Computer users are prone to suffer from "cervical spondylosis", a degenerative disease of the neck vertebrae, mainly because of sitting at ill-designed workstations for long hours, according to a new UAE study.

The study, conducted by experts at Al Ahlia Hospital in Abu Dhabi, has revealed that a "considerable proportion" of patients attending clinics with neck problems work with computers. The team of experts include orthopedic surgeon, Dr. R. Reddy, ENT surgeon Dr. K.G. Ramachandran and physiotherapist Benni C. Antony.

Speaking to Gulf News, Antony said a majority of the spondylosis cases were from travel agencies where staff sit for hours in front of computers to make passenger bookings and check airline schedules.

He noted the use of computers has grown enormously but users have little knowledge of potential health hazards they are prone to. Working in bad workstations, or sitting in a wrong position, not only makes people grumpy but also leads to muscular strain and fatigue that could result in severe injury. People who have pain in the neck or behind the shoulder blade that occasionally goes down to the shoulder or arms could be suffering from cervical spondylosis, he said.

Antony explained that cervical spondylosis is a degenerative disease that involves neck vertebrae. Human beings have seven vertebrae in the neck and there are discs between these vertebrae which act like shock absorbers.

"The disease is basically the loss of fluid from the intervetebral discs which ultimately leads to the loss of its height, and excess bone growth around the circumference of the disc called osteophytes," he explained.

Antony noted that the excess bone growth or spurs press on the nerves, giving rise to symptoms such as progressive pain, numbness and, sometimes, dizziness. "There may be restriction of neck movements and, occasionally, weakness of upper limb muscles."

The static continuous contraction of the shoulder girdle muscles, he said, also creates headaches. People suffering from this problem need to be treated with pain killers, physiotherapy and sometimes with surgery, he added. He said the problem is more common after the age of 50, but the strain on the neck vertebrae often invites this problem much earlier.

The team advised people using computers to avoid working on computers for more than half an hour at a stretch and to do relaxational neck movements and breathing exercises every 10 minutes.

They should also adjust the height of the computer desk so that the head can be held properly in a natural position. The use of well-back supported chair to maintain the physiological curvature of the spine can also help in preventing computer related injuries. Antony said working at computers in tight fitting clothes could also lead to the problem.

People in the highly computerised Western societies are aware of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and continuous research is being done. Businesses hire professional assistance in setting up workstations to keep their employees protected from RSI to get optimum output.

RSI is an umbrella term that is used for injuries that can affect the neck, shoulders, upper back, upper arm, elbows, forearms, wrists, thumbs or fingers. Warning signs of RSI appear in any of these areas.