The concept of “office diseases” has firmly entered our lives today and confidently takes its place among medical diagnoses. Goodshapetips expert talks in detail about this phenomenon.
What is “office syndrome”?
Today we will not talk about specific working conditions in complex production or about the features of hard physical labor – all possible health risks are provided for in legislative documents on labor protection of citizens. We will talk specifically about office diseases, which are not always obvious, but can still cause significant harm to health.
According to numerous studies, about 35% of office workers suffer from some form of the so-called “office syndrome”. “Office Syndrome” is a complex set of symptoms, which includes disturbances in the activity of various organs and systems, which manifests itself in office workers due to the impact on them of various factors of the working environment.
In other words, each of the office workers is affected by a number of factors that carry the risk of developing any office disease.
Risk factors
- Minimum movement in the workplace;
- Improper and inadequate nutrition;
- An extensive amount of allergens in a closed office space;
- Staying for a long time in a space with a large number of devices that are a source of electromagnetic radiation;
- Irregular working hours;
- Stress, emotional burnout;
- A large crowd of people in the “open space” zone.
The maximum harm to our health is caused by a sedentary, sedentary nature of work. Lack of movement leads to stagnation, stagnation in all organs and systems.
It is also notorious for malnutrition, which, coupled with a lack of movement, can lead to obesity, and with it, the threat of heart attack and stroke is growing.
And this ubiquitous dust that accumulates in carpeting on the floor, settling on monitors and in general on any office equipment. People who are prone to allergies have a hard time at their workplace. In addition, office equipment operating for at least eight hours is a source of noise, radiation and overheating of the air.
Another of the main negative factors is the psychological and emotional stress that accumulates throughout the working day. This is especially noticeable in large teams, when many people work in a common open area. Distracting conversations and phone calls, the need to finish work by a certain date, nervousness and irritability lead to the fact that by the evening a person begins to feel incredibly tired and empty.
What can all this lead to?
The main diseases of office workers
Back pain, physical inactivity, arthritis, polyarthritis, other diseases of the musculoskeletal system: on average, 75-80% of residents of developed countries aged 35-55 years old turn to specialists with complaints of back pain. Dull back pain between the shoulder blades or at the level of the lower back, as well as episodic throbbing pain in the joints of the arms and legs can be signs of osteochondrosis, radiculopathy, hormonal spondylopathy and other similar diseases. The lack of timely measures leads to limited mobility, fatigue and, as a result, inefficient work and depression.
tunnel syndrome: according to statistics, every sixth regular computer user develops this disease, and women are more susceptible to it than men. If you work with a computer keyboard and mouse for more than 4 hours a day, carpal tunnel syndrome develops with a high probability. Symptoms are manifested by muscle weakness, pain in the hand, a crawling sensation, and later numbness in the thumb and forefinger. The progression of the syndrome ends with a complete loss of hand mobility.
Obesity – a real scourge of modernity. The Russian Academy of Medical Sciences claims that today in our country 60% of women and 50% of men over 30 are overweight, and 30% are actually obese.
You can talk as much as you like about the role of endocrine disorders in the occurrence of obesity, but in most cases, the cause of weight gain is malnutrition, low physical activity and irregular working hours. As a result, in addition to metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension appear, and kidney function is disrupted.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are also the result of hypodynamia and malnutrition. Burning sensation in the epigastrium, pain and discomfort, loss of appetite and nausea, bloating indicate a stomach disease.
Haemorrhoids – this is a pathology of blood circulation in the small pelvis, the first symptoms are itching and discomfort in the anus, then pain, constipation and bleeding appear.
In such cases, you should immediately consult a doctor, otherwise not only benign changes (stomach and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis) may progress, but the risk of oncological diseases also increases.
Pathologies of the cardiovascular system – this is one of the main pathologies that can lead to death. As sad as it is to realize, these diseases are the cause of death in 57% of all deaths. If there is a compressive, pressing pain in the region of the heart, behind the sternum, which radiates to the left arm and under the shoulder blade, occurs during exercise and is relieved by nitroglycerin, then this indicates the development of atherosclerosis and is a huge risk of early myocardial infarctions and strokes. The cause of such heart pains is again malnutrition, obesity, coffee abuse, smoking, stress, overwork, physical inactivity.
Cause of varicose veins of the lower extremities lies in a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and a favorite “leg on foot” position when working at a computer. As a result, inflammation of the veins, thrombophlebitis, swelling in the legs and increased blood pressure.
Respiratory diseases are not always the result of a cold, pneumonia or other infectious diseases. Sufficiently long time to be in a room with a large crowd of people, air-conditioned or in contact with the allergen. There may be shortness of breath, a feeling of lack of air, an unreasonable cough, frequent bronchitis and tracheitis even in the warm season, which creates a predisposition to bronchial asthma, which is very difficult to treat.
In addition, allergic reactions of unknown etiology, accompanied by rhinoconjunctivitis against the background of weakness and drowsiness, sinusitis and pruritus, can lead to the development of bronchial asthma.
office neurological diseases are manifested by the following symptoms: frequent mood swings with a predominance of depressive states, anxiety, memory loss, irritability, impaired attention, decreased intellectual abilities, poor sleep and frequent headaches, which can be compressive or bursting, pulsating or monotonous, occur periodically or disturb constantly, and their localization is sometimes impossible to determine. All this is a consequence of processing and lack of sleep, as well as frequent stress and prolonged work at the computer in an unventilated room.
Dry eyes – people who work in offices at the computer often complain about it. A person may complain of a decrease in visual acuity, a feeling of “sand in the eyes”, rapid eye fatigue up to the appearance of pain in the eyeball.
It is dangerous that the lack of adequate treatment can lead not only to headaches, but also to pathological changes in the retina and the development of myopia.
Premature skin aging cannot but disturb women of any age. Unfortunately, the condition of our skin depends on external factors: prolonged exposure to air conditioners, lack of natural insolation and being under artificial light sources is fraught with impaired skin pigmentation, overdrying, dehydration and flaking.
Fortunately, there are measures that can prevent and completely eliminate the symptoms of office illness. The smartest and most efficient…
An integrated approach to the treatment and prevention of office diseases
There are public and private methods. Common ones include:
- General strengthening sports: running, swimming, walking;
- Being outdoors, and at any time of the year;
- Revision of the diet in favor of more fresh fruits and vegetables;
- Regular intake of contrast showers and relaxing baths.
Private methods include the so-called “production” activities:
- It is necessary to move as often as possible: do not call a colleague on the internal phone, it is better to go to his desk. Warm up – going for a cup of coffee can also be a workout;
- Change the position of the body, sitting at the desktop, it’s easy;
- Periodically try to sit for a few minutes with your eyes closed, and then try to look from a nearby object to a distant one;
- Do not dine in the office, it is better to take a walk to the nearest cafe – and change the situation, and get physical activity.
And most importantly, this cafe should not be another point of fast food food.
Try to make your life fulfilling, find time to communicate with friends and family, to go to the gym, for shopping … Well, in extreme cases, for a simple walk in the fresh air before going to bed. After all, a happy person is one who happily goes to work in the morning and goes home with pleasure in the evening.
