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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

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

Building Blocks of Your Back

Our backs are quite simply amazing!! Consider the feats of physical excellence that humans can achieve, most of which are impossible without a healthy back.

Since close to 80% of us will suffer back pain in our lives, learning how to work safely and prevent back injury is essential to our health, wellness and livelihoods.

Our spines are made up of a few important building blocks.

Our spine is created out of bones called vertebrae which help support our body weight and are designed specifically to protect our nerves and spinal cord. Since the bones at the bottom support more weight, they are bigger.

Discs are positioned in between each vertebrae and act as flexible shock absorbers and spacers which allow room between the bones for the nerves to exit the spinal cord.

Ligaments hold the bones together and protect us when we try to move too far.

A complicated network of muscles both stabilizes the back as well as allowing us to move into a myriad of different positions.

Back injury and pain commonly occur when one of these 4 systems is continually overstressed. Whether it’s a disc, a ligament or a muscle, the problem can usually be tracked back to the way we use or misuse our body on a daily basis.

On a scale of 1-10, is your spine built on a rock solid foundation or is it soon to be a leaning tower?

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written by ErgoRisk

Neutral and Balanced Posture

One of the most important cornerstones of back care is ‘neutral’ posture. Neutral posture is when the spine has an inward curve in the low back (lumbar curve), a slight outward curve in the mid back (thoracic curve) and an inward curve in the vertebrae of the neck (cervical curve).

This S-shape is the natural curve of the spine and is the position in which the back is the strongest (16X stronger than when slouched in a C-shape) and the one where we are least likely to injure ourselves.

Look for this ‘power position’ in the way athletes use their backs. Watch elite golfers generate power from their S-curve while you hack away with a hunched over ‘C’ shaped back. ‘S’ for Strong and ‘S’ for safe!
Whether you are at work or play, the aim should be to keep the spine stable and in ‘neutral’.

Remember when we talk about spine shape: S – STRONG! C – Crumbling!

Don’t just take it from us. Join a yoga, Pilates, or ski clinic and your instructors will reinforce that this is the posture where we are the strongest, most efficient and most stable.

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written by ErgoRisk

Set Your Chair, Support Your Spine

In the office, our aim should be the same as if we were pounding down a mogul run. That is, our spine should be neutral, balanced and stable.

In the office, our chairs and how we use them have a major impact on whether we are able to achieve this.
For instance, did you know that sitting bolt upright is NOT the best position for your back? Ideally you should have your chair back slightly reclined (we’re not talking La-Z-Boy). If you sit slightly back from vertical then gravity will keep you pressed back into firm contact with your chair backrest. If you sit bolt upright, the minute you shift your weight slightly forward to reach for your keyboard or mouse, gravity tries to push you over into a hunched posture…..and usually gravity comes out the winner!

Use the following tips to make sure your chair is a good fit:

• Are your hips shifted to the back of the seat?
• Are your feet comfortably flat on the floor?
• Is there 2”-4” of space between the back of your knees and the back of your leg?
• Do you have good contact between your back and the chair backrest?
• Is the inward curve in your low back supported by your chair?
• As the pictures show on the right, you can support your back safely in many seated positions. The key is to set up your work area and chair so that you can reach everything while sitting in a well supported posture. It doesn’t matter how well your chair fits, if you lean forward out of it to squint at your monitor that is too far away, then all bets are off!

Try to eliminate the factors that pull you into a slouched posture, and then stand and stretch regularly – your back will thank you!

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written by ErgoRisk

Head Position Matters

How is your ‘paperless’ office working for you?

If you’re like most office dwellers, it may seem that the volume of paper has actually increased. If you frequently transcribe, edit or refer to documents while working on your computer, it’s important to be aware of your head and neck posture.

Did you know the human head weighs approximately 5 kg (11 lbs)?

It’s funny. We wouldn’t go to a gym and hold a 10 pound weight out in front of us for 4 hours a day so why do we do it at work and act surprised when our neck gets sore? Working with the neck twisted and the head leaning forward (such as when referencing documents lying flat on the desk) can result in soreness in the muscles that support the weight of the head. Ideal solutions put your documents inline with your monitor and tilted toward you. (i.e. book holder, inline document holder). Doing this helps us to sit in our chair without needing to lean forward or working with our neck bent.

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written by ErgoRisk

Right Wrists!

Wrist Revelations

If you have a keyboard tray and you know how to type without looking at the keyboard, see if your keyboard tray can tilt forward. Tilting your tray forward 5-10 degrees will help to put your wrist in ‘neutral’ (from a side profile).

If you ‘anchor’ your wrist to your desk while typing, flatten the legs on the back of your keyboard to improve your wrist posture. This helps you to avoid typing with the wrists bent backward.

Make sure that you have the right equipment and accessories. If you can’t stop yourself from resting your wrists on your desk, use a wrist rest.

REMEMBER: Wrist rests are to be used when RESTING, not all of the time!

LOOK for wrist rests that are comfortable (e.g. gel) and not too high. Consider ‘ergonomic input devices’ (keyboard, mice) that promote a neutral/straight wrist angle. Ergonomic keyboards help by eliminating bending the wrist to the side while typing. Vertical mice help put your wrist in neutral (handshake) posture and eliminate anchoring. Doublecheck that your elbow height and keyboard height are approximately equal – helping to minimize awkward wrist postures. Adjust your mouse settings so that you can cover the majority of your screen without re-positioning your mouse.

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written by ErgoRisk

Keyboard and workspace set up tips

The golden rule for any workstation is to ‘Fit your workstation to you’. First get yourself comfortable in your chair, (hips and back supported, elbows at 90 degrees at your side), and then bring the work to you.

• your computer, documents and other office tools should slide forward and be positioned to fit you so that you can work in this comfortable position
• bring your keyboard toward you to touch your fingertips
• bring your monitor close enough and high enough that you don’t need to move your head or neck to view your work

Laptops

If you are working off of a laptop at home, the number one item on your wish list should be an external keyboard and mouse. If you don’t have these, your body is in a catch-22. Either your head must look down at the screen or your shoulders hunch up to reach the keyboard.

An external keyboard and mouse will allow you to raise your monitor and keep your input devices close.

• For shorter individuals, keyboard trays are an essential piece to the puzzle. Simple, sliding keyboard trays can position your keyboard and mouse 3” lower, allowing a significantly more relaxed posture than working with the keyboard on the desk.
• For taller people, finding ways to lift/raise your desk or monitor can be the simple fix to help you find a perfect fit.

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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?

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written by ErgoRisk

Strong Foundation

Of course, one of the biggest factors that can lead to back pain is simply the amount of time that we spend sitting EVERY day.

We sit for in our car during our commute, sit at work, sit on the couch and at our home workstation. Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit. Obviously our body wasn’t designed to sit for days, months and years on end.

So, what can you do? The key to protecting the back is understanding that we need to find a better balance for our back and the stresses that we put on it.

Exercises are a great way to build back strength, flexibility and endurance. For example, yoga and Pilates promote strengthening muscles that support spine in a neutral posture.

Core stability exercises (e.g. theraballs, Bosu ball, floor exercises) are also great ways to strengthen the muscles that support our spine.

Hip mobility exercises (e.g. floor exercises, Yoga, Pilates) – specific stretches and exercises for hips and thigh muscles which can cause muscle imbalances and impact the function and posture of the low back
Microbreaks and stretch breaks – If you spend 8 hours on the computer, shouldn’t you at least give your back a break for a few seconds? Try to get up from your workstation as frequently as possible. Doing a back bend is a great way to “rebalance” your back if you have been working for a long time. Installing microbreak software like WorkRave is a great way to develop good habits.

Stand rather than sit – Try to incorporate brief standing task and breaks into your work day. Walk to the photocopier, stand to answer the phone, or just stretch back in your chair periodically for a change of position.

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written by ErgoRisk

Office Ergonomic Stretching

As we all know, awkward and static postures, long work days (repetition) and the fact that our muscles are working at low but constant levels can lead to discomfort.

If you’re like most people working at the computer, you will probably have felt the burn in the shoulders or the ache in the forearm or wrist at some point in your working career.

Generally, all of the physical (and other) stress in our life can add up to a point where pain and discomfort creep in.

When we look at the build up of stress on the body from using input devices, it’s little wonder that discomfort or injury could be the result. There are a few simple stretches that can go a long way to giving your tired muscles time to recover and to help release the tension.

As always, stretching and exercises should NOT be painful. The pictures on the right are simple stretches meant to encourage bloodflow, tissue flexibility, decrease tension, and primarily – just to get you to stop chasing the mouse around for a few seconds!!!

Finally, remembering that we need to find a sustainable work/rest balance for our muscles is very important.

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written by ErgoRisk

Right Tools for the Job

Make sure that you have the right tools to do your job safely, and make sure your tools are adjusted correctly. Without the right tools (chair, desk, input devices), it can be very difficult to put yourself in a position to work without adding unnecessary stress to the body. Based on what you know, take a second and score yourself using the scale at the bottom of the page. Take a look around. What is stopping you from working in a ‘neutral’ or relaxed working posture?

• Is it your laptop pulling you in until your nose touches the 9 point font?
• Is it your monitor positioned too far away? Too high? Too low? To the side?
• Is it your mouse trying to escape across the desk because it doesn’t fit on your keyboard tray?
• Is it your chair? Or is it the fact that you haven’t changed a setting on the chair since you moved in?
• Is it your documents sitting on your desk pulling you so that you sit like a pretzel for part of your day?

Some solutions are simple (e.g. monitor height, position) and others are more difficult (e.g. desks, keyboard trays). 

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written by ErgoRisk

Organizing Your Desk for Ergonomics... and Efficiency

Your desk layout, work tasks and work flow impact the postures that you use during the day. Rather than adapting your body to a poorly set-up workstation, set up your work to fit your body and work habits.

Take a few moments to look at how your desk is organized:

Have your keyboard and mouse mysteriously taken a trip across your desk?
Is your phone in another area code?
Test your reach zones while sitting comfortably in your chair:

Zone 1

Keep your elbows at your side, and sweep your forearms and hands side to side. You should be able to touch anything that youOr

frequently

use (typically keyboard, mouse). If you can’t, bring them closer.

Zone 2

Straighten your elbows and reach forward with your arms. Without leaning forward with your body, sweep your arms side to side and in front of you. Anything that you use

occasionally

(i.e. calculator, phone) should be within reach. Remember to reposition your equipment if your tasks change significantly during your workday.

Zone 3

Get up and out of your chair to access anything outside Zone 2.

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written by ErgoRisk

The Phone Doesn’t Have to be Your Enemy

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 between your ear and shoulder while writing or keying is an quick way to cause strain on your neck.If you frequently use your phone this way, consider using your speaker phone, a headset or at minimum, push away from your computer and use one hand to write and one hand to hold the phone.Don’t get caught in the ‘phone trap’!

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written by ErgoRisk

Office Desk Set Up

Do your shoulders ache at the end of the day? Are headaches just a ‘part of the job’? Do you notice that symptoms miraculously disappear when you’re on vacation?
Sometimes your workstation set-up may be part of the problem. Take a closer look to see if your office tools are positioned for success or failure. Isn’t it time your symptoms went on vacation?

Think close. Think comfort.

A comfortable workstation is always within an easy reach.

Check to make sure all of your frequently used items and tools are within reach.

Crouching paper tiger, hidden dragon.
Watch out for the bite.

The position of paperwork and reference documents can affect your neck and back postures

Is your phone glued to your ear and shoulder?

Your phone handling habits say a lot about the stress on your neck and shoulder. If your neck or shoulder is ‘talking’ to you – listen and act.

Wanted: Single level dwelling for keyboard and mouse.

A common problem is having the mouse and keyboard at different heights and reaches. Keep them close and your body will thank you.

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written by ErgoRisk

Office Safari - Shoulder Care

Office Shoulderamus Reachalotus

Known Habits

This species is quite entertaining to watch. They spend much of their day seated, chasing a smooth, contoured device around their desk. Frequently, their shoulder reaches as far to the side and to the front as possible, requiring a lean to the opposite side to maintain balance.

Prey

When not hunting mice, these creatures are also seen preying on phones, adding machines, printers and staplers just beyond their reach.

Known weaknesses:

These creatures suffer from significant pain and discomfort in their upper back, specifically on the side of their body responsible for most of the hunting.

How to ease their pain:

Bring their elbows to their sides, then bring all their favorite prey within easy reach. This will allow them to ‘toy’ with their prey while reducing their pain.

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written by ErgoRisk

What Will Hurt You - Evaluation You Desk Posture

Have you ever held a mirror up to yourself while you are deep in thought at your computer?

• Do you look like a vulture hunched over your equipment?
• Are you …
• Bent?
• Contorted?
• Holding the phone between your ear and your shoulder?
• Reaching way forward to your mouse?
• Is your mouse winning the race as you chase it across your desk?

Be Aware of Awkward Postures.

• Avoid slouching: move close and recline your chair’s backrest 10-15 degrees;
• Zoom your screen content to 125-150% to help keep your head back over your shoulders;
• Get reference paper on a document holder under your screen.
• Use a head set or speaker phone to multitask with the phone.

Static Muscle Use:

• Avoid reaching:
• Move closer to your workstation and keep your elbows close to your trunk;
• Keep your forearm resting on an arm rest or desk surface when using the mouse to reduce stress on your neck and upper back.

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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.

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written by ErgoRisk

Core Strength Matters

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a great example of what happens when something is built on an unstable base. Slowly but surely, the structure wobbles and tilts and has problems keeping itself upright.

Is your core a firm foundation or do you find yourself tilted, twisted or shaped like a giant C by 3PM?

Our body should be strong enough to support sitting daily but if we don’t use our muscles at work or home, the foundation gets weaker and weaker (and weaker and weaker)… No matter what age you are, ask yourself, if you keep on doing what you’re doing, where will your body be in 5, 10 or 15 years?

A person who has health has a thousand wishes. The person who doesn’t has but one. – Author unknown