Breaking workplace pain is where it's AT

By VICKI JAYNE

When reaching for the computer mouse, think "cat." We're not talking meals here, but movement.

How people confront their keyboard, the way they sit or move, whether heads are poised lightly atop the spine or scrunched down, has a whole heap to do with whether they end up suffering from the physical symptoms of stress.

So, it's better to be thinking about the fluid suppleness of cat movements than the rigidity of robots when sitting in front of your computer, suggest proponents of the Alexander Technique (AT).

It has to do with becoming more conscious of how you move and hold your body, says Margaret Williams. An AT teacher, she spends much of her time getting people to unlearn bad postural habits.

That includes the simple acts of standing or sitting which are re-taught with gentle pressure to forehead and back of neck.

"Don't think about getting up," she instructs. "Just put your feet on the ground, lean forward from the hip, forehead leads and body follows, thighs take the weight, it's not your back doing the work."

This kind of gentle one-on-one training is now a standard part of the induction process at software development company Dialogic. A subsidiary of the worldwide Intel group, it takes an active approach to preventing the sorts of problems from which heavy computer users can suffer.

"OOS (occupational overuse syndrome) is very bad news if your career is in software development," notes Liz Hall, human resources manager for Dialogic in Australasia.

That, and the competitive nature of the industry, means employee health is given high priority. All employees have an annual "wellness allowance" to spend on enhancing health and fitness.

Choices range from gym membership to yoga, and for some it all goes on the sessions they have with Mrs Williams. She has been working with the company for over four years at the instigation of its manager, Peter Robson. After attending the training himself, he decided his staff could all potentially benefit.

"I was invited to meet staff here and most were pretty keen," says Mrs Williams.

At that stage there were just 25 employees. There are now 75 and she spends at least one day a week on site taking individual training sessions and surveying general ergonomic practice.

"I walk around, checking how people are sitting at their workstations - things like chair height, how their feet are placed, where keyboard and mouse are positioned. They call me the posture police," says Mrs Williams.

Problems tend to show up in neck, shoulders, arms and wrists. What begins as tension, tingling in the arms, or pain in hands, arms or shoulders can degenerate into a serious affliction that prevents keyboard use altogether.

While Alexander Technique helps to treat symptoms, its primary aim is to deal with the cause of the problem - habitual and harmful movement styles.

People often slouch over their computers or sit with head tilted back and scrunched down. Hands are likely to be tense and contracted, says Mrs Williams. What AT teachers aim for is a sense of lengthening and loosening in the spine and arms.

"Even when taking a break, people tend to hold onto that tension. They still have computer arms when they go out to lunch. I teach them ways to counteract that.

Tension starts from thought and thought can help its release."

Each new Dialogic employee is taken through six-weekly training sessions. The lessons are one-on-one because individuals tend to misuse their bodies in their own unique way. Reconditioning consists of verbal guidance linked with simple movements and gentle, repetitive touch. Because bad habits have built up over time, they can only be unlearned over time and with consistent application.

While the emphasis is on self-care, co-workers are very supportive, says Mrs Williams. "They've become pretty aware of what is poor posture and tend to pull each other up on it."

After the induction sessions, staff can choose to make additional appointments with Mrs Williams, who also provides massage and acupressure for tension relief. At least twice a year there's a refresher course for everyone.

The technique takes its name from Australian actor Frederick Alexander (1869-1955). Motivated to explore why performance tension was affecting his voice, he discovered that it was related to his habit of tensing neck muscles. Deliberately relaxing these eased the problem - an approach he then extended to other physical ailments.

In the Western world, he was an early proponent of the essential unity of body and mind. The first Alexander School he founded, in London in 1931, reflected this holistic philosophy. Today, AT is taught worldwide.

Its application to helping reduce repetitive stress injuries in the workplace is something on which Mrs Williams has a personal take. She once worked long hours at a word processor. That and her own poor posture took its toll.

She read about the Alexander Technique, went to a few lessons and found herself attending the newly established training school. Graduating in 1991, she is now one of a relatively small band of fulltime practitioners here.

How their technique can benefit business is the subject of public open-day sessions at the AUT School of Community Health & Sports Studies in Auckland this weekend.

* vjayne@iconz.co.nz