Is Work a Pain in the Neck?

The above title is part of the headline from the Star News Online from North Carolina and was published on July 10. 2007. The article examines posture related to work positions and advocates what they call a "body-neutral" position. Dr. Stephen Conway, a chiropractor and spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association, states, "A "body-neutral" position is crucial to avoiding discomfort and injury."

In the article Dr. Conway defines a neutral posture as one that doesn't cause undue stress to the neck, shoulders, wrists or back. He further explains that a neutral position involves having a head facing forward, as well as arms at the sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees and wrists extended in a straight line from the forearms.

Dr. Conway commented, "Anything that takes you out of that position creates an issue for you. What happens is the farther away you go from neutral, the more effort and energy it takes to do the same amount of work."

Dr. Conway commented, "Anything that takes you out of that position creates an issue for you. What happens is the farther away you go from neutral, the more effort and energy it takes to do the same amount of work."

The article notes that flawed cubical design and worker positioning can lead to a host of problems including, spinal stress and carpal tunnel syndrome. The article suggests that workers should self-evaluate their work positions and make needed changes.

Mary Crabtree, workplace safety manager for the office of Environment, Health and Safety at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was also interviewed in the article and commented, "When you're trying to get people to change the way they do things, that's not always easy." She continued, "You have to keep educating people, keep putting information out there, so people understand the value of a properly adjusted work station. You get to a job and you're just kind of reluctant to make changes - you think, 'I better just focus on getting my output done,' " she said. "But you can increase output if you take a moment to get a little more comfortable."