rold Posted February 1, 2003 Posted February 1, 2003 (sorry about having to post the entire article; this publication doesn't keep archives) Tom Spears The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, February 01, 2003 Sitting at your computer for hours on end can kill you, says a New Zealand doctor who has added one more way modern life can be fatal even when you're not doing anything. Make that especially when you're not doing anything, says Dr. Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand. Human beings were designed to move around, not to sit still for hours, he says. Recently he treated a young New Zealand man who spent up to 18 hours a day in front of his computer. The techie was in serious trouble. Because he wasn't moving around, blood pooled in his legs until a "massive" clot formed in a vein there. The clot then travelled to his lungs and lodged there, nearly killing him. He has now recovered. The doctor has even coined a new medical term: e-thrombosis. But in fact, it's a variation on something air travellers have been warned about for years: Sitting too long without moving one's legs can cause the formation of the clots that doctors call a deep venous thrombosis, and which are life-threatening. (Doctors nickname the airline variety "economy class syndrome," because the tighter spaces in economy class don't let passengers move their legs enough to keep the blood moving.) And last year a Canadian doctor identified another danger of not moving. An elderly patient talked for nearly an hour on the phone and suffered a stroke; by keeping his head tilted sideways over the receiver he had put pressure on a blood vessel in his neck, cutting off blood flow to the brain. E-thrombosis may be the 21st-century variant of the attacks that began in airplanes, says a note from the European Respiratory Journal, a medical journal that publishes Beasley's work in its latest edition. And Beasley warns there may be plenty of other cases that medical researchers haven't yet recognized. "It may be similar to the situation with the risk of blood clots with long distance air travel -- it was not until there was publicity with individual cases that the real extent of the problem was recognized," he said. His advice is simple: Keep moving. Go for a walk periodically to keep the circulation moving, or at least move your legs around under the desk. © Copyright 2003 Vancouver Sun ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :freak: meh
miroslav Posted February 1, 2003 Posted February 1, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by 'rold: ...danger of not moving.[/quote]I'm sure the risk is real...but how many people actually sit that still? I'm always rolling back and forth...leaning, moving my feet, hands, head...getting up to reach for something..etc. Though I do notice that after sitting most of the day..even with the movement...my legs will feel sore/tired a bit...just as though I was walking all day... ...that is probably from the reduced circulation and repeated pressure on specific nerves when sitting for too long. I guess there may be some people that get into the almost frozen, tunnel-vision state...for hours on end...? Oh...one daily dose of (88mg) aspirin will prevent most blood clot problems from arising, unless you have some specific medical problems. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."
rold Posted February 1, 2003 Author Posted February 1, 2003 "I'm sure the risk is real...but how many people actually sit that still?" I have to admit I really am curious about that...some programmers, web developers, overworked people falling asleep at their desks, etc. could definitely be at risk. Good stuff to know anyway :thu: meh
sign Posted February 1, 2003 Posted February 1, 2003 Hi Harold!! Good to see you posting another great topic. This is a serious problem, many young kids, sitting almost day and night behind the computer, hardly moving, will have problems in the long term I suppose. I am an old fart, taking long walks in the early morning, moving around all day behind my 11' wide board :D and again take a long walk (with the dog) at night! Peace brother! The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future.
rold Posted February 2, 2003 Author Posted February 2, 2003 Hey Han! Good to hear from you - it's been awhile :) Yeah, as farfetched as it may sound, I do believe there are some people who ARE actually at risk - possibly kids/adolescents, definitely programmers etc.. Peace to you too man! Harold meh
MattC Posted February 2, 2003 Posted February 2, 2003 I don't know about killing you, but I do know that hours of sitting at my computer increases the possibility my killing it. ...I'm looking forward to having my new, suped-up recording PC build pretty soon... ...think funky thoughts...
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