When we are seated at a desk our elbows are usually in roughly a 90° position, particularly if we are typing on a laptop or desktop keyboard. This position, while completely normal and possible, isn’t a familiar natural resting position for our elbows (we would ordinarily have them a bit closer to straight or straight while sleeping, walking, resting in a seated position etc). If we consider that we are often typing or working at a desk for hours on end, this rather unnatural resting position could become irritating, not least of all if we are actively holding our elbows in this position without support, requiring our muscles to work to maintain the position (assume the average arm weighs 5-7% of total body weight!). We can of course get around the job of having to hold our arms in this position by resting our elbows or forearms on the desk. However, we are then more likely to suffer from pain directly associated with the force applied through our elbows by the hard desk! Finally, typing for a significant period of time requires the extensor muscles of our forearms (the muscles that hold our wrists, hands and fingers above the keyboard) to work hard, and this too can lead to discomfort and pain. These muscles all insert around the elbow, and as such can also lead to elbow pain.
Our only real defense against these inevitable issues, is to take frequent breaks, stretch and move our hands, wrists, forearms and elbows. Having the correct desk set-up can assist, but regardless of how good the set-up is, it will never full mitigate the complaints if we maintain the same elbow position for hours on end.
Comments
0 comment