IMPROVING POSTURE CAN REDUCE JOINT STRESS AND MUSCLE STRAIN
One of the best ways to prevent injuries is to keep a relaxed and
neutral posture while working. Awkward postures while performing
repetitive, forceful, or prolonged activity can place excessive stress
on the joints and overwork muscles to the point of strain and fatigue.
A basic principle of ergonomics is that, if possible, the job or work
station should be modified to enable to worker to be in good posture
and to reduce the need for awkward positioning and work habits. Seating
and standing systems, ergonomically designed equipment and tools, and
positioning of work equipment and tools can help make this possible.
I recently consulted to a
gentleman who had been having neck pain for over a year. His pain began
overnight after years of having his monitor placed on one side of
his "L"shaped desk and his keyboard on the other. After moving the
keyboard in front of his monitor on the right side of the desk, his
pain improved but not disappear. Now, after several months, he is
beginning to have some lower back pain. His employer purchased an
adjustable monitor arm, an under-the-desk keyboard tray, and provided a
chair with improved lumbar support. When I observed this gentleman at
work, we noticed that he slightly shifted his chair to the left to
center himself comfortably in his desk space. When he shifted, his left
side was too close to the left side of his "L" shaped desk, jamming
his arm into that side of the desk. To give his left arm more room, he
would place it on top of the desk. This caused his left shoulder to
elevate. In addition to the body shift to the left and the shoulder
elevation, this gentleman would then shift his head to the right to
center his eyes on the monitor screen. Seen from behind, his spine was
in a subtle, reverse "S"shape. This was most likely throwing his
hips out of alignment and causing the lower back pain. Placing the
keyboard tray and monitor diagonally across the joint of the left and
right side of the desks will increase the amount of space that this
gentleman has to work in, preventing the awkward positioning,
decreasing the reverse "S" shaped curvature of the spine, and
potentially allowing his painful symptoms to finally improve.
Tips for Improving Posture
- The head should be upright with the neck relaxed.
- The
monitor should be at a height that allows you to view it directly in
front of you not looking up or looking down or to one side or the
other.
- Use a copy holder if you work input information from hard copies.
- The ears, shoulders and elbows should be vertical alignment.
- The shoulders should be relaxed, not elevated.
- Arm rests are optional.
- If you do use arm rests, position them at a height that does not push your shoulders towards your ears.
- The keyboard and most work should be positioned at a level just slightly below elbow level.
- However,
depending on the type of work, this may need to be adjusted. For
example, for fine motor tasks and manipulation, the work surface may
need to be positioned higher.
- The wrists
should be in the neutral position, flat and straight. They should
not be bent forward or back, or angled to one side or the other.
- The fingers should be relaxed.
- Don't pound on the keyboard.
- Use the lightest touch possible to activate the keys or any tool controls.
- There should be plenty of leg room beneath the desk or work table.
- The feet should be fully supported either on the floor or on a foot rest. One leg should not be crossed under the other.
- The knees should be at hip level or just slightly below.
- The lower back should be fully supported.
- Frequently used items should be placed between shoulder and hip height and within an easy arm's reach.
- If phone work and keyboard tasks need to be performed simultaneously, a head set or speaker-phone capability is a necessity.
- If more than one employee uses the same work station, adjustments for chair, table and equipment height should be easy to make.
- Find
tools that reduce awkward positioning or muscle or joint stressors (for
example, write with a pen that has a larger barrel to relax the pinch
required while writing; use a hammer with a curve in the handle to
avoid having to angle the wrist; find a keyboard with the wedge-shaped
keyboard to help position the wrists in the neutral position).
By: Marji Hajic
www.bellaonline.com
|