Have you ever developed aches, pains or injuries from sitting at your desk, staring at your computer screen, with poor posture for hours on end? It seems obvious, but humans weren’t designed to sit at a desk all day! Our hunter and gatherer ancestors certainly didn’t suffer from knots in the shoulder blades or RSI injuries from being sedentary.

In this blog post, we discuss the causes and symptoms of desk injuries to the shoulder, elbow, and wrist and provide helpful tips to reduce injury and also relevant exercise videos you can do at home or work to reduce symptoms.

One of the common presentations that we see in our patients is shoulder pain from using a computer mouse. This often isn’t an isolated symptom, it often comes with headaches from neck strain if the computer screen isn’t set up correctly, wrist pain due to repetitive strain from typing and mouse use, aches and pains in the mid-back from poor posture due to poor desk setup, and an inappropriate chair. We often see desk workers not taking enough work breaks to get up and move to help reduce these types of injuries.

Musculoskeletal injuries are one of the top three reasons people take sick days from work. These injuries can also lead to poor productivity, poor engagement with a workplace and elevated stress levels.

It is important to understand these injuries and how to prevent and avoid them. Learn how to relieve shoulder pain from using a mouse with these quick tips, proven exercises, and recommended treatments!

JULY 2023 UPDATE – check out our latest shoulder exercise videos for relieving pain at the bottom of this page – click here.

Shoulder pain risk factors
Man with shoulder pain at desk
There are several risk factors that have been identified when it comes to occupational risk factors for shoulder pain. These include;

Heavy workload – if you are experiencing an increased volume of work
Awkward postures – such as poor ergonomic set up of your desk, computer or chair
Repetitive movements – such as typing and computer mouse work
Vibration – if you are exposed to any machinery that vibrates
Duration of employment – how long a person has been doing the job
If you have shoulder pain and want to learn more, check out this post on diagnosing shoulder pain or this article on shoulder pain.