Zhang Qian reports on how Traditional Chinese Medicine fights the condition.

It's said that the morning scene at a Metro station is the best image of Shanghai as a busy modern city. The long-term stress of a busy work life can break the balance in a human body easily and result in various fatigue illnesses.

Eye strain and neck ache are common illnesses among office workers as their jobs require long-term concentration on the computer screens while sitting still at the desks.

"Keeping one posture for long periods, especially one that is against the natural position of the body will block the circulation of energy within the body," says Dr Zhang Zhongyi, deputy director of the Acupuncture Department of the Yueyang Western and TCM Hospital. "Wherever the energy is blocked, it will ache."

Dr Zhang explains that when people are typing on a computer, their necks are bent forward which is against the natural status of the human body. When energy is blocked at the neck, it will not only cause ache here but also preventing blood and energy flowing to the brain and eyes, and cause eye strain and dizziness.

He strongly recommends that office workers take a break and do some stretching exercises every hour. Cupping treatment at home can relieve light aching problems in the neck, shoulders, back or waist. But if the condition is already serious, such as being unable to even move part of the body, you should go to a doctor or masseuse for a professional massage or acupuncture therapy.

But Dr Zhang warns that don't let any unprofessional masseuse adjust your neck or back by force, lest the result be tragedy and paralysis.

And as for eye problems, Dr Zhang suggest having some foods or herbs such as gou qi (Barbary Wolfberry Fruit) that benefit the liver. TCM believes there is a strong connection between liver and eyes. Some DIY acupressure can also relieve the symptom.

Prevention is always better than treatment, as some fatigue illnesses are not easy to cure, such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a serious illness resulting in long-term fatigue.

"The incidence rate of CFS is increasing rapidly in cities, especially among white collars with the highest rate of 50 percent," says Dr Zhang Zhenxian, director of the Special Medical Care Department of Yueyang Western and TCM Hospital. "Serious symptoms like decreasing memory and depression may even rob the patients of their capabilities at work."

CFS usually first appears as a simple fatigue problem such as feeling dizzy and aches in the joints; yet if the patient continues work without enough rest, worse symptoms will follow up, such as decreasing memory, narcolepsy, feeling dispirited, and a long-term low fever.