Friday, October 12, 2007

Students using laptops risk 'persistent' pain

Students using laptops risk 'persistent' pain | Students | EducationGuardian.co.uk: "Students who regularly use laptops are putting themselves in danger of persistent neck, back, shoulder and wrist pain, and they are often unaware of the risks they are taking until it is too late, according to new research. Surveys carried out by ergonomist Rachel Benedyk and her team at University College London's Interaction Centre found that 57% of respondents had experienced aches and pains as a result of their laptop use, with 7% having pain a lot of the time. The survey involved 649 undergraduate and postgraduate students of a range of nationalities, and the majority said they had never encountered ergonomic guidance on laptop use."


Advice worth noting. I do love my laptop as everything is a bit chaotic at the moment as we're moving house and all that good stuff... but I'm also aware that my typing position isn't great when I'm using my laptop and a gentle nudge to think about some better strategies for using it is timely.

Mind you, this sort of thing is exactly the kind of argument which comes up when it is suggested that computerisation of certain tasks might be beneficial - 'what about health and safety', 'it'll give me RSI', 'I can't work for long periods at a screen'. Thing is, a bit of helpful advice now and again counters most of that stuff, but they can be mightily persuasive anti-ICT arguments without a bit of balance.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...