Ergonomically Correct - To be or not to be?

According to the United States Department of Labor, Ergonomics is deemed a, “Preventative of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Workplace.” Wow, right? Sounds serious…that is because it is! Ergonomics studies how our physiological needs (joints, muscles, tendons, etc.) are impacted while we work. From the designs of our chairs and footwear to lighting used (and not), there are several factors studied within the field of ergonomics. Three ergonomic biggies I have become highly aware since beginning a desk job three years ago include posture, minimizing contact stress on my wrists, and accessibility to movement and stretching.

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POSTURE

◊ I began to experience upper back (cervical spine) tension only a short time after beginning my desk job as a Paralegal. The tension was causing pain throughout my upper and middle back as well as at the base of my skull. I then learned that “improper posture” causes tension and pain throughout our bodies (just like I was experiencing) and that many people experience these symptoms. Improper posture is quite dangerous for our bodies and can cause serious musculoskeletal problems. “Any prolonged posture will lead to static loading of the soft tissues and cause discomfort. The seated posture leads to inactivity causing an accumulation of metabolites, accelerating disk degeneration, and leading to disk herniation” (Pope, et. al, 2002). To help prevent damage to our bodies, we must understand neutral (proper) posture so we can recognize and fix improper posture. When sitting or standing at a neutral position, our spine has a slight curve because our muscles are slightly relaxed; not hunched over, not booty pokin’ out, just relaxed. When working on the computer, our forearms and wrists should be parallel with each other and the keyboard, and our monitor should be set at eye-level. While sitting, our feet should be resting on a flat surface in front of us and our hip-bend angle should be just a tad over a perfect 90-degree angle.

Sketch Credit: Me

Picture Credit: Workfit

Peer Reviewed Citation:

Pope, Malcom H., Goh, Kheng Lim, Magnusson, Marianne L. (2002). Spine

Ergonomics. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 4, 49-68.

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MINIMIZE CONTACT STRESS

◊ That tingling, numbing, and tightening sensation we experience in our wrists and hands when we extensively work on a computer, that is a sign of “contact stress” being put on our body tissues, tendons, and muscles. The “contact” part of contact stress comes from the pinching and crushing of our tendons and tissue that occurs when we improperly rest our wrists against the edge of our work surface. The key to preventing contact stress is to keep your wrists neutral (parallel) to the keyboard and mouse rather than resting them down on the desk’s edge at an angle. Tools I have found to be quite helpful to keep my wrists neutral include wrist pads for both my keyboard and mouse. When correctly using wrists pads (by resting your palm on the pad to help keep wrist-hand neutral), I can assure one will see a difference in the amount of contact stress being put on their wrists, hands, and fingers.

Picture Credit: Purdue University

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MOVEMENT & STRETCHING

◊ For me, working from home has been a bit easier on my body versus being in the office. I have more room at home to get up, stretch, and walk around. Within my at-home workspace, I am currently utilizing an old height adjustable desk to provide my body the need (and convenience) to stand up and get my circulation flowing while still being able to continue to work. I do have a comfortably sized, no-height adjustable sit-down desk. However, I like the height adjustable desk because it provides more convenience on following through with getting up, moving around, and stretching. It takes me seconds to adjust the height and I am able to continue to work while standing and stretching, so I do not feel like I am losing time on a break. I also have a standing desk mat that is made of a higher density foam, to help provide comfort on my joints as well as prevent my body from becoming easily fatigued when standing for long periods of time.

Picture Credit: Me

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CONCLUSION

Ergonomics intends to explain how design can help the job fit the biological needs of the employee. For many of us (myself included), once we get focused on work, we zone out and before we know it hours have gone by before we give our bodies a break. The coexistence of knowledge and design has provided our society all sorts of different tools to help combat musculoskeletal diseases. For example, a height adjustable desk is designed to give us the convenience to quickly transition from sitting to standing (so we actually do it!). There are even shoes designed to have cushioning in the just the right places to help prevent body fatigue when we are on our feet for long periods of time. All of this beautiful body mindfulness and ergonomic knowledge allows us to be able to care for our bodies while we work to survive.