HEALTH

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Working:

A Hazard To Your Health

CAROL SORGEN

Special to the Jewish News

I

s your job a pain in the
neck? Literally. If so,
you're not alone. More and
more of us are finding that our
jobs are not only our sources of
income, they are often sources
of aches and pains as well.
You probably know some of
the symptoms: splitting head-
ache, stiff neck, clenched teeth
and hunched shoulders. This
"tension triangle" — with the
shoulders at the base and the
forehead at the peak — is one
of the first parts of your body
to show signs of the emotional
stress you may face at work

All of the muscles in this
area are especially susceptible
to stress. When your brow is
furrowed in concentration,
your corrugator muscles tight-
en. In fact, these muscles are
such a good gauge of muscle
tension throughout the body
that they are used in biofeed-
back training to monitor
overall tension.
The muscles in the jaw —
the masseter and temporalis
— not only control chewing
and biting patterns but also
react to mental stress by
tightening. If you clench
and/or grind your teeth, these
muscles are working over-
time.
For many, the sign of a bad

The emotional
stress you
encounter at work
takes its toll
on your body.

day at the office can be found
in the trapezius, the large
muscle that begins at the base
of the skull and runs down the
neck to the spine and shoulder
blades. The trapezius helps
the neck support the head —
no easy task since a head
weighs approximately 10
pounds. We don't make things
easier by leaning forward at
our desks which strains the
muscle even more.
Our most common com-
plaints in the tension triangle
are headaches and stiff necks.
Headaches are caused by
tense muscles in the jaw and
neck which, in turn, constrict
the blood flow to the head and
the scalp; a stiff neck usually

results from tightness in the
trapezius muscle.
These physical problems can
be alleviated giving our bodies
a change of pace — a
mini-exercise session. Take
your body out of the office
chair at least once an hour.
Walk around your work space,
or go up and down a few flights
of stairs to really get the blood
flowing.
Researchers have long
known about muscle tension
that results from emotional
stress. Of increasing interest
and concern, however, is the
rapid rise in muscle tension
problems found in modern of-
fice settings. The culprit? The
computer revolution.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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