how do you keep your neck from hurting when on the computer???

Lisa - posted on 07/20/2009

i don't know what a therapist would say but my precious son and his wife got me a new laptop for my bd.also got me a small lap table it had bean bag like under it and sits on my lap.well since im in bed 90% of my life i is great.i use it while laying down and have no extra trouble. u know when u hurt so much its hard to know if somwthing new hurt lol.anyway i love it because it gives me so much more to do and to keep in contact with them while they are stationed in germany and as my son will be deployed in aug. im so glad i have it/ if i had to sit up and use a comp i woiuld only be on it once a week at f most goodluck i think u will find it money well spent check into grants to do online and poss a rehab service would also provide u with a comp if getting disability check with them also

Margaret - posted on 07/17/2009

I wore a shoulder brace for about 3 years when I was a kid to correct my posture they are very unpleasant things.

you can find the recommendations on some work health and safety websites I too understand the limitations of income when it comes to trying to preserve what is left of our bodies. and yes I have to move frequently regardless of what I am doing.

during my last paid job I was self contracted so I splurged on a home office about $700 for desk $300 for shelves $300 on chair. the desk and shelves are all tempered glass and everyone told me I was nuts because I had kids but the kids havent damaged it at all only the chair suffered in the move.

the hardest part is the recommendations vary according to your height. Ideally we could all bring in an occupational therapist to provide the recommendations suitable for 'us'

but that isnt cheap

Christine - posted on 07/17/2009

how do you figure the right height, distance and the way it should tip? and how about the right kind of chair???? i watched a movied last night on a smaller screen that required only the slightest tipping up of my neck---and my neck was really bothering me befrore it was over. i don't usually have a problem at the big theater, because we sit in a place where we can look straight at the screen.



i know my computer chair is lousy, but without a job right now, we're stuck with what we've got. maybe i could try putting the screen up on some books so i didn't have to tip my neck either up or down even the slightest.



do you have to change postitions often to help your pain, whatever you are doing? i ususally sit in a rocking chair since i can't hold still. i put a pillow behind my lower back for support and i quite often have a heating pad behind my neck. i can't sit through church very well----i usually have to get up and get a drink or go to the bathroom---sometimes just to move around.



i am supposed to be on jury duty, so my doc wrote a note saying i needed to be able to get up every 1 1/2 hours because of back pain----it's actually my neck and my legs that get aching---but i figured the note was close enough as long as it said i needed to be able to have breaks for pain. so far, nothing has gone to court.



i think working on my posture would really help, too. i got a shoulder brace, but found that it helps keep my shoulders back---but then i slouch down below it. i have looked at another brace that holds the shoulders back but also goes down the whole length of the back with some stays in it for support and wraps all the way around the lower back to the front. i think that might help me, but i'm sure i need to do some exercises to strengthen those muscles. my mother would always tell me to stand up straight as a kid, but my shoulders naturally curve forward, so when i would try and pull my shoulders back my back muscles would just burn between my shoulder blades.

Margaret - posted on 07/17/2009

the laptops can be much worse they arent designed for prolonged use any occupational therapist will tell any computer user that if it is anything more than brief use for occasional documents or having to use a computer on the move they need to invest in a desk top, ensure that their monitor is at the right height and distance that their desk is at the right height and that they use an appropriate chair...



my set up fails in the chair department I need to get a new one because mine didnt survive the interstate move at all...im currently using an outdoor plastic chair but I have to get up and move around frequently.