Osteoarthritis 'attacks' office workers

Disease ptiger transformation

Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Bich, 33 years old, in Hai Duong City, has been an order manager for a foreign company in the garment industry for nearly 10 years. Despite her young age, Ms. Bich has had to seek therapy to reduce pain in her neck, shoulders, and nape. Ms. Bich said that her job involves using a computer, requiring her to sit a lot, sometimes even sitting continuously for 4-6 hours. Therefore, her neck, shoulders, and nape often ache. At first, she only felt slight pain, so Ms. Bich did not pay much attention. Later, when the pain appeared more frequently, it was also the time when treatment became more difficult.

“Because I was subjective and thought that neck, shoulder, and nape pain were normal, I now have to live with this disease. When the pain became unbearable and affected my work and life, I went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis. I cannot sit in one place for long and it also cost me a lot of money for treatment,” Ms. Bich complained.

Working as an accountant, Ms. Nguyen Huong Mai, 40 years old in Kim Thanh district, has to sit more than stand. Therefore, Ms. Mai has long encountered troubles and problems with spinal degeneration. Ms. Mai said that because her job does not require her to move around, she rarely exercises. Moreover, to be more comfortable at work, she often sits in the wrong position. These habits have silently caused Ms. Mai's spine to lose its function. Unfortunately, she ignored the usual symptoms of pain, and only sought advice and treatment when the disease became severe. Ms. Mai complained: "In the past, I sat for many hours just to finish my work. Now I cannot sit and work for long because of the excruciating pain. In addition to treatment as prescribed by the doctor, I also attend yoga classes. However, my lower back pain has not improved much."

According to some studies, about 40% of office workers suffer from bone and joint diseases. The parts that bear the most pressure are the neck, shoulders and back. However, many people are still subjective, ignoring the symptoms, making the disease more serious.

Not to be taken lightly

Osteoarthritis is considered an occupational disease for office workers. When it starts, the disease has no obvious signs, just transient pain and fatigue. When the disease progresses to a serious stage, people seek medical care, making treatment more complicated and expensive.

More than 50% of customers coming to Hai Yen massage therapy facility (Hai Duong city) have problems with bones and joints. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, the owner of the facility, said that customers using the treatment service to reduce neck, shoulder, nape, and lower back pain are mostly office workers. Due to being busy with work during office hours, office workers often take advantage of their breaks to go to the spa for treatment to reduce pain and fatigue. However, Ms. Yen often advises customers to go to medical facilities for examination and to determine their condition before treatment at the spa. "The level of bone and joint pain is different for each person, so the treatment methods are not the same. On the other hand, the service at the treatment facility only helps customers reduce pain temporarily, not an effective long-term treatment method," Ms. Yen said.

According to specialist doctor II Pham Van Minh, Deputy Director of Hoa Binh General Hospital, office workers often suffer from bone and joint diseases mainly due to 4 causes. Sitting for a long time can cause stiff joints, dry joint fluid, osteoarthritis, neck and shoulder pain, cervical disc herniation, and low back pain. Moreover, if you do not sit with a straight back, or bend over, your skeleton can easily become misaligned, and your lumbar and cervical vertebrae can easily be damaged. Office workers have little time for lunch breaks, so they often have the habit of eating quickly, eating fast food, and lacking essential nutrients, affecting the functioning of muscles, bones, and joints. In addition, office workers often work in closed rooms, with little exposure to sunlight, so their bodies do not synthesize enough vitamin D to serve the calcium regeneration process, which can easily cause osteoporosis.

According to experts, bone and joint diseases among office workers are getting younger and increasing. Of these, there are 5 common groups of bone and joint diseases that office workers often suffer from: back pain and the risk of lumbar spine degeneration, shoulder and neck pain and signs of cervical spine degeneration, muscle tension, disc herniation, carpal tunnel syndrome. "Bone and joint diseases can be treated with physical therapy, changing lifestyle habits, medication... But if detected and treated late, the patient may have to have surgery," Dr. Minh added.