History has shown that good health and artists do not mix well. Aside from famously unstable personalities, the search for a masterpiece seems to wreak havoc on the physical being as well. For example, Michelangelo dealt with crippling back pain (think of the years spent bent over backwards painting the Sistine Chapel ceilings) and Renoir worked through severe arthritis for most of his later life.

Unfortunately not much has changed over the years...though modern day creatives tend to wear the pain like a badge of honour, the ill-health effects can take you by surprise. Every graphic designer I know seems to suffer from some sort of job related affliction, myself included.

Years ago, within my first year of work, I was wearing two braces on my arm for tennis elbow, golf elbow and carpal tunnel. I don't think the arm will ever fully heal, but I manage by mousing with both hands. Currently I also have shoulder and neck pain I'm working through. That problem is sort of outweighed by the fact that I haven't been able to sit down pain free in about six years now. The pain kind of crept up on me from not taking proper breaks and bad posture or something and I've been fighting it ever since. Chiropractors, spinal decompression therapy, shockwave therapy, acupuncture, standing, ART massage, inversion table, special chairs, expensive cushions, every muscle cream on the market, icing/heating, highly active stretching and fitness routine, resting....nobody knows what the deal is or how to fix it. The irony is that I'm sure I'd heal up fine eventually but only if I were to stop what I do all day.

The process has given me a new appreciation for the value of what is really behind a work of art of any type, and the effort that goes into it. I just wish that at some point artists, whatever their field, would receive the necessary knowledge going into their careers, to ensure that they can continue to work at the top of their game for many years. If employees at Home Depot can be instructed to wear back braces for heavy lifting, I'm pretty sure some guidance for artists wouldn't be impossible.