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Can all those hours on a computer at school and at home be injuring middle school and high school students? Many say, "yes."
Growing Tech TimeKids are spending more and more time on computers at school at a younger and younger age. They come home and play games on the home computer and Nintendo and Xbox. Professionals in the field of physical therapy are beginning to have growing concerns. Adult ProblemsAdults develop carpal tunnel injuries when on keyboards for long lengths of time. Laptops are becoming a growing concern because of the small keyboards and lack of computer tables at the right height. The business industry is no stranger to computer stress injuries. Schools may be the next location for these injuries. Australia StudyA 2000 study was released in Australia on students and laptops. The students were ages 10 to 17. Results? 60% of the students complained of back and neck pains. Kids Are More At RiskKen Harwood, director of the practice department at the American Physical Therapy Association, says, "The exposure to ergonomic risk hazards for children is expected to be higher than it would be for adults because of the sheer amount of time that they're on computers at home and at school," Physical therapists are expecting a rash of injuries in the coming years from repetitive stress on keyboards. Prolonged exposure is the key factor. Students need physical breaks and some schools are building in appropriate breaks but some schools are cutting back on recess. With virtual high school classes becoming more and more popular, will students be at higher risk earning degrees on-line? Obesity is another issue at schools that could be related to more sitting down activities and less movement. Some schools are taking a proactive approach on this and getting kids up and moving more. More Information NeededAt this time, the statistics are not present to make a decision on whether children will develop back injuries, arthritis or carpal tunnel at younger ages. But, caution should be used when increasing time on computers, especially non-ergonomic keyboards and higher positioned tabletops. Read Greg Cruey's comprehensive article on Internet in Rural Communities. Read previous articles on Educational Issues. Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
The copyright of the article Student Computer Injuries in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Student Computer Injuries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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