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Survey Results

Has working at a computer all day caused health issues?

Survey period: 24 Mar 2014 to 31 Mar 2014

"Health issues" is a broad term, but assume it means anything affecting your health and your quality of life.

OptionVotes% 
Back / neck problems98647.52
Shoulder / Elbow joint problems46722.51
Forearm / wrist / hand (including carpel tunnel)57527.71
Other Musculoskeletal problems1517.28
Vision / eye problems83440.19
Headaches46522.41
Obesity52825.45
Mental health issues25212.14
Other1245.98
No issues for me!37217.93
Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer; totals may not add up to 100%



 
GeneralDrinking problems? PinPopular
Simon Lee Shugar24-Mar-14 5:53
Simon Lee Shugar24-Mar-14 5:53 
GeneralRe: Drinking problems? Pin
mikepwilson24-Mar-14 7:36
mikepwilson24-Mar-14 7:36 
GeneralRe: Drinking problems? Pin
Swab.Jat25-Mar-14 5:18
Swab.Jat25-Mar-14 5:18 
GeneralInstead of complaining do something about it Pin
Roger16524-Mar-14 5:52
Roger16524-Mar-14 5:52 
GeneralRe: Instead of complaining do something about it Pin
Adam Tibi24-Mar-14 23:00
professionalAdam Tibi24-Mar-14 23:00 
GeneralBesides becoming anti-social and aloof...No! Pin
Jahmal2324-Mar-14 4:15
Jahmal2324-Mar-14 4:15 
GeneralCarpal tunnel Pin
PIEBALDconsult24-Mar-14 3:56
mvePIEBALDconsult24-Mar-14 3:56 
GeneralRe: Carpal tunnel PinPopular
G-Tek25-Mar-14 0:28
G-Tek25-Mar-14 0:28 
I had a really bad run a few years ago - got a wrist wrap, changed keyboards and mice multiple times, nothing seemed to work.

I determined that the most likely cause was due to any combination of the following:
- Larger monitor(s) - more monitors at higher resolution means more scrolling. Even with a trackball this still means wrist movement.
- Trackball - while I LOVE my Logitech trackball, I had thought for a while, at least, that the numerous smaller micro-movements were causing more stress on my wrist than the use of a mouse which would involve larger movements.
- New Keyboard - I had recently purchased a newer "ergonomic" MS keyboard. The catch with these keyboards is that they tend to be a bit wider than the typical keyboard. This leads to pronation - I was reaching farther to the right of the keyboard to reach my trackball. Our arms (or mine at least) are meant to face forward or inwards toward our body, but not naturally outwards away from the body so this was creating extra strain on my entire arm.
- Recent volume of UI work - I work largely on the keyboard whenever I can and prefer it as it's faster. However, when doing UI work it's difficult to avoid the need for the mouse. The projects I was working on at the time involved a lot of UI work so I was attributing some of my problem to the type of work I was doing.

I didn't want to give up my monitors or high screen resolution. I swapped up for different mice, but no difference. I eventually determined that the pronation due to the keyboard was the leading cause. Our keyboard designs are HORRIBLE - we always place the numpad to the right of the keyboard (obviously for right-handed people), but then as a right-handed person I also put my mouse to the right of this. So the natural keyboard position already has my arm going to the right to get to the numpad and then further right to my mouse/trackball. This became worse, ironically, with the new ergonomic keyboard that was even wider. So I started looking for keyboards without numpads - surprisingly difficult to find one that is still standard keyboard size (most are designed for multimedia/HTPC use) or they are custom ergo keyboards that need to be special ordered and cost hundreds of dollars. I don't mind paying that for something that I need, but I did find an iogear keyboard that I tried out and it seemed to do the trick (also ended up getting a second one for my HTPC).

Long story short - haven't had the problem now for the last couple of years. Sorry for the long note, but on the off chance that any of those ideas can help you I figure it's worth it. I know it was painful for me and I'm sure that I was only experiencing a fraction of the pain that some people have with carpal tunnel.
GeneralRe: Carpal tunnel Pin
PIEBALDconsult25-Mar-14 3:47
mvePIEBALDconsult25-Mar-14 3:47 
GeneralDepends on the computer Pin
NeverJustHere24-Mar-14 2:42
NeverJustHere24-Mar-14 2:42 
GeneralRe: Depends on the computer Pin
Johnny YYZ25-Mar-14 4:41
professionalJohnny YYZ25-Mar-14 4:41 
GeneralShould have had an option for "All of the above" Pin
CHill6024-Mar-14 2:25
mveCHill6024-Mar-14 2:25 
GeneralSure, but I blame the clients Pin
Member 906355624-Mar-14 1:43
Member 906355624-Mar-14 1:43 
GeneralCan we be sure of the links? PinPopular
Carl_Sharman24-Mar-14 0:39
Carl_Sharman24-Mar-14 0:39 
GeneralRe: Can we be sure of the links? Pin
ZurdoDev24-Mar-14 1:31
professionalZurdoDev24-Mar-14 1:31 
GeneralNo because of the computer... Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter24-Mar-14 0:39
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter24-Mar-14 0:39 
GeneralI don't think I can blame the computer Pin
chriselst24-Mar-14 0:30
professionalchriselst24-Mar-14 0:30 
GeneralThe other way around... Pin
S Houghtelin24-Mar-14 0:29
professionalS Houghtelin24-Mar-14 0:29 
GeneralHaving No Issue Pin
Hemant Singh Rautela24-Mar-14 0:06
professionalHemant Singh Rautela24-Mar-14 0:06 
GeneralNeck problems Pin
Marco Bertschi23-Mar-14 23:52
protectorMarco Bertschi23-Mar-14 23:52 
GeneralObesity is a bit of a strong term for it Pin
Rob Philpott23-Mar-14 23:45
Rob Philpott23-Mar-14 23:45 
GeneralRe: Obesity is a bit of a strong term for it Pin
CDP180224-Mar-14 19:32
CDP180224-Mar-14 19:32 
GeneralNot natural Pin
jim lahey23-Mar-14 23:19
jim lahey23-Mar-14 23:19 
GeneralIs it really...? Pin
Sander Rossel23-Mar-14 21:53
professionalSander Rossel23-Mar-14 21:53 
GeneralRe: Is it really...? Pin
FIorian Schneidereit26-Mar-14 1:07
FIorian Schneidereit26-Mar-14 1:07 

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