When children grow up and have more homework, it is common for what used to be leisure time in front of the computer to become hours. Hours of surfing the internet or playing games, doing work ... It may seem like a distant moment, but if your child already uses the computer Either way, it is a good time for you not to establish bad postural habits.
And is that prolonged poor posture in front of the computer can cause injuries, specifically repetitive stress injuries, that is, because there are movements that repeat and force certain joints that end up suffering.
However, by taking preventive measures and taking into account the characteristics of the place of the house where the computer is used, this type of injury associated with the use of the computer, video games and the sending of text messages can be avoided. Also the place of study (homework, reading ...) must take into account certain recommendations, especially to avoid damaging the back or eyesight.
A repetitive stress injury occurs when a joint is used repeatedly, the body does not have time to recover and reacts by increasing the amount of fluid in order to reduce the tension exerted on the tendon and / or muscle.
To prevent these injuries injuries we can make our children follow these recommendations:
That he feels very straight, with his back straight, without slouching or flexing on the keyboard (or on books, notes ...).
The top of the screen should align with the front of the computer user. Therefore, if the computer is used by the whole family, it is necessary to have a chair that can adjust its height (or have different chairs nearby).
Do not tense your shoulders when you work in front of the computer or at the desk (homework ...).
It is convenient to rest your feet on the floor or on a footrest, placing the legs perpendicular (between 90 and 100 degrees) to the spine.
Do not hit the keyboard, but use a light touch to type.
We must ensure that the child does not find it difficult to reach the keyboard to type and that it maintains a 90 degree angle between wrists and elbows and the upper part of the arms. You should keep your fingers and wrists well leveled while writing.
It is recommended to take breaks frequently, approximately every half hour (change positions, walk, look far away ...).
We must have good lighting in front of the computer and must focus on distant objects from time to time.
We have to keep in mind that most computer systems are designed for adults, so that we have to accommodate the environment (chair height, distance ...) to the children.
If your child tells you that he feels tingling in his legs or hands, tingling, that he loses sensation or hurts, he may be suffering from a repetitive stress injury, so it should be taken to the pediatrician to make the proper diagnosis and, if appropriate, Prescribe the treatment to follow.
Special mention deserves at this point the use of the mobile phone, which already causes many injuries of this type in adults, so do not forget to rest between click and click, fingers and sight. Our children should do the same when they start using these devices.
As we said at the beginning, it is never too early to establish good habits in front of the computer, since surely our children will end up using it for quite some time. And since they already have enough load with school bags, we do not want to add one more reason for them to suffer any type of injury: it is best to prevent and we hope that these tips help you.
