笔记本炎-网虫职业病

笔记本炎

laptop-itis

笔记本电脑的大量使用,出现了各种各样的“笔记本炎”，比如触摸指、 键盘腕、电脑脖。

长时间使用笔记本让人觉得脖子抬不起来，脖子有酸胀感，严重的还会 引起放射状疼痛和头晕、呕吐等症状，这就是所谓的“电脑脖”。产生的主要原因是屏幕与键盘之间距离太近，屏幕与眼睛不能保持在同一水平线上，在打字的同时，僵着脖子低头看屏幕，容易造成颈肌损伤。

笔记本电脑的键盘较为平坦，使用时腕关节背屈角度较低，电脑族由于每天重复着在键盘上打字，长期密集、反复和过度的活动，加上手掌根部支撑在触摸板两侧会压迫腕管，手指反复运动使肌腱、神经来回摩擦，手指出现疼痛、麻木、有肿胀感，形成“键盘腕”。

苹果智能手机iPhone调查对象是200名使用iPhone手机的学生，其中70%拥有iPhone不满一年时间。

触摸式鼠标需要食指或中指不停地转动，总是反复机械地集中活动这两个手指，手指往往会有麻木或疼痛的感觉。在触摸鼠标的过程中，不仅手指会感觉肌肉疲劳，还会造成手部肌腱在其周围的腱鞘内磨损，引起组织肿胀、增厚，并发生炎症。

研究人员发现，多人坦承，如果没有iPhone就会感到迷失。调查结果显示，约85%的调查对象把手机当作手表，89%当作闹钟。75%的调查对象睡觉时把iPhone放在床头；69%的人说，早晨出门时，更容易落下钱包而非iPhone手机。

如果出现头疼、颈痛、手指或关节疼痛等症状时，您应该多加注意。下面是防止“笔记本炎”的建议。应该尽量避免长时间使用笔记本电脑，每20分钟就要休息片刻，活动、放松一下颈腰部。用电脑时腰要挺直，尽量想办法维持头颈中立位；前臂和肘部应尽量贴近身体，并尽可能放松，以免使用时身向前倾。桌面高度和座椅高度都要适当。必要时可以接一个外接键盘。

结果，一成学生承认彻底上瘾，34%给自己打4分，只有6%认为自己对iPhone毫不上瘾。在那些得分为1至4分的调查对象中，34%表示有一天自己可能成为iPhone“瘾君子”。

Suffering from “laptop-itis”?

Different brands of laptop computers are shown in New York. Students who use laptops should be on the lookout for headaches, wrist pain, tingling in the fingers and neck or shoulder pain.

The very design of laptop computers encourages bad posture among college students and other heavy users, which can lead to headaches, muscle strain and debilitating neck, shoulder and hand injuries, researchers caution.

The issue stems from the unified body construction that defines laptops, researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, explained in a university news release. With an inseparable keyboard and monitor, users are not free to configure their equipment in a way that minimizes risk.

"When you use a laptop, you have to make some sort of sacrifice," Dr. Kevin Carneiro, a physician in the UNC School of Medicine's department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, stated in the news release.

Such a sacrifice to convenience comes at a price, Carneiro noted. Awkward positioning of the fingers and body can cause nerve injury to the wrist and prompt the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome, while poor neck position and shoulder posture can cause muscle strain and soreness in those areas.

Signs of trouble typically come in the form of headaches, wrist pain, tingling in the fingers or thumb, and neck and shoulder pain, he added.

Concern about such laptop health issues is driven by their rising popularity, as worldwide sales now exceed those of standard desktop computers. Students are particularly vulnerable, since laptops are a common feature of campus life.

Tips to minimize their risk

If you are working at a computer, your body should form 90-degree angles at the elbows, knees and hips.

Use a docking station and cables to hook up to an external monitor and/or separate keyboard that are moveable to encourage better posture.

With the help of a docking station, position the computer so you can read the screen without bending your neck.

Pay attention to the chair you sit in — look for one that is adjustable and comes with back support.

Tilt the screen so you don't need to bend your neck, and place the mouse so that your wrists are in a neutral position (one in which they are aligned with your arm and not raised above it).

Take frequent short breaks every 20 minutes or so — this can help rest muscles and encourage position shifting. Do some shoulder shrugs, gentle forward head rolls, and shoulder scrunches to stretch your muscles.

Stay hydrated — drinking plenty of water can help keep discs in your back lubricated. In addition, watch out for warning signs, including pain and tingling. Carneiro said these may mean you need to use better posture, take more breaks, or see a doctor.

By Richard Drew, AP