We live in a city where massage shops are more commonly found than hair salons or som tum carts. That goes to show how widespread muscle tension has become over the past decade, thanks in part to the growing reliance on smartphones and computers. We’ve conveniently named the soreness “office syndrome” because it seems to happen to office people more than other groups. But is it really fair to blame office work for the pain?
Office syndrome is a group of symptoms suffered by 60-70% of office workers between the age of 16 and 35 years and is one of the most common job-related injuries. But Pablo Tymoszuk, a soft-tissue therapist from Australia, clarified that it is actually quite unfair to assume that office syndrome is caused by office work alone.
“I really believe posture plays a big role in developing what we call office syndrome. We might sit cross-legged at the office, but we also do that when having coffee with friends or at dinner. Sometimes, women tend to sit on a couch at home, lean to the side and cross their legs. In those positions, the pelvis is asymmetric and the spine is twisted,” explained Tymoszuk. “You can’t just blame it on the office — that’s too narrow-minded.”
It is true the work environment can contribute to office syndrome, given the fact that most of us spend a third of our day at work. We invest in nice mattresses and a comfortable couch at home, but we might not give our desk much thought and use whatever we’re given by the company.
“Most people spend seven to nine hours working, so that’s a third of your day where you’re in an environment you don’t think much about,” said Tymoszuk, who is an expert in ergonomics and posture. “We have to create the right environment to work optimally, whether at the office, in your bedroom, on the couch or even when you’re walking.”
The two-thirds of our hours that we spend outside the office are even more important. Tymoszuk said that in his experience, one of the most common causes for posture problems and muscular pain comes from sleeping on the stomach, which he considers the worst sleeping position. It is a position that forces the spine to twist and stay in a non-neutral position in a long period of time, which might eventually lead to asymmetric posture, which in turn causes other muscular-skeletal problems.
The most common complaint areas are the shoulders, neck and lower back, but just because you feel your shoulders are tired does not mean you can make it go away by getting a shoulder massage, as that will be treating the symptom, not the cause.
“Even if you feel the pain in one area, like the shoulders, you might really have to treat another area which is the root cause. We have to address the hips, spine and neck. In a nutshell, the pelvis and the base of the skull have to be parallel. It’s like a building — if the base is uneven, when the building goes higher, you can see that the imbalance becomes more pronounced,” said Tymoszuk, author of e-Book Stop Headaches Naturally.
When it comes to improving the environment for your health, it’s all about taking small steps. Tymoszuk said that small things such as a laptop stand can make a significant change. “If you can fix the forward-head posture and bring yourself to the neutral position, just as by raising your monitor screen to eye level, that makes a big difference.”
That also means you probably don’t need a top-of-the-range ergonomic desk and chair. He added that more expensive doesn’t always mean better.
“There are three basic things that a good chair requires — lumber support, the right angle and the right height. If you get all those three fundamental things, it doesn’t matter if the chair is expensive or not. Some chair advertisements boast about having groundbreaking technologies, but it’s all advertising. It doesn’t matter — the most basic things are what we should focus on, not the frills.”
The same goes with desks. He noticed that a lot of people seek adjustable ergonomic desks without first looking at their current desks.
Tymoszuk commented that they won’t get any success if they get an ergonomic one and set up their desk the same way as they do with the traditional one they are already using. How things are placed and how the person’s posture is are more important than whether the desk is ergonomic or not. An easy guideline to setting your computer screen is to bring yourself to the neutral position with your shoulders relaxed. Your eye level is where the top of the monitor should be.
However, no matter how well set up the desk and the chair are, never stay in the same position for more than 20 minutes.
“Even if the desk and the chair are set up perfectly, the most ergonomic set up you can ever have, if you’re not going to move from that position, it can be the worst position. The body needs to be moving,” he warned. The key to alleviating office syndrome is to understand that everything in life goes hand-in-hand, and there is no miracle cure that will instantly make the pain go away permanently if you do not change your lifestyle. Whereas his treatments are effective in correcting some problems and easing the pain, the relief is not going to last forever if the person doesn’t change.
“Awareness is paramount. Once you’re aware, you’re more responsible, hopefully. A lot of people don’t know what’s going on and they don’t know what to do. I can point them at the right direction. Still, I see someone for a short amount of time over the person’s whole life. I think it will be expecting too much if someone comes and expects a life-long cure without making changes. Everyone wants that magic that instantly makes the problem go away, but everything of value takes time.”
Pablo Tymoszuk is in Bangkok to offer soft tissue therapy sessions until May 19 at The Metropolitan Bangkok.
Call 02-625-3333.
Health tips from Pablo Tymoszuk
Tymoszuk recommended the 20-20-20 rule — every 20 minutes, look at something that is 20m away for 20 seconds.
Clean out your handbag every week to avoid carrying unnecessary items around, which only burdens your shoulders and back.
Do not sleep on your stomach.
Always sit up straight. If your seated posture is forward, your diaphragm is compressed and you can’t breathe well. It also leads to intestine problems because everything is compressed.
Never stare blankly at the computer screen when you’re thinking about something. Swivel the chair or move about if you’re trying to think. Only look at the screen when you are doing something on it.
To avoid text neck, stretch the thumbs and neck regularly. For longer use, put the elbows on the table and bring the phone to eye level so that the neck does not have to work too hard.
Only wear high heels when you absolutely need to.
