Mouse Trap

Ever feel tightness or knots in that big muscle between your neck and shoulder? Do you have neck pain or headaches? Is it worse on your right side? Is that pain and tightness worse at work or at the end of a long day? If this sounds familiar, you, along with thousands of other desk workers may be suffering from mouse trap.

96% of people use their computer mouse with their right hand. As you move the mouse around and scroll, your right shoulder elevates slightly. When you do this for multiple hours a day, your trapezius muscle, or trap, (the big one running from the base of your skull, out to your shoulders, and down between your shoulder blades) gets overworked, becomes tight, and starts to develop painful knots or trigger points. These nasty knots and trigger points can cause localized pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and even affect posture. (Try it! Move your mouse around and feel how much that trap moves!)

How are you going to fix this? Try moving your mouse to the left side. Its going to feel weird. You're going to feel silly, and its going to take time to learn--probably a couple weeks. Once you learn the mouse on the left side (and have given your right trap some time to rest), switch the mouse from your right to left side every other day. This will give your trapezius a little time to recover after a long day of work.

Take a look at your workstation. Your chair should be at a height that allows your shoulders to be relaxed (not elevated) while using your mouse and keyboard, and your feet should be flat on the floor. The chair should also support your back while sitting upright. See the image below for more tips.

Your mouse trap won't be fixed overnight. It took a long time to develop, so it's going to take some time to heal. Stretching and exercises (see below), in addition to therapies we provide in the office like dry needling and Active Release Technique (ART), will help decrease pain and speed up the healing process, but changes to your workstation are necessary to ultimately fix the issue.

If you have any questions or would like a FREE workstation and ergonomic evaluation for yourself or for your employees, call us at 913-268-8300 or email drcoleman@mswickard.com.

Don't get caught in the mouse trap!

NECK STRETCHES