Will Leaning Forward on Computer give me a Hunchback?

[ku]

I don't know whether my seat-monitor alignment is incorrect but everytime I'm on the computer I have a habit of leaning forward without realizing it. I'm worried that too much forward leaning might arch my spine and give me a nerdy hunchback appearance. Is it natural to learn forward while sitting? Is it how I'm supposed to sit?

[Xavier]

Yes, this can happen, though you must be leaning your head well forward and for several years. The weight of your head pulls the neck vertebrae forwards and cantilevers the 3-5 vertebrae backwards. If you spend less than 10 hours per week at a computer you'll be fine. If you use a computer at work there are probably a large number of draconian regulations that your employer must follow to keep you safe and comfortable.

At home there are a few guidelines; if you are using your computer a lot it'll pay dividends to spend time getting it right.

1) The monitor should ideally be at eye level. If you find yourself leaning forward a lot, raising the monitor should help halt this.

2) Sit in a chair where you can place both feet flat on the ground. If you can't, get a footrest as a manner of priority or you will fall forwards and strain your neck and back. Get a chair that is not too straight backed; if your shoulders are vertically behind your hips then you will sit back using your spine to support you up and down in the way it ws designed for whereas if your shoulders are too far forwards then you will tend to fall forwards and your spine will be pulled sideways.

3) Ideally when you type your forearms should be horizontal with your hands dropping down onto the keyboard. This is primarily to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury but it alos tends to get you to sit back.

 

If you use the computer a lot you should consider very seriously learning to touch-type as, if you follow these guidelines the screen will be a long way from the keyboard and you will be constantly bobbing your head.

 

It is usually recommended that you take a five minute break at elast once per hour. This is mostly to give your eyes a rest but it will also stop you getting deep vein thrombosis and give you a chance to resettle yourself if you moved into a cramped up posture. Set a timer on the computer to remind you to get up. It is also good to set up the computer in such a way that that when you look to the side of the screen you have a long view across the room. This is to get your eyes to focus at a long distance from time to time. Placing a large mirror behind the monitor can achieve this.

 

You could consider going to a chiropractor. Whilst they can be very effective, in my (extensive) experience they always seem to find something wrong which needs continual adjustment. (To be fair, there IS something wrong with the spine of nearly everyone, though whether there is enough wrong to justify such cost in every case is more open to question.) Another "alternative" is to take a look at The Alexander Technique. Stripped of its mysticism, this is basically a series of exercises to train a body into good deportment. If you take to it, it can be very good for you.