figure 1a).This posture is physiologically efficient,requiring little muscular effort to main-tain. However, as we become engrossedin the details of an illustration or figur-ing out how to best edit software docu-mentation, our heads inch closer toour computer screens and our shoul-ders roll forward as we reach for ourkeyboards. Similarly, as we drive towork in our cars, we reach forward forthe steering wheel, while our headscrane forward to see the traffic jamahead. Unfortunately for many of us,

24 June 2005

your career

Body Awarenessfor CareerL o n g e v i t y BY JILL J. CAMPBELL

(a) Ideal Posture (b) Forward-Head Posture

Figure 1. (a) The ideal posture, shown here with a plumb line, is physiologically efficient.Because the head is aligned over the neck and shoulders, extra effort is not required of theupper back and shoulder muscles. (b) In the forward-head posture, the upper back, shoul-der, and neck muscles contract to hold the head in that position, which can lead to muscletension and pain (highlighted in red).

our bodies become accustomed to thisposition and adopt it as normal, despitethe discomfort it may cause.

This muscle-stressing position, shownin Figure 1b, is known as the forward-head posture; it is the most commoncause of the shoulder, upper back, andneck pain you feel at your desk. In addi-tion, this posture can play a role in caus-ing headaches and arm, wrist, and handnumbness. The following sections addressthe detrimental effects of forward-headposture on your body and offer self-caretips to help you keep them at bay.

Shoulder and Upper Back PainThe human heads weighs approxi-

mately ten to twelve pounds—about thesame as a professional bowling ball.When your head is aligned directlyabove your shoulders, that weight is sup-ported by the entire body. But when youadopt a forward-head posture, yourneck is holding that heavy bowling ballall on its own. To assist the neck, mus-cles in your upper back and shouldersare recruited. These muscles are per-forming two contradictory actions at thesame time: (1) they are stretching becausethe weight of your head is pulling themforward from their natural position, and(2) they are contracting to pull your headback from the forward position and toprevent it from dropping down ontoyour chest. When your muscles arerequired to perform these two actionsat once, they become tense and mayeventually develop trigger points—theknots you feel in a tense muscle.

Further compounding the stress onyour shoulders and upper back are thetight chest muscles that often resultfrom the forward-head posture. Whenyour shoulders round forward towardyour keyboard or steering wheel, themuscles in your chest shorten. As thisposition becomes a habit, your chestmuscles become chronically shortenedand tight, again causing the upper backand shoulders to both lengthen andcontract. Holding your head in a for-ward position and rounding your shoul-ders forward can together cause chronicpain in the upper back and shoulderswhile you are working at a desk, particu-larly at a computer.

Self-care tips for shoulder and upper back pain: Easy chest stretch—To prevent your

chest muscles from becoming chroni-cally shortened and tight, practicestretching your chest throughout theday and before bed. Sitting on the edgeof your chair, interlace your fingersbehind your back. Straighten and liftyour arms, turning your elbows towardeach other. Take six deep breaths in thisposition. You should feel a nice stretchin your chest and arms.

Chest and shoulder stretch—An effec-tive technique for stretching a tight mus-cle is to actively contract it, relax it, andthen stretch it. Stand in a doorway andplace one hand on the wall on either side.Press your hands against the walls so thatyou feel tension in your chest, shoulders,and arms. Hold for seven seconds. Relax.Then, with your hands still in place, moveyour body forward through the doorwayfor a stretch in your chest and shoulders.

Note: Stretching should never bepainful. If you feel pain while perform-ing any of the stretches described in thisarticle, ease off until you feel tensionbut no pain. Stretching too far too fastcan cause your muscles to protectivelycontract—the opposite of what you wantto happen when stretching.

Headaches and Neck StiffnessWhen you adopt a forward-head pos-

ture, your neck is also angled forward,approaching the horizontal plane, asshown in Figure 2. Because you typicallyneed to be able to see in front of yourather than down toward your toes, your

upper neck muscles must work to keepyour head upright. To accomplish this,the muscles at the base of your skull,called the suboccipital muscles, must con-tract. The constant contraction of thesesuboccipitals can lead to neck tightnessand headaches that reach from the backof your neck to your eyes—a sensationthat may feel like a migraine. The fartherforward your head is, the more thesemuscles must work to hold your headupright and the tighter they become.

Self-care tips for headaches and neck stiffness:Neck strengthener—To help strengthen

the muscles that keep your head uprightand improve your posture, practice press-ing the back of your head into the backof your office chair, while keeping yourneck straight and your eyes level. Pressand hold for seven seconds. Release.Repeat five times. Try practicing this exer-cise in the car as well.

Side-of-neck stretch—To stretch theright side of your neck, allow your leftear to drop to your left shoulder. For anextra stretch, place your left hand onthe right side of your head and gentlypull your head farther down. Take sixslow, deep breaths. Repeat this stretchfor the left side of your neck.

Back-of-neck stretch—Allow your chinto drop directly down to your chest.Grasp the back of your head with yourhands and gently pull your head fartherdown until you feel a stretch along theback of your neck and upper back. Takesix slow, deep breaths.

Wrist,Arm, and Hand PainWhen people experience wrist, arm,

or hand pain, they first think ofergonomic problems with their keyboard,mouse, or chair. Often, ergonomic adjust-ments can alleviate some of these symp-toms. Other times, however, the problemmay stem from the insidious forward-head posture. Your arms and handsreceive stimulation from nerves that exityour spine in the neck region and passthrough the shoulders. When the mus-cles in your neck and shoulders are tight,they can compress nerves and the bloodsupply to the arm, which can then lead toa variety of problems such as numbnessor tingling in the arm or hand. This com-

June 2005 25

your career

Figure 2. When the neck tilts forward, thesuboccipital muscles must contract to keepthe head upright, causing muscle tensionand possibly headaches.

pression of nerves and blood supply tothe arm is referred to medically as tho-racic outlet syndrome.

The symptoms of thoracic outlet syn-drome are sometimes mistakenly attrib-uted to carpal tunnel syndrome, anothercommon problem among computerworkers. Unlike thoracic outlet syndrome,carpal tunnel syndrome is typically causedby repetitive stress to the wrists and hands,such as that caused by typing and using amouse. This repetitive stress can lead toinflamed tendons that compress a nervein the wrist, resulting in numbness, tin-gling, or pain in the hand similar to thatof thoracic outlet syndrome.

Thoracic outlet syndrome may be alle-viated by relieving the pressure on thenerves and blood vessels in your neckand shoulders; carpal tunnel syndromemay be alleviated by reducing theinflammation of the tendons that areplacing pressure on the median nervepassing through your wrist.

Self-care tips for wrist, arm, and hand pain:Shoulder shrug—From a seated or

standing position and with a straightback, raise your shoulders up to your earsand hold for seven seconds. Relax theshoulders by letting them drop fromtheir raised position as you forcefullyexhale through your mouth. To furtherrelease tension from your neck andshoulders, follow the shoulder shrug withthe side-of-neck stretch described above.

Forearm stretch—Hold your rightarm directly out in front of you withyour palm up. With your left hand, bendyour right hand down toward the floor.Take six deep breaths. Note the stretchon the inner part of your forearm. Nowturn your right arm so that your palmfaces the floor. With your left hand,bend your right hand down toward thefloor. Take six deep breaths. Note thestretch on the outer part of your fore-arm. Repeat the stretch on the left arm.

Restricted Breathing Forward-head posture does not always

act alone in causing computer workersmusculoskeletal pain. Restricted breath-ing can act as its accomplice in theshoulder, upper back, and neck tensionyou experience.

The diaphragm—the muscle locatedbetween your lungs and your abdomen—enables you to take full, deep breaths.When you adopt a forward-head posture,however, your chest caves in and yourabdominal area shortens, preventing thediaphragm from contracting fully. Sinceyour diaphragm is restricted, your breath-ing becomes shallower and typically takesplace only in your upper chest. Thisbreathing pattern requires the musclesin your neck that help raise the ribcageduring inhalation to contract andtighten. These neck muscles are the sameones that are tightened by the forward-head posture. Restricted breathing fur-ther taxes these tight neck muscles.

Add deadlines, malfunctioning com-puters, traffic jams, and other stressors tothe forward-head posture, and yourbreath becomes further restricted. Understress, we have a tendency to take quicker,shallower breaths. If the muscles in yourupper body that assist with breathing arealready tight, breathing becomes evenmore difficult. While external stress isoften beyond our control, our response—physically and mentally—is within ourcontrol. Yogic wisdom tells us that thebreath is the link between the body andthe mind; if you control your breath, youcontrol both your mental and physicalstates. When you encounter a stressful sit-uation at work—such as a computer crashbefore you had the chance to hit “Save”—try taking a full, deep breath to keep yourmind and your body relaxed.

Self-care tip for restricted breathing: Abdominal breathing exercise—First

take a moment to sit quietly and observeyour breath. Do your shoulders rise anddoes your chest inflate, indicating thatyou are breathing mostly into yourupper chest? Or does your belly popout, indicating that you are breathingwith your diaphragm? Now place yourhand on your abdomen and concen-trate on breathing into that area, inhal-ing and exhaling slowly and completely.Try to press your belly into your hand asyou breathe in and out. Take a mini-mum of six full, deep abdominalbreaths. This exercise is beneficial uponawakening and before bed, but you mayfind it relaxing anytime during the day.

Body AwarenessIt’s easy for us to become absorbed in

the work we do. Working at a computer cansometimes seem like working in an entirelydifferent world from the one we physicallyinhabit. This virtual life can be mentallystimulating and rewarding; however, ignor-ing your physical reality can be detrimen-tal to your body. To continue enjoying thework you do and avoid musculoskeletalpain, make body awareness a daily prac-tice. The next time you’re at work, orcommuting to work in your car, take amoment to ask yourself these questions:

• Is my head directly over my neck andshoulders?

• Are my shoulders relaxed and posi-tioned back rather than tight androlled forward?

• Is my breath full and in my abdomen?

If you answer “no” to any of these ques-tions, read through the self-care tipsabove. All of the stretches listed can bedone within a few moments at work. Inaddition to these stretches, professionalbodywork—such as massage and chiro-practic treatment—and exercise—partic-ularly yoga or Pilates—can support yourefforts to increase body awareness, cor-rect forward-head posture, and preventwork-related pain. Even if you’re not cur-rently experiencing any signs of muscu-loskeletal problems, awareness of yourbody may help to prevent future pain—and the premature end of a career dueto musculoskeletal injuries.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Anderson, Bob. Stretching. Bolinas,Calif.: Shelter Publications, 2000.

Anderson, Bob. Stretching in the Office.Bolinas, Calif.: Shelter Publications, 2002.

Serber, Ellen, and Daniel Will-Harris.“My Daily Yoga.” mydailyyoga.com(accessed March 20, 2005).

Jill Campbell works as a technical editor whileattending the Brenneke School of Massage.She has a master’s in technical communica-tion from the University of Washington. Youcan reach Jill at jill_campbell@yahoo.com.

26 June 2005

your career