your career

Body Awareness
for Career
L o n g e v i t y
BY JILL J. C AMPBELL

ow often do you feel

tension in your neck
while proofreading your
annual
companys
report or knots around
your shoulders as you put the final
touches on your clients new logo? If
youre like many technical communicators, then you probably answered fre-

quently or even every day. Technical

communication does not seem like a
physically challenging career, but each
day we require our bodies to perform
physically demanding taskssuch as
repetitively using a mouse or sitting in
the same position for hours on end.
While neck tension, back pain, and arm,
wrist, and hand numbness are common

Figure 1. (a) The ideal posture, shown here with a plumb line, is physiologically efficient.
Because the head is aligned over the neck and shoulders, extra effort is not required of the
upper back and shoulder muscles. (b) In the forward-head posture, the upper back, shoulder, and neck muscles contract to hold the head in that position, which can lead to muscle
tension and pain (highlighted in red).

among the cubicle-bound, they are not

innocuous. They are signs of bodily
strain (if not injury) due to your work.
Although you may have the latest fourbutton trackball and an adjustable chair,
its likely that these efforts at making
your workspace more comfortable arent
enough to prevent long-term musculoskeletal problems. The tight deadlines
and perfectionism demanded of technical communicators, combined with long
hours at a computer, may send you to a
physical therapist, doctor, or even a surgeon for relief. However, simple postural
changes, stretches, and breath awareness
can prevent the need for such drastic
measures and possibly lengthen your
career in technical communication.
The Forward-Head Posture

(a) Ideal Posture

24

(b) Forward-Head
Posture

Ideally, when viewed from the side,

our ears would be directly over our
shoulders and our shoulders directly
over our hips as we sit in our
ergonomic office chairs (Figure 1a).
This posture is physiologically efficient,
requiring little muscular effort to maintain. However, as we become engrossed
in the details of an illustration or figuring out how to best edit software documentation, our heads inch closer to
our computer screens and our shoulders roll forward as we reach for our
keyboards. Similarly, as we drive to
work in our cars, we reach forward for
the steering wheel, while our heads
crane forward to see the traffic jam
ahead. Unfortunately for many of us,
June 2005

your career
our bodies become accustomed to this
position and adopt it as normal, despite
the discomfort it may cause.
This muscle-stressing position, shown
in Figure 1b, is known as the forwardhead posture; it is the most common
cause of the shoulder, upper back, and
neck pain you feel at your desk. In addition, this posture can play a role in causing headaches and arm, wrist, and hand
numbness. The following sections address
the detrimental effects of forward-head
posture on your body and offer self-care
tips to help you keep them at bay.
Shoulder and Upper Back Pain

The human heads weighs approximately ten to twelve poundsabout the

same as a professional bowling ball.
When your head is aligned directly
above your shoulders, that weight is supported by the entire body. But when you
adopt a forward-head posture, your
neck is holding that heavy bowling ball
all on its own. To assist the neck, muscles in your upper back and shoulders
are recruited. These muscles are performing two contradictory actions at the
same time: (1) they are stretching because
the weight of your head is pulling them
forward from their natural position, and
(2) they are contracting to pull your head
back from the forward position and to
prevent it from dropping down onto
your chest. When your muscles are
required to perform these two actions
at once, they become tense and may
eventually develop trigger pointsthe
knots you feel in a tense muscle.
Further compounding the stress on
your shoulders and upper back are the
tight chest muscles that often result
from the forward-head posture. When
your shoulders round forward toward
your keyboard or steering wheel, the
muscles in your chest shorten. As this
position becomes a habit, your chest
muscles become chronically shortened
and tight, again causing the upper back
and shoulders to both lengthen and
contract. Holding your head in a forward position and rounding your shoulders forward can together cause chronic
pain in the upper back and shoulders
while you are working at a desk, particularly at a computer.
June 2005

Self-care tips for shoulder and upper back pain:

Easy chest stretchTo prevent your
chest muscles from becoming chronically shortened and tight, practice
stretching your chest throughout the
day and before bed. Sitting on the edge
of your chair, interlace your fingers
behind your back. Straighten and lift
your arms, turning your elbows toward
each other. Take six deep breaths in this
position. You should feel a nice stretch
in your chest and arms.
Chest and shoulder stretchAn effective technique for stretching a tight muscle is to actively contract it, relax it, and
then stretch it. Stand in a doorway and
place one hand on the wall on either side.
Press your hands against the walls so that
you feel tension in your chest, shoulders,
and arms. Hold for seven seconds. Relax.
Then, with your hands still in place, move
your body forward through the doorway
for a stretch in your chest and shoulders.
Note: Stretching should never be
painful. If you feel pain while performing any of the stretches described in this
article, ease off until you feel tension
but no pain. Stretching too far too fast
can cause your muscles to protectively
contractthe opposite of what you want
to happen when stretching.
Headaches and Neck Stiffness

When you adopt a forward-head posture, your neck is also angled forward,
approaching the horizontal plane, as
shown in Figure 2. Because you typically
need to be able to see in front of you
rather than down toward your toes, your

upper neck muscles must work to keep

your head upright. To accomplish this,
the muscles at the base of your skull,
called the suboccipital muscles, must contract. The constant contraction of these
suboccipitals can lead to neck tightness
and headaches that reach from the back
of your neck to your eyesa sensation
that may feel like a migraine. The farther
forward your head is, the more these
muscles must work to hold your head
upright and the tighter they become.
Self-care tips for headaches and neck stiffness:
Neck strengthenerTo help strengthen
the muscles that keep your head upright
and improve your posture, practice pressing the back of your head into the back
of your office chair, while keeping your
neck straight and your eyes level. Press
and hold for seven seconds. Release.
Repeat five times. Try practicing this exercise in the car as well.
Side-of-neck stretchTo stretch the
right side of your neck, allow your left
ear to drop to your left shoulder. For an
extra stretch, place your left hand on
the right side of your head and gently
pull your head farther down. Take six
slow, deep breaths. Repeat this stretch
for the left side of your neck.
Back-of-neck stretchAllow your chin
to drop directly down to your chest.
Grasp the back of your head with your
hands and gently pull your head farther
down until you feel a stretch along the
back of your neck and upper back. Take
six slow, deep breaths.
Wrist, Arm, and Hand Pain

Figure 2. When the neck tilts forward, the

suboccipital muscles must contract to keep
the head upright, causing muscle tension
and possibly headaches.

When people experience wrist, arm,

or hand pain, they first think of
ergonomic problems with their keyboard,
mouse, or chair. Often, ergonomic adjustments can alleviate some of these symptoms. Other times, however, the problem
may stem from the insidious forwardhead posture. Your arms and hands
receive stimulation from nerves that exit
your spine in the neck region and pass
through the shoulders. When the muscles in your neck and shoulders are tight,
they can compress nerves and the blood
supply to the arm, which can then lead to
a variety of problems such as numbness
or tingling in the arm or hand. This com25

your career
pression of nerves and blood supply to
the arm is referred to medically as thoracic outlet syndrome.
The symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome are sometimes mistakenly attributed to carpal tunnel syndrome, another
common problem among computer
workers. Unlike thoracic outlet syndrome,
carpal tunnel syndrome is typically caused
by repetitive stress to the wrists and hands,
such as that caused by typing and using a
mouse. This repetitive stress can lead to
inflamed tendons that compress a nerve
in the wrist, resulting in numbness, tingling, or pain in the hand similar to that
of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Thoracic outlet syndrome may be alleviated by relieving the pressure on the
nerves and blood vessels in your neck
and shoulders; carpal tunnel syndrome
may be alleviated by reducing the
inflammation of the tendons that are
placing pressure on the median nerve
passing through your wrist.
Self-care tips for wrist, arm, and hand pain:
Shoulder shrugFrom a seated or
standing position and with a straight
back, raise your shoulders up to your ears
and hold for seven seconds. Relax the
shoulders by letting them drop from
their raised position as you forcefully
exhale through your mouth. To further
release tension from your neck and
shoulders, follow the shoulder shrug with
the side-of-neck stretch described above.
Forearm stretchHold your right
arm directly out in front of you with
your palm up. With your left hand, bend
your right hand down toward the floor.
Take six deep breaths. Note the stretch
on the inner part of your forearm. Now
turn your right arm so that your palm
faces the floor. With your left hand,
bend your right hand down toward the
floor. Take six deep breaths. Note the
stretch on the outer part of your forearm. Repeat the stretch on the left arm.
Restricted Breathing

Forward-head posture does not always

act alone in causing computer workers
musculoskeletal pain. Restricted breathing can act as its accomplice in the
shoulder, upper back, and neck tension
you experience.
26

The diaphragmthe muscle located

between your lungs and your abdomen
enables you to take full, deep breaths.
When you adopt a forward-head posture,
however, your chest caves in and your
abdominal area shortens, preventing the
diaphragm from contracting fully. Since
your diaphragm is restricted, your breathing becomes shallower and typically takes
place only in your upper chest. This
breathing pattern requires the muscles
in your neck that help raise the ribcage
during inhalation to contract and
tighten. These neck muscles are the same
ones that are tightened by the forwardhead posture. Restricted breathing further taxes these tight neck muscles.
Add deadlines, malfunctioning computers, traffic jams, and other stressors to
the forward-head posture, and your
breath becomes further restricted. Under
stress, we have a tendency to take quicker,
shallower breaths. If the muscles in your
upper body that assist with breathing are
already tight, breathing becomes even
more difficult. While external stress is
often beyond our control, our response
physically and mentallyis within our
control. Yogic wisdom tells us that the
breath is the link between the body and
the mind; if you control your breath, you
control both your mental and physical
states. When you encounter a stressful situation at worksuch as a computer crash
before you had the chance to hit Save
try taking a full, deep breath to keep your
mind and your body relaxed.
Self-care tip for restricted breathing:
Abdominal breathing exerciseFirst
take a moment to sit quietly and observe
your breath. Do your shoulders rise and
does your chest inflate, indicating that
you are breathing mostly into your
upper chest? Or does your belly pop
out, indicating that you are breathing
with your diaphragm? Now place your
hand on your abdomen and concentrate on breathing into that area, inhaling and exhaling slowly and completely.
Try to press your belly into your hand as
you breathe in and out. Take a minimum of six full, deep abdominal
breaths. This exercise is beneficial upon
awakening and before bed, but you may
find it relaxing anytime during the day.

Body Awareness

Its easy for us to become absorbed in

the work we do. Working at a computer can
sometimes seem like working in an entirely
different world from the one we physically
inhabit. This virtual life can be mentally
stimulating and rewarding; however, ignoring your physical reality can be detrimental to your body. To continue enjoying the
work you do and avoid musculoskeletal
pain, make body awareness a daily practice. The next time youre at work, or
commuting to work in your car, take a
moment to ask yourself these questions:
Is my head directly over my neck and
shoulders?
Are my shoulders relaxed and positioned back rather than tight and
rolled forward?
Is my breath full and in my abdomen?
If you answer no to any of these questions, read through the self-care tips
above. All of the stretches listed can be
done within a few moments at work. In
addition to these stretches, professional
bodyworksuch as massage and chiropractic treatmentand exerciseparticularly yoga or Pilatescan support your
efforts to increase body awareness, correct forward-head posture, and prevent
work-related pain. Even if youre not currently experiencing any signs of musculoskeletal problems, awareness of your
body may help to prevent future pain
and the premature end of a career due
to musculoskeletal injuries.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Anderson, Bob. Stretching. Bolinas,
Calif.: Shelter Publications, 2000.
Anderson, Bob. Stretching in the Office.
Bolinas, Calif.: Shelter Publications, 2002.
Serber, Ellen, and Daniel Will-Harris.
My Daily Yoga. mydailyyoga.com
(accessed March 20, 2005).
Jill Campbell works as a technical editor while
attending the Brenneke School of Massage.
She has a masters in technical communication from the University of Washington. You
can reach Jill at jill_campbell@yahoo.com.
June 2005