Knee pain in young IT Professionals

One of the common complaints, I encounter in my clinic is the knee joint pain in young individuals. Mind you most of my patients are IT Professionals, who sit in front of the computer and work, on an average of up to 10hrs a day.

Knee pain in young individuals is a common condition, esp in individuals involved in sports, prolonged sitting or standing jobs, industrial jobs and even office jobs.

Most of these patients have

• anterior knee pain, which is a dull aching pain: 
• aggravated by activities like prolonged standing or sitting, going up and down the stairs, jogging or doing sports. 
• Some of them can get grating sensation on moving the knee. 
• There is no swelling or redness of the joint
• and there is no history of any previous knee injury.

So if you are having these symptoms, you could be suffering from one of these conditions:

Good office ergonomics to avoid RSI

Of-late in my office practice, i am getting to see more and more IT Professionals with RSI i,e repetitive strain injury. Some times Type1 RSI, but most of the times Type2 RSI. Since these individuals are working for 8 to 10 hrs per day at their workstations, it is safe to assume that the musculoskeletal pains  they are getting is related to the work environment, provided we have ruled out other specific causes. So what is RSI?

Repetitive strain injury or RSI is a range of painful or uncomfortable conditions of the muscles, tendons, nerves and other soft tissues, usually caused by repetitive use of a certain part of the body, often somewhere in the upper limbs. 

Since our patients are computer professional, it is important for them to practice good computer ergonomics to prevent RSI and also to reverse it in early stages.

What is good computer ergonomics?

A properly set-up office workstation helps workers maintain a neutral body

posture. This is a comfortable working posture, in which the joints are

naturally aligned, reducing stress and strain on the muscles, tendons, and

skeletal system, and minimising the risk of developing RSI. An adequate

workstation also helps to prevent fatigue, eye strain, headaches and stress

by controlling environmental conditions.

A neutral body posture has the following characteristics: