Believe it or not, there are some dangers to your health associated with using Steemit. Come to think of it, spending a long time on your computer in general, can have a detrimental effect on your health. And lets face it, we all spend way to long on our computers. In fact, when I'm away from my macbook, I actually miss it. NOT GOOD!! And now I've found this cyber-drug called Steamit, I can't bloody stay away from my computer.
"Hmm, how could steemit be dangerous"? I hear you ask. Well let me explain how.
I do have some medical knowledge, but I'm in no way an expert. If you experience any of the symptoms or health issues I talk about, please seek advice from a professional medical practitioner, like your GP or a Physiotherapist.
I did want to talk about some of my old war stories, but I think I'll save them for some later posts.
Anyway, back to the point of the post!
So, What are the dangers of using Steemit?
#1: Musculoskeletal Problems
In other words, problems with your muscles, bones, joints, etc. If you're anything like me, you sit at the sofa or on your bed, using your Macbook or your Pea-Sea (my Macbook won't let me write pea sea, see?? Darn! I'll just say computer I think). Sitting on your sofa or bed with your 'Computer', in various different positions, over a long period of time is very bad for your spine; and is likely to cause posture-related injuries.
A common complaint is 'shoulder impingement' or shoulder pain. I get this a lot. It's where the gap in the shoulder joint shrinks, and starts pinching the tendons or nerves around that area. The most common cause for this, is poor posture. Slouching at your computer screen for long periods of time, cause the muscles in your back and shoulders to weaken. This causes the shoulders to come forward, decreasing the space in the shoulder joint.
Symptoms
Weakness in your arm, painful shoulder when lifting arm, aching at night, general pain on the top and outer side of your shoulder.
Treatment
If this persists you should seek medical treatment. However, some short term treatments can help. The obvious one is, try to avoid slouching at your computer. Get a decent Ergonomic Chair, Rest your shoulder, wrap an ice pack with a towel, and place it on the affected shoulder for around 20 minutes, every couple of hours. Anti-Inflammatory pain killers (NSAIDS) such as Ibuprofen will also help.
Another common complaint is lower back pain. Poor posture makes the lower back muscles work to hard, causing them to spasm or strain. Putting continuous strain on lower back muscles can also lead to other problems, such as Sciatica (Shooting pain down the back of one or both legs) Very uncomfortable!, And hip pain.
Poor posture can cause pain and stiffness in the neck, this could be 'referred pain' from the shoulder or it could be a stiff, achy neck due to poor posture; or it could be both. Most of these musculoskeletal problems can be treated similar to what you would do for shoulder pain, accept place the ice pack where the pain is (Obviously).
You can avoid these musculoskeletal problems by maintaining good posture. This is easier said than done, but a good start is to just be aware of it, and take practical steps to improve. If you spend a lot of your life sat in front of your computer, then it'd be a good idea to invest in a good quality ergonomic chair. Most of us spend money on a decent mattress, because a lot of our life is spent in bed. The same goes for an ergonomic chair, It will be money well spent, trust me!
#2: Repetitive Strain Injuries
If you're as stupid as me, and you continue to ignore your body, telling you to change something, you will get a repetitive strain injury. The most common one for us laptop/computer users is 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'. After prolonged use of a mouse or pad, with your wrist being stiff and/or in an unnatural position, the muscles and small bones in your wrist will get irritated, causing them to get inflamed. The nerves in your wrist then get compressed. With this being repeated regularly, eventually it will cause 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms are, pins and needles, numbness, weak grip, pain (or a dull ache) anywhere from your shoulder to the tips of your fingers. These symptoms will come and go, and you'll often suffer more at night.
Treatment
Hopefully, if you rectify the cause, it should clear up within a few months. You can relieve the pressure on your wrists by using wrist splints (I got some from Amazon). The best time to wear them is at night while you sleep. With it being nerve pain, standard pain relief doesn't really work very well. You're best bet is to try to avoid getting it. It's a difficult thing to treat, and if it persists to the point it's affecting your life, you will need surgery.
#3 Obesity
Let's be honest, most of us have pretty poor diets. If it wasn't for my wife, I'd be living on pasties, chips, burgers, pizza, Chinese, Indian Mmmm, and what ever else was quick and easy, and full of artery clogging shite. Don't get me wrong, I love these foods now n then (probably still a bit too often, if i'm honest), but now i'm 39, and my metabolism has slowed down to the speed of a stoned sloth, I've got to be very conscious of what I'm eating. Spending too much time on Steemit, and other well known social media sites (I thought I was on the radio for a second then) also causes me to be ultra, and I mean ULTRA lazy.
With all this in mind, obviously it would be very easy to gain a lot of weight. We all know the risks associated with obesity, so take a good, hard look at yourself, and assess whether you need to change things. I know I need to change, but do you. Life is beautiful, and trust me, it's not nice living with health problems, especially when they could've been avoided with some simple changes.
#4 Increased Risk of Blood Clots
When we sit for long periods of time, our blood doesn't get pumped around our body as efficiently as it would when moving around. This can cause the blood to pool, and create a build-up of blood cells. This build-up of blood cells will eventually cause clots (the cells stick together) and if one of these clots gets dislodged, it can travel to the lungs or heart, and the consequences can be fatal.
So get your ass up every hour or so, and walk around for a few minutes. It could LITERALLY (has anyone noticed this word is way over-used lately) save your life. Move your legs and feet around whilst working on your computer. Stand up and stretch often.
#5 Headaches & Vision Problems
Prolonged use of a computer can cause headaches, caused by tension in the neck, or continued strain on the eyes. Prolonged use can also cause vision problems; the flickering, bright lights glaring from the screen can cause eye strain. This is because the iris' is constantly working, and they get tired. Consequently, the eyes will dry out, making them red and sore, and will also feel gritty (feel like you've got bits of grit in the eye).
There's a few ways we can avoid eye problems, in fact you could start right now. First of all, turn down your screen brightness... Go on, turn it down, I bet you can still read perfectly fine with the brightness turned down a bit. Right, now turn a lamp on, or the main light. If you're using your computer in the dark, the screen will appear very bright, meaning your eyes will have to work a lot harder. Don't get to close to the screen. Again, being to close will overwork your eyes. Using eye drops will help keep your eyes lubricated. Make sure to wear glasses ('Eye Glasses' for you Americans ;) if you're supposed to. Get regular eye exams.
So there you go, Steamit really does have some dangers. It might not be immediate danger, but it can still cause some serious health problems. I've been getting a lot of these problems, which have had a real negative impact on my life, I'm just starting to address these now. A bit late, but better late than never, I suppose. If you can relate to any of this (Which I suspect a lot of you will) nip it in the bud NOW, if you don't, I guarantee you'll regret it.
If you found this article useful, please up-vote and resteem. This is knowledge everyone needs to know. If there's anything I've forgotten, please comment. Like I said, I'm no expert, most of this I've learned from researching my own health issues.
Good health article. Gave ya a follow. I really appreciate the attention you call to people's health who use Steemit. I am trying to do the same and am trying to recruit your attention in a project called The EN. @the-en is the The EN's blog. Its a way for people to use Steemit, exercise, and earn. Lmk what you think, if you're interested, and any feedback would be appreciated! Cheers.
Hi @showoff thank you for your comment! I am now following you as we clearly have a similar outlook on health & wellbeing. I've had a look at the @the-en and it's a good idea. I do think you need to ensure people are warming up and stretching before they carry out any exercises. Going straight into a sit up or a press up or any strength exercise will cause injuries. You could add a quick warning before any exercise advising people to warm up for a minimum of 15 minutes before doing any of the exercises. Good Luck, and I'll c u around!
That's a good idea. I'll consider when and where to add in the note. Lookin' forward to c'in' ya.
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STOP@feed-me-more (interesting name) great post. These are things the average person does not often think of and you have developed and excellent post here. I was also an Army Medic, with the 173rd Airborne, 1/503 for 4 years in Vicenza Italy, and am now in Nursing school. I will definitely be following you to see more of these posts and some of your war stories. Keep up the great work. You will do well here!
Thank you @elderfinancial I appreciate your comment. I used my last 10 sbd to promote this post. I'm really not to bothered how much it makes, I just want people to realise how using a computer for long periods of time, is not good for the spine amongst other things. I've had so many problems due to using a laptop and poor sleeping position, it leads to many wrong diagnoses', and put down to other things, the simple explanation is often ignored, or forgotten about... ITALY!! What an awesome posting, I was never so lucky. You guys are great (US Army as a whole I mean) You helped us a lot when we were on Op Telic 1 (2003). We had very limited equipment (due to our tight arse government) and you guys sorted us out, A LOT!! But then we did help you out with our superior military knowledge ;) Anyway, I'm certainly going to follow you back, I've got a lot of love for our brothers across the pond. Take care, an I look forward to seeing your posts, and getting to know you.