Many clicks can cause ‘mouse arm’

Wiesbaden, Germany: All of a sudden your arm feels heavy as lead and starts to tingle. You tend to drop objects more frequently than you used to. If you’re a frequent computer user, mouse arm may be the culprit.

“Mouse arm is a modern form of classical tennis elbow,” explains Jan Bernholt, an orthopaedist from Duesseldorf. “Small movements that are constantly repeated can lead to ailments in the upper and low arm. An ergonomic workspace can help prevent this,” he said.

Mouse arm is a manifestation of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), and can be caused not only by working with a mouse but also through other actions that overload the hand and arm area. “Your arm feels funny, the muscles cramp or you feel a pull or prickling in the arm,” says Professor Hardo Sorgatz from the Institute for Psychology at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

The monotonous stress first causes small tears and strains in the fibres, although these then regenerate quickly, Sorgatz explains. If the work situation is not improved, however, tendonitis, permanent loss of strength and chronic pain when moving — or even remaining still — can follow. At that point it is imperative that a new movement patterns be introduced.

“And the brain needs to learn that those movements are not marked by pain,” Sorgatz adds.

Anyone who sits tensed up in front of the PC, repeating the same motion again and again, is not using a broad range of motion. “Frequent breaks are important, at least every two hours,” Bernholt says. (DPA)

source: The Asian Age

health is wealth

Science Explores Shift Work-Linked Fatigue

 People who work days some weeks and nights another week can now rest assured that there’s a chemical basis for the fatigue they feel, according to a new study.

Argentinian scientists have found that rotating shift workers have lower levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that helps regulate sleeping and waking patterns, according to the new data.

Researchers at the Universidad de Buenos Aires analyzed data from 683 men. They compared serotonin levels among 437 day workers and 246 rotating shift workers. Day and night work periods started at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Reporting in the August issue of Sleep, the researchers found that the day workers had higher levels of serotonin.

The findings may help scientists “understand the mechanisms related to the circadian rhythm desynchronization imposed by the rotating shift work regime,” said study author Carlos Pirola in a prepared statement. They might also lead to new and better treatments to help fight shift work-linked fatigue, he said.

Rotating shift workers may lose up to four hours of sleep a day as a part of shift work sleep disorder. It is most often reported due to night and early morning shifts. Two percent to 5 percent of the population is thought to suffer from this disorder, which can leave sufferers anxious and depressed in addition to being exhausted.

The researchers noted that a lack of quality sleep may put workers at risk for injuries on the job. At the very least, the quality of their work may suffer, they added.

source: yahoo.com