7 Tips To Avoid Bad Office Ergonomics

Ergonomic Causes Of Disorders :

1. When your monitor is positioned too high, you tend to tilt your head back, which fatigues the neck and shoulder muscles.

2. If your keyboard tray is too small, you tend to move the mouse to a position of the desk that requires you to reach to perform mouse tasks. This pulls the elbow away from the body and can cause you to support your arm in an elevated position for prolonged hours leading to discomfort and fatigue.

3. If your keyboard is too low, you tend to bend your wrists at extreme angles, which can cause the finger tendons and tendon sheaths to bend around the bones of the wrist. Sitting in such awkward postures irritate or strain the bone-tendon-muscle connections.

4. Muscles when stretched or compressed become inefficient resulting in possible fatigue and overexertion.

5. Postures that are not neutral ones can pull and stretch tendons, blood vessels, and nerves over ligaments or bone thus increasing their chances of becoming pinched and restricted.

6. Tendons and their sheaths can rub on bone and ligaments leading to irritation and fraying. This in turn leads to swelling within confined areas such as the carpal tunnel, which then restricts nerves and blood vessels.

7. The user may also suffer from tingling and numbness of the fingers and hands as well as pain from tendonitis and tenosynovitis (inflammation of a tendon sheath). If the workstation is properly adjusted, it can help the users to minimize awkward postures. It is ideal to place the monitor in front of you at a height where you can look straight ahead and not tilt your head forward or backward. You can keep the items that you access frequently such as keyboards and pointing devices very near to you so that you don't have to strain yourself while reaching out for them every time. You need to adjust and position keyboard trays and chairs so that you don't have to bend your wrists up, down, or to the side. Adjust the chair so as to give good support to your feet and back. If you maintain proper neutral postures, you can work with minimal stress on the musculoskeletal system. Read more....

OSHA Computer Workstations Ergonomics

Millions of people work with computers every day. This eTool* illustrates simple, inexpensive principles that will help you create a safe and comfortable computer workstation. There is no single "correct" posture or arrangement of components that will fit everyone. However, there are basic design goals, some of which are shown in the accompanying figure, to consider when setting up a computer workstation or performing computer-related tasks.

Success With Ergonomics

Success Brief: In the early 1990s, the OSHA recordable rate for ergonomics injuries (musculoskeletal disorder cases and some sprain/strain cases) was over 2.0, and the lost day case rate was over .50. In the ten years since, Intel has developed an ergonomics program among the best in the semiconductor industry. For 2001, the ergonomics recordable rate was .10 and the lost day case rate was .03.

Office Ergonomics: The Chair

This fact sheet provides helpful information on using and purchasing office chairs. Adjusting your chair to better fit your body and your workstation will help make you more comfortable and productive, and may help prevent injury.

Video Training Source:

Office Ergonomics Safety Training Programs