The solutions suggested below are intended to reduce some of the postural causes of head and neck pain, which may only be part of the problem.

Poor head posture, such as peering at the screen and adopting a ‘poking chin’ posture, can put pressure on the nerves in the neck, causing referred pain in the head, neck, shoulders, arms or hands. A sustained contraction of the neck muscles to hold your head in that position leads to a reduced flow of blood through the muscle, a build up of chemicals within the muscle, pain, further contraction, more build up of chemicals, more pain and a downward spiral into muscle spasm. The contraction may also put pressure on the nerves in the upper neck, causing pain in back and sides of the head.

"Ask a colleague to watch your posture when you are not aware of them doing so, and have been working for some time. They can then describe to you what you might be doing wrong."

Eyestrain

• The right distance for computer monitors and documents depends entirely on how clearly they can be read at a given distance. The general rule is to keep viewed material as far away as possible, provided it can still be read easily!
• Have your eyes tested and tell the optician you are a screen user. Ask your employer to explain their policy on free eye tests and glasses for Display Screen User employees.
• Bifocal/varifocal users: Lower the screen to a position where you can see it clearly without tilting your head back. You head should be slightly tilted forward.
• Eliminate glare and reflections:
  Angle the monitor to avoid awkward reflections or glare, but make sure you can still view it with good posture.
  Try turning some of the lights off, or fit diffusers to them.
  Fit or close window blinds.
• Avoid poor character definition on your screen. Change your default font size and/or colour, or consult your IT department. Try the palest green or blue as a background colour.

Our Physiotherapist says: "If you gaze at something for too long, your eyes can tire. Eyes need to focus at different distances from time to time. It's a good idea to follow the 20/20 rule - every twenty minutes, look twenty feet away for twenty seconds."

Poor Posture

Poor posture can lead to neck pain, and refered pain in the head. Avoid the "poking chin", where the head tilts back and you start looking down at the screen. A few causes of poor posture are:

• Screen too high or low
  Put the monitor on Monitor blocks or, if short on desk space use a Monitor arm. You should usually have the monitor at a height where the top of the
  screen, not the monitor case, is level with your eyes.
• Armrests too high or too long
  Either remove the armrests or get a chair with height adjustable armrests.
• Sustained shoulder elevation
  Remove the armrests from your chair or get a chair with short height adjustable armrests. Set your chair at the correct height. Use a footrest if your feet are not in full contact with the floor. Raise the desk on desk feet if your thighs hit the underside of the desktop, or better still use a height adjustable desk.
• Poor lumbar posture
  Ensure you seating is adequate, click here for ‘ Help choosing a chair’. Are you properly set up at your workstation? (see section At Work).
• Sitting too low
  Fit height adjustable armrests to your chair, fixed height armrests often hit the desk edge with the chair at the correct height.
  Use a footrest.
  Chair seat too deep.
• Looking down or up
  Use a writing slope or copyholder, adjust screen height with monitor blocks or a monitor arm, correct chair/desk height. Take the monitor off the CPU box and put the box on a CPU holder.
• Repetitive head movements
  Move screen, copy/notes and keyboard to positions that reduce your head movements. Use a copyholder, monitor blocks, monitor arm.
• ‘Clamping’ telephone handset
  Use a telephone headset.
• Fatigue
  Organise your work to include ‘forced breaks’, put your printer, Fax, copier in places that force you to get out of your chair to use them.
  Use the right chair (click here for Choosing a Chair)
  Ensure you correctly set up at your workstation (see section At Work).
• Stress and tension
  Set realistic and achievable deadlines/goals.
  If monitoring takes place, make it’s purpose obviously helpful rather than critical.
  Look at the environment, reduce noise and light to a more comfortable level.
• Poor head support
  Out of the office, try a change of pillow when watching TV or travelling as a car passenger.

The above information covers only the most common causes and is far from a complete reference. If you would like further advice or information please contact us.