How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer

Using poor posture on a computer keyboard and mouse caused lack of blood flow and muscle tension in both of my shoulders. I’d hold these vulnerable positions for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That went on for about 12 years before I finally took accountability for my poor computer posture.

How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer

In 2011, I started studying good computer posture and workstation ergonomics. I was interested in anything wellness related that had a positive effect on my computer posture. In this article, I’m going to talk about a few good posture tips that’ve helped me reduce shoulder tension and pain from typing and using a mouse.

Quick side note, I’m working at my standing computer workstation today. But all the computer shoulder pain relief tips in this article are general shoulder ergonomics for computer work in any position. They all apply, regardless if we’re working in a standing or sitting posture.

This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. My poor posture at a computer caused stubborn shoulder pain from mouse and keyboard use. I write about ergonomic tips that are directly related to improving your posture at a computer. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.

Learn the 3 different types of shoulder rotation

Internal shoulder rotation

Before we can learn how to sit at a computer without shoulder pain, we need to realize what we’re doing wrong. Internal shoulder rotation is when the top portion of the upper arm (just below the shoulder joint) turns internally towards the front of the body. A strong internal shoulder rotation can be a good thing if we’re throwing a baseball or pushing a door open. However, holding a keyboard and mouse for long periods of time can be a very bad thing, causing too much internal shoulder rotation.

Working at a computer caused destructive overuse in multiple muscles and tendons in my shoulder joints. This pain and tension can lead to worse injuries. For example, I partially tore a rotator cuff years ago hitting a volleyball. But, it didn’t tear because I hit the volleyball too hard. I had hit a thousand volleyballs up until that point. My rotator cuff tore because of my excessive internal shoulder rotation that kept getting progressively worse. My shoulder tension increased greatly from holding a computer keyboard and mouse, 8 hours a day, for years.

How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer by Sitting Posture: in image is the anterior (front) view of a shoulder joint — Here is an anterior (front) view of a shoulder joint. Look at the multiple muscles and tendons that intersect at the joint. A lot of these are very small. In my experience, smaller muscles get overused much more easily than a larger muscle, like a quadricep for example. Photo by Corbacserdar via Megapixl.

External shoulder rotation

I tried many things to reduce my chronic internal shoulder rotation. The best method I found (to reduce shoulder pain from mouse and keyboard use) was to strengthen my external shoulder rotation. Just like it sounds, external shoulder rotation is the opposite of internal shoulder rotation. It’s when the top portion of the upper arm (right below the shoulder joint) turns toward the back of the body.

Overhead squats

My favorite way to strengthen my external shoulder rotation was to do overhead squats. At first, could barely maintain the empty (45 pound) bar overhead while I would do just 1 squat. I continued working on it. Eventually after a few months, I was able to overhead squat 135 pounds. This proved to reduce my shoulder tension from typing significantly.

Light intensity, long duration stretches

But overhead squats isn’t the only method I used to prevent shoulder pain from computer use. In my mind, there is a fine balance required between strengthening a muscle and stretching a muscle. Both are equally important. In this case, I didn’t bother with short duration stretches. It just didn’t seem like they were helping. After all, what is a 30 second shoulder stretch going to do for me after I used a keyboard and mouse for 8 hours that day? Not much.

Instead, I’d focus on light intensity, long duration stretches. Light intensity, meaning no weight involved. Long duration, meaning the stretch lasted for multiple minutes. I like to shoot for around 5 minutes per stretch. My favorite stretch to decrease internal shoulder rotation is actually kind of simple. And also very relaxing. I simply lay flat on the floor with my arms close by my sides. I bend my elbows while I slide my hands on the floor upward toward my head. Also, I stop when my elbow is at a 90 degree angle. I simply hold this position for 5 minutes at a time, while really focusing on breathing deeply.

I like to get in this position when I’m practicing my breath work. It’s basically getting 2 good computer posture habits done at the same time. Plus, both give me better results when I combine them. This is my favorite stretch to reduce shoulder tension from typing and using a mouse.

Neutral shoulder position

A neutral shoulder position is the best shoulder position for computer work. This can be described as a comfortable position that’s right in the middle of internal and external shoulder rotation.

Once we know what internal shoulder rotation is, we need to avoid holding a keyboard and mouse in that position, especially for long periods of time. But, what is a neutral shoulder position that can prevent shoulder pain from computer use? And how can we get into that good posture position?

It’s important that I don’t overextend my arms

I try to keep my keyboard somewhat close to my upper torso. At the same time, I want to keep my elbows next to my rib cage. Maybe slightly ahead of it. But not too far. If I overextend my elbows too much, my internal shoulder rotation is likely to intensify. This used to cause shoulder pain from mouse and keyboard use.

Desk setup to prevent shoulder issues

I like to think of keyboard and mouse distance like holding a steering wheel while driving. Overextending my arms while driving can also create too much internal shoulder rotation.

There’s one more upper body ergonomics tip for office workers that I make sure to always follow. It has to do with elbow height. My elbow is always slightly higher than my keyboard and mouse. I will either raise my chair, or lower my desk, to get my elbow height above desk level.

So, I never, ever hold my elbow below desk level (anymore). I used to commit this bad posture mistake. In order to lift my hands onto my keyboard and mouse, I had to contract my biceps for 8 hours a day. This caused excessive overuse in my biceps. The bicep muscles are connected to tendons that are attached to bone in the shoulder joints. These tight bicep muscles were actually a leading cause of my shoulder pain. The tendons got inflamed, but the cause was my tight, overused biceps.

I used to sit in this poor posture for years. My low elbow height was caused by one simple computer posture mistake. My chair was too low. I fixed it by simply raising my chair, which raised my elbow level slightly above my keyboard and mouse.

contracted bicep muscles — Notice how the photo on the left has a contracted bicep muscle. This is essentially the position we are working in when our elbow level is below desk level. That is a poor computer posture mistake I made for years. Notice how the bicep in the photo on the right is slightly extended and more relaxed. This is essentially the position we are working in when our elbow level is just above the desk level. Switching to this good computer posture position helped me avoid shoulder strain working at a desk. Photo by Stihii via Megapixl.

3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately! ebook by Todd Bowen

Summary: Computer Shoulder Pain Relief Tips

Learn the 3 types of shoulder rotation.
Avoid holding internal shoulder rotation for long periods of time.
Do light intensity, long duration stretching exercises to counter balance internal shoulder rotation.
Do strengthening exercises in the external shoulder rotation position. Overhead squats worked the best for me.
Keep a neutral shoulder rotation as much as possible when working at a computer for long periods of time.
Don’t overextend my arms when working in that neutral position.
My elbow is always slightly higher than my keyboard and mouse.
I never let my elbow fall below desk level.

Thanks for your interest in good computer posture. If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce pain and improve your computer posture. That’s something to be very proud of!

If you liked this article on how to avoid shoulder pain at a computer, check out my free ebook titled 3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately!

>>> Click here to download your copy

3 Ways to Improve Computer Posture Immediately! by Todd Bowen

This ebook is a great supplement to the article you just read. In this ebook, you’ll learn 3 of the most painful, poor computer posture mistakes. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those mistakes immediately with 3 simple changes to your ergonomic computer desk setup.

Go to SittingPosture.com/ebook to learn more.

Take care,

Todd Bowen