Sit up straight.
If you're reading this article with hunched shoulders and a craned neck, your "computer slump" could one day give way to what some physical therapists call "postural syndrome."
Postural syndrome is essentially repetitive stress to the neck and thoracic spine, or the 12 vertebrae of the mid-back and chest area, from the so-called flex-forward position. Doctors and physical therapists say that the injury commonly targets the fourth, fifth and sixth discs in the thoracic spine, leading to muscle tenderness, stiffness or, in some cases, nerve irritation.
A prolonged slouch over many years causes the disc space to narrow, which in turn can cause nerve irritation that spreads underneath the shoulder blades, down the arms and down the back.
Sure, most office workers and their ergonomic specialists are familiar with the dangers of repetitive motions with a mouse and keyboard at the PC all day, resulting in weakened wrists, tennis elbow or, worse, carpal tunnel syndrome. But some physical therapists say that such injuries lately are taking a backseat to patient complaints of pains in the mid- to upper back and neck.
"We call it the flex-forward posture, where your head's jetting forward, the abdominals shut down and the majority of the pressure comes to the mid-back," said Caroline Palmer, a physical therapist at the Stone Clinic, based in San Francisco. "Your spine is going to have to give somehow."
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