Do you ever experience pain or discomfort while working at your desk? Do you experience headaches, eye strain, shoulder, neck or back pain while sitting at your workstation? If you answered yes, then your office may have some shaping up to do.
So what exactly is ergonomics?
Ergonomics is defined as “an applied science concerned with designing and arranging items people use so that people and things interact most efficiently.” So, how do we apply ergonomics to our everyday workplace settings?
Safety first! Ergonomic safety is all about fitting the job to the person, not the person to the job. Often overlooked in many workplace settings, fitting the job to the person is important to decrease muscle fatigue, reduce the number and severity of work-related musculoskeletal injuries and increase productivity.
Not all musculoskeletal injuries happen as a result of athletic injuries. Injuries happen in the workplace too!
Common Ergonomic Injuries:
- Tendonitis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Contact Stress Injury (wrist and forearms resting on hard, sharp surfaces)
- Postural Deficiencies
- Repetitive Stress (ex: repetitive, typing, mouse clicking, and reaching)
Ways to Stay Safe and Prevent Ergonomic Injuries:
- For every one hour of work, take a 5 minute break!
- Stretch frequently
- Vary postures and tasks throughout the day to decrease repetitive action and stressors
- Walk and Talk- while taking phone calls and/or instead of e-mailing a co-worker, walk to his/her desk to chat
- Avoid eating lunch at your desk
- Stand while working- if available, take advantage of height adjustable workstations
- Organize your workspace and keep items within easy reach distance
- Use elbow, palm, or wrist pads to avoid contact stress
- Decrease direct laptop use- implement the use of external devices such as wireless mouse, laptop riser and wireless keyboard
- Maintain regular exercise
You might be asking yourself, “what is a height adjustable workstation?” Height adjustable workstations can be a fantastic resource and addition to any workplace. There are so many benefits to using the height adjustable workstations and they promote a healthy lifestyle at work and outside of work.
Take an Ergo Break and Assess your Workstation!
- Eyes to source: ensure the computer screen an arm’s length away, eye level or slightly below. If you use bi-focal lenses, lower the screen to avoid any awkward neck postures
- Hands to input devices: avoid reaching for the mouse and keyboard. Keyboard legs should always be flat and close to the body to avoid reaching
- Body to Chair: knees and hips 90-100 degrees and thighs parallel to the floor- seat pan adjusted to allow 2-3 fingers behind the back of the knee and the chair- adjust arm rests to allow for elbows to be at a 90 degree angle- ensure desk is around belly button height.
Don’t let pain or injury keep you from what you love. Call Loudoun Sports Therapy Center at 703-450-4300 TODAY to schedule your personalized evaluation. No doctor’s note is necessary to begin your road to recovery with physical therapy!
PHYSICAL THERAPY HELPS YOU LIVE LIFE PAIN FREE!
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