Posts Tagged ‘Ergonomics’
Ergonomics, Fatigue and Chiropractic Care
People are often confused by office work related injuries. Patients of my San Diego based Chiropractic Clinic often think of sedentary office work as safe and heavy manual labor as potentially hazardous.
While it is a fact that I see patients with neck pain or back pain that is related to heavy manual labor, it is also a fact that at least 80% of my patients who complain of neck pain, back pain, etc., were injured doing sedentary office work.
How does this happen?
Work in an office environment tends to be sedentary and repetitive. This type of work results in both mental and physical fatigue. Many office tasks involve scenarios that call for static positions of joints that are adjacent to joints that are required to endure repetitive movements. A good example of this would be keyboarding where the wrist is held in a relatively fixed position while your fingers peck away at the keys. This situation sets the stage for injury.
Our bodies were designed to move joints through full range compound movements. These kinds of movements encourage lubrication of joints and adequate blood flow. Without a good blood supply and joint lubrication, our bodies break down resulting in neck pain, back pain and a host of other issues involving the joints.
The question is, ‘If you work in a sedentary office environment, how do you prevent injury?’
The following guidelines will help you minimize fatigue and injury.
1) Maintain good posture
2) Limit repetitive reaching outside of your normal work space
3) Alternate work activities when possible
4) Take frequent rest, stretch and exercise breaks.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
Ergonomic Principles Part 2
In my last post regarding ergonomics, I reviewed five of the ten principles of ergonomics.
In this post I will review the rest of the ten principles of ergonomics. Remember that it is easy to think of ergonomic principles only being applied to your work duties but it is just as important to apply them to your at home and recreational activities as well.
Ergonomics should be taken into consideration when driving or working on cars, while playing musical instruments, during your workouts / exercise, walking the dog, etc.
So, picking up where I left off…
Principle 6 – Design workstations to allow for change of posture if at all possible. Sit / stand work stations with a higher seating surface allows you to significantly reduce postural stress by giving you the option to change positions and keep movement.
Principle 7 – Work stations should be spacious. Work should not be confined by cramped environments. The area should be large enough to allow for adequate room to complete the task yet contained enough to allow easy access to tools or other items necessary to complete the task.
Principle 8 – Make sure that your work is located at the proper height. You should be able to reach your work without overextending your arms and without straining your back or neck. In general, work should be done at elbow height. Heavy work should be done lower than elbow height and very light delicate work can be done at a level higher than elbow height to allow for better visual reference.
Principle 9 – Try to avoid fatigue – especially static loads. Static load on a muscle group is a continuous contraction over a long period of time. When static loads are combined with awkward postures or excessive force injuries are sure to follow.
Principle 10 – Minimize contact stress / pressure. Contact stress such as leaning on an elbow or having to apply sustained pressure on a lever, switch or tool can inhibit blood flow and interfere with nerve function.
These are the ten basic principles of ergonomics. Look for violations of these principles in your work / home and you will be serving yourself well! Identifying and eliminating a few ergonomic stressors can help you prevent or decrease neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain and so on. It is definitely worth your effort.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Chiropractic and Ergonomic Principles
Most of my posts regarding ergonomics have strictly focused on issues surrounding computer use. After reviewing my prior posts on this topic, it was clear to me that while the majority of the patients that I see in my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic suffer with neck pain, back pain, headaches and carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of poor ergonomics related to computer use, I was not covering the basics of ergonomics that can be utilized in all types of work.
My next few posts will expand beyond the ergonomics of computer use to include some of the more basic principles of ergonomics. Remember that these principles are most effective when applied both on the job as well as in other areas of your life.
Principle 1 – Keep your most frequently handled objects within easy reach. Over-reaching makes work difficult and less efficient
Principle 2 – Reduce repetition whenever possible. Continuous repetition can have a significant negative impact on the body. Repetition combined with over-reaching or awkward movements accelerates wear and tear on the joints and inflames muscles, tendons and ligaments
Principle 3 – Try to create a comfortable work environment. This includes comfortable temperatures, proper lighting, comfortable seating and use of shock absorbing floor mats.
Principle 4 – Maintain good posture – always. Poor posture / postural stress is responsible for most of the injuries that I see in my office. Remember that good posture includes more than the spine. You need to be aware of stresses that are placed on all the joints of your body – especially wrists, shoulders, elbows and knees.
Principle 5 – Limit or reduce excessive force. Excessive force, especially combined with postural stress overloads muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments setting the stage for injury and potential disability.
In my next post I will cover more of the basic principals of ergonomics. Remember to try to apply these concepts. I treat people in my San Diego Chiropractic clinic on a regular basis who suffer neck pain, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and headaches as a result of poor ergonomics. Following ergonomic concepts is a perfect example of implementing the idea behind the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
Reaching and Workstation Ergonomics
Have you ever noticed how tight your neck, upper back and shoulders are after a long day of sitting at the computer?
There are a number of factors that contribute to this tightness. Simply the stress of deadlines, an overbearing boss or an annoying co-worker can make your shoulders rise up and your head push forward. And this stress is the result of just the emotional stress of work. When you add the real physical strains of a poorly designed work station on top of the emotional stresses that already exist you have a perfect recipe for a repetitive stress injury.
A large part of designing an ergonomically friendly workstation revolves around limiting the “reach” for items that are frequently accessed.
The distance that you have to reach for any object in your workspace can have major implications on your health. In general, workers should have the items that they use on a regular basis through the day such as the mouse and keyboard for computer users or the telephone for a receptionist or a sales person, positioned close to their bodies so as to avoid awkward or overreaching.
As a general rule, the best positioning for your keyboard and mouse allows you to operate them while your shoulders hang straight down at your sides and elbows are slightly extended. This position reduces the stress of overreaching and allows for completion of your tasks with less muscular effort.
There are many ergonomic apparatus that allow for proper placement of your computer input devices. Pull out keyboard trays, split keyboards, mouse platforms and even foot controls help reduce the ongoing stresses of computer input.
Even with these devices, it takes awareness to maintain an ergonomically friendly work environment.
For a nice selection of high quality ergonomic office products you can visit www.comfortkeyboard.com.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones