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written by ErgoRisk

Static Posture- Can Staying Still Hurt Me?

• If 100 or 1000 repetitions is too many, is one working posture too few? YES!
• Even standing for a long time in optimal posture like a ‘BeefEater’ can cause discomfort and pain.
• The muscles that help us with posture are the hardest workers in the body. They turn on and off as we move from position to position. But, if we stay in one position for too long, they can get tired and sore.
• Other parts of our back can also become weaker when we stay one position for long periods.
• If you find that yourself working in one posture for long periods of time, get creative to find ways to change your posture, even for a short period. Standing versus sitting, using something to sit on versus kneeling, widening your stance or finding something to lean on temporarily can give you a leg up on this ergonomic enemy.

This article was
written by ErgoRisk

Awkward Posture

• Why is it that we can lift 100 pounds in one position but only 10 pounds in another?
• The key is that when our body is poorly positioned, muscles controlling our joints are not at their strongest length.
• Short or long muscles are weaker and have to work much harder than when using our muscles in good posture.
• Working harder (more force) means that your muscles are closer to their maximum and more likely to get strained.
• Try holding your hands over your head like the guy in the picture for two minutes. Your upper back muscles (in a shortened position) will quickly remind you to always look for ways to bring work into our comfort zone (between knees and chest).
• If your job requires that you work in awkward postures, look for ways to raise or lower your work in order to make it easier.
• If you can’t, find ways to take short, frequent breaks.

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written by ErgoRisk

High Force - It does not have to be heavy to hurt you

• Force is involved every time someone develops an MSI. After all, if nobody moved, nobody would get hurt! BUT – high force doesn’t have to be 100 pounds, it just needs to be more than your working tissues can take in any one position
• Face it, you’re not surprised when someone gets injured lifting something 100 pounds. But sometimes we act surprised when someone injures their shoulder lifting or twisting something overhead (even something 10 lbs).
• Should we be surprised?
• The key is that in both cases, it is simply that the force (10 or 100 lbs) exceeded the person’s strength in that position.
• The good news is that if you take a second to ‘fit’ your work to use your stronger muscles, your risk of injury will be much lower.

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written by ErgoRisk

Stronger than Muscle - Working Smart

Have you ever heard of the saying: “Engage your brain before putting mouth in gear”?

Putting your brain in gear before starting your work can save you a lot of pain and strain. Ask:

• Do you know what you are supposed to do?
• Do you have all of the tools where you need them?
• Are there any obstructions that you can clear to make the job easier?
• Put your ‘Ergo’ hat on and think – there must be a simpler way!

Simple solutions like raising your work off the floor, taking a few extra minutes to find a cart, a dolly, or a forklift can save you a few minutes or a sore back for weeks.

As always, our muscles only get stronger when they are used. Shift your gears and try a couple of ‘brain’ repetitions today!

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written by ErgoRisk

Monitor Positioning and Your Eyes

Q: What exactly is the ideal monitor height?

A: Monitors should be set so that the top of the screen is roughly at eye level when you are sitting up straight.

Why? – Relaxed posture for the human eye is 15˚ below the horizon and we all slouch now and then, so before you know it your relaxed eye is focused in the middle to upper 1/3 of the screen….and that’s where most of our work is.

How? – Raid your photocopy room and prop your monitor up on packages of paper if it’s too low, or pull out those phone books from underneath if it’s too high.

Q: How far away should your monitor be positioned from your eyes?

A: It depends on your vision, if you catch yourself leaning forward or squinting to view the screen it’s too far away and you need to pull it closer!

Why? – Your head weighs as much as a bowling ball! When you lean it forward to squint at a monitor your upper back and shoulder muscles pay the price!

How? – Pull your monitor closer! … with the advent of flat screens everyone seems to push their monitor farther away to regain desk space, but that has spawned a generation of ‘leaners’ with sore necks and upper backs! If you can’t part with the debris on the front of your desk to bring your monitor closer to you, then try keeping your chair tucked in close to the front of the desk so you bring yourself closer to the monitor.

Q: Won’t a close monitor bother my eyes or project ‘radiation’?

A: Those worries about monitor radiation from CRTs were resolved years ago, and flat screen technology is totally different and much easier on the eyes. If you find the monitor is too bright or it bothers your eyes to have it close try adjusting the brightness and contrast. (But don’t get too close – minimum recommended distance is 16”).

How? – Those little buttons on the bottom front of your monitor case adjust the screen brightness and contrast. It might take a bit of trial and error, but once your monitor is set for your vision your eyes will thank you!

Q: What if I wear bifocals or progressive lenses?

A: Bifocal wearers typically look out of the bottom of the lens to view the monitor so to avoid tipping your head up to view the screen, set the top of the monitor 3” -4” below eye level.

How? – Lower your monitor as much as possible. If you’re still too high try the following tips: Sneak your chair up a bit to get your eye level above the top of the monitor OR position the work on your screen a few inches lower. You’ll lose a bit of screen area but your neck and shoulders will thank you!

TIPS:

Your monitor should be lined up directly in front of you so that you don’t have to twist your neck to view it.
You should take regular 20-20-20 vision breaks to rest your eyes if you spend long hours in front of the computer – every 20 minutes take a 20 second break and refocus your eyes on something at least 20 ft away. (It works just as well to close your eyes for 20 seconds, but then folks might think you’re sleeping on the job!)

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written by ErgoRisk

Phone Use and Taking Care of Your Neck

Have you noticed that as the office evolves, our desks fill up with more and more tools aimed at helping us work faster and faster?

Too bad we only have two hands…

Cradling the phone handset between the ear and shoulder while writing or typing on your computer is a quick way to cause strain on your neck.

If you frequently use or someone in your office frequently uses the phone this way, consider alternatives. Using a speaker phone, a hands free headset or your hand all reduce the stress on your neck and upper back. At a minimum, push away from your computer and use one hand to hold the handset and one hand to write on paper.!

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written by ErgoRisk

Office Posture Do's and Don'ts

Awkward posture slowly creeps up on us.

If you go on a mission searching for awkward postures like leaning on your elbows, you are probably going to be disappointed if you go first thing in the morning.

BUT, if you take a look around your workgroup around the mid-afternoon ‘crash’, you will probably find your co-workers melting into their desk.

Our bodies aren’t meant to stay in one position all day. So, once our stabilizing muscles get fatigued, we start to ‘melt’.

Call it what you want, but melting, slouching, head forward posture and leaning our elbow on the desk are all related to the fact that we are spending too much time in one place (our desks!).

Encourage your co-workers to take microbreaks and stretch breaks. Or at least, get away from the computer at lunch. (And if you don’t take lunch, you may want reconsider after you check your posture by mid-afternoon!)

Be on the look-out for these simple to solve habits and risk factors.

And remember the definition of insanity, “… doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Ben Franklin’

When are you going to change your habits?

This article was
written by ErgoRisk

Be Pro-active with Your Pain.

We love Ben Franklin’s definition of insanity, “… doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Many of us ignore the gradual aches and pain, expecting them to magically disappear. You need to change what you are doing if you want to improve that ache, pain, tingling, numbness or reduced range of motion.
If you hear someone in your workgroup or workplace talking about their pain, try and help point them in the right direction.

There are lots of ways to get help:

Tell them to talk to their supervisor or site safety representatives.
Encourage them to have their work habits and workstation layout assessed.
Encourage them to talk to a practitioner familiar with musculoskeletal disorder development (physio, athletic or massage therapists, sports medicine doctors – Chiropractor or GP).
What’s MOST IMPORTANT is that your co-worker put their hand up and do something. Discomfort and pain can lead to more serious and long term conditions.