CG Artist common injuries and how to fix them.

3 Common health problems for digital artists and how to fix them:

I'm not a physiotherapist but I've studied a lot about the topics I'm gonna share with you today. This are the things that work for me but don't hesitate to look for medical help if you need it. When it comes to this topic, I'm pretty invested, I research a lot and I even buy things to help with my ergonomics.

I'm going to address the 3 biggest health problems we face as cgi artists which are:

• Back problems
• Eye strain and dryness
• Elbow and wrist pain (tennis and golfer pain, tendonitis, carpel tunnel syndrome). 

A lot of us experience back pain because we're sitting for hours in front of a computer. 

A very important advise is to check that your back is fully supported by your chair. This is very important. Lumbar support is basic. Your hips need to be touching the back of the chair. Also, obviously sit straight. Make sure your feet are touch the ground. Use a stool or box to rest your feet. Another game changer is to Invest in a standing desk. It's good for changing postures. Your body will thank you. Take short breaks every hour so you stretch your back and walk around.

2 eye problems

Reduce eye strain:
Your lens inside your eye needs to focus at a closer distance when you're looking at a screen. There is a muscle inside our eye that controls that, so it's constantly flexing. Ophthalmologists came up with a metric for screen users: after 20 minutes of staring at a screen, make sure to take a 20 second brake where you blink a lot and focus at a very distant object. There are some cool sites that help you with this,they set a timer every 20 minutes And give you a small pop up that says look away.

Make sure your monitor is at least 3 feet away from your face, that diminishes the amount of effort your eyes put in in order to focus. I bought glasses that reflect blue light. They have a yellow tint and they do help a lot. Sometimes my eyes would get irritated and super red. I would wake up at night with very dry eyes. But my best investment are this eye drops called HumyLub. They have Chondroitin Polysulfate. Mostly before I sleep, Right when I wake up. I have them on my nightstand.

3 wrist and elbow pain 

Everyone can have this issue. Women artists suffer a lot from this. My best advise and what really cured me is that I : learn to use a tablet and a mouse and switch between both thought the day. That solved a lot of my problems. Also my elbows sometimes Elbow braces, they put a lot of pressure in your joints which reduces the pain and helps with support. 

I also have this thing that's called a mechanical elbow rester or a rotating computer arm rest. It helps by relieving the pressure and tension on wrists and forearms and making keyboard typing more relaxed. It's also a good measure to stay healthy.

"Physical health and fitness are the first requisits for happiness.” – 
Joseph Pilates

And keep making art you beautiful artist!