Is Your Workstation Causing Your Wrist, Elbow, or Upper Back Pain?

Do you ever finish up a long day at work with aching wrists or burning pain between your shoulder blades? It could be that your workstation setup is to blame.

Millions of Canadians work jobs that require them to spend a lot of time at their computer. Unfortunately, less-than-ideal posture, repetitive movements, and limited breaks can add up over time, especially when your workstation isn’t set up to facilitate healthier movement patterns.

There is good news, though: you can often prevent these issues through small adjustments to your workstation and daily habits. Not sure how to get started? Ace Physique is here to help.

Overuse Injuries in the Workplace: What You Need to Know

The sort of upper-body injuries that develop due to poor workstation setup are known as overuse injuries, which occur when repeated movements or prolonged positions place ongoing stress on tissues. Symptoms generally begin as mild discomfort and progress into persistent pain, weakness, or stiffness.

What Are Some Examples?

Wrist Pain

Frequent typing and mouse use can irritate tendons and nerves around the wrist, leading to tendonopathy or carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition in which a nerve in the wrist becomes compressed.

Elbow Pain

Repetitive gripping or poor arm positioning can strain the muscles and tendons around the elbow. This is a surprisingly common cause of tennis elbow, which causes pain on the outer elbow.

Upper Back and Neck Pain

Poor sitting posture places extra stress on the muscles that support the neck and upper back, leading to pain between the shoulder blades or even headaches. Rounded shoulders and leaning toward a screen for long periods are common contributors.

How is My Workstation Contributing?

Most people don’t put much thought into how they set up their workstation, but it can play a major role in how they feel throughout the day. Small, seemingly insignificant issues can compound over time, causing your muscles to fatigue and your joints to take on extra strain. That, in turn, leads to pain, stiffness, and restricted mobility.

Some of the common issues we see include:

• A monitor positioned too low or too high
• A chair without proper lumbar support
• Reaching too far for the mouse
• Sitting for long periods without movement breaks

Five Tips From the Ace Physique Team for Setting Up a Healthier Workstation

Looking to Address Existing Pain?

These tips can help prevent upper body pain, but if discomfort is already affecting your work or daily activities, the team at Ace Physique can help address your symptoms and prevent them from worsening. Treatment may include:

• Personalized ergonomic training
• Therapeutic massage
• Chiropractic adjustments
• Exercise therapy
• Postural retraining and movement variety 
• Dry needling or acupuncture