The fingers make on the computer hard labor

Office workers "move" every day up to three tons on the computer - important Ergonomic work and breaks

Three small car lift: Many office workers do it every day - simply by tapping on their computer keyboard. "Who writes afloat and creates 50.000 attacks on the day, pushing aggregated about a total weight of about three tonnes," says Uwe Roth, an expert on Health and safety in InfoCenter of R + V Versicherung. The continuous stress leads many employees at workstations to chronic pain in hands and arms - in German offices already suffering good one in five under. The R + V-Info Centre therefore advises: Change posture frequently, do some work standing and installing short "finger aerobics" in the working day.

In rigid posture write, the fingers allow enough rest and not to observe first pain: That's what happened in the office daily routine. However, the health consequences can be severe for those affected often: "The stress factors lead over the years in many people to chronic pain and limitations - to RSI" warns Uwe Roth from R + V-Info Center. These "repetitive strain injuries" are the collective term for diseases such as mouse arm, tendonitis, numbness, loss of strength or motion and pain at rest. RSI is caused by short, fast and frequently repeated movements.

Tips for prevention

If you work a lot on the computer, you should pay particular attention to the ergonomic design of your workplace. These include, for example, the appropriate chair setting and the correct distance from the screen. Further recommendation: Change the sitting position regularly, take short breaks and in between phone calls while standing.

Gymnastic exercises:

• Drum your fingers on the table. Then press firmly on the table with all fingers and hold the tension for about six seconds.

• Take turns with your hands as far as possible in the air.

Source: Wiesbaden [R + V Infocenter]