Hi, this is Ble from J-CLINIC in Bangkok.

Do you ever work on a computer all day at the office, only to watch YouTube late at night at home with blurred eyes, stiff neck and shoulders, and headaches?

The group of physical and mental health problems caused by prolonged use of visual display terminals—i.e., smartphones, tablets, computers, and TVs—is called “visual display terminal (VDT) syndrome.”

In the past, people suffered from shoulder and neck pain caused by so-called office syndrome. But changes in modern lifestyle means that now more people are experiencing body and eye problems from visual display terminal syndrome.

Symptoms of VDT syndrome
Common symptoms of VDT syndrome include the following:

✓ Eyestrain
Hyperemia (red eye) and pain, eyestrain, eyelid cramps, decreased vision, dry eyes, etc.

✓ Body pain
Stiff neck and shoulders, fatigue. When these symptoms become chronic, they can lead to more serious conditions such as numbness in the fingers and the whole body.

In particular, if you use your smartphone for a long time with improper postures—such as lying on your belly—the muscles around the neck become strained. This can trigger neck/shoulder pain, which can then cause a headache.

✓ Emotional effects
Tiredness, irritation, depressive symptoms, insomnia, lethargy, etc.

Here’s how J-CLINIC can treat VDT syndrome.

✓ Physical therapy
Massage and high-voltage electric therapy will remove neck stiffness and pain.

If you feel pain at the back or side of your head or at the back of your eyes, it may be because the shoulder blade or back is stiff. If that is the case, we’ll also show you exercises and stretches to prevent your body from becoming stiff.

✓ Facial acupuncture
If your eyes are tired, we recommend our facial acupuncture course.

An extra-thin acupuncture needle is placed into the muscles around the eyes to relax tension and promote recovery from fatigue. Waste materials are then flushed out with Gua sha massage.

▼ Watch our facial acupuncture course

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It’s said that VDT syndrome is caused when you use visual display terminals while staying in the same posture and condition. We therefore recommend that for every hour of work at a visual display terminal, you take a break or stretch for 10 minutes.

Even when you know that using a smartphone, tablet or computer for a long time is not good, in reality, it can be hard to avoid it. So let’s minimize the harm while keeping our bodies and eyes in good repair.

＜Read more our blogs＞
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・Treating VDT syndrome with physical therapy and acupuncture