Go Ergo

1
Go Ergo!

• Presented by

2
What is Ergonomics?

• The word, ergonomics, is derived from the Greek
  words ergos meaning "work" and nomos meaning
  "laws" therefore, the laws of work.
• Ergonomics covers all aspects of a job, from the
  physical stresses it places on joints, muscles,
  nerves, tendons, bones and the like, to
  environmental factors which can effect hearing,
  vision, and general comfort and health.

3
How Ergonomics helps in the work environment?

• increased productivity
• improved health and safety
• increased job satisfaction
• increased work quality
• lower worker turnover
• lower lost time at work
• lower worker's compensation claims

4
Key Problems in Ergonomics

• Back Pain
• Neck Eye Strain
• Wrist Discomfort Placement Writing

5

• Back Pain
• Back pain is usually caused by poor posture while
  working at a computer workstation. When working
  at a computer it is important to learn what a
  good working position is. Here are a few ideas
  on how to you should position yourself to improve
  you back posture
• Feet Your feet should be resting flat on the
  floor
• Back your lower back needs to be supported
  whether you sitting vertically or leaning back
• No matter how good your posture is, you cannot
  maintain sitting still in the same position for
  too long. You should make small changes to your
  position often throughout the day

Upright Sitting
Declined Sitting
Reclined Sitting
6
Back Pain Solutions
Foot Rests

• What should you look for?
• You need a footrest if your feet are not resting
  on the floor. If you always have your feet on the
  casters of the chair, or sit to the middle of the
  chair to get your feet on the floor, you will
  probably benefit from a footrest.
• A footrest that is adjustable in height is
  helpful so that you can reposition the chair
  height if needed.
• A tilting footrest is optional - use one if it
  feels good and for sitting in reclined positions.
  
• How do you use it properly?
• Keep it centered under the desk, and rest the
  feet on it while the back is supported by the
  back of the chair. Sometimes if the footrest is
  too high, it will work better if it is pushed
  further under the desk. Play with the distance to
  find the most comfortable position for you.

7
Back Pain Solutions
Back Supports

• What should you look for?
• You need a back support if your chair does not
  give you ample support to your lower lumbar
  region
• If you are not sure how much support you need,
  some models come equipped inflatable air chambers
  which allow you to adjust the pressure of the
  back rest
• How do you use it properly?
• Place the back support on your chair where it
  will fit into the grove of your lower back
  region. Do not allow the back support to push
  into you. It should be used to help you maintain
  your good posture using your normal working
  position

8
Back Pain Solutions
Chairmats

• What should you look for?
• Make sure when choosing a chairmat that it is
  thick enough for the floor type in you workspace
  and matches your desk type
• The chairmat should extend out far enough in each
  direction to cover your roll to retrieve area
• How do you use it properly?
• Position the chairmat in the center of your
  workspace. Make sure that it lays completely
  flat free of any furniture or any other
  obstruction. If properly used a chairmat will
  help to reduce lower back strain by allowing free
  range of motion throughout your work area without
  the effort of you chair around on carpet

9

• Neck Eye Strain

• Computer workstations present complex visual
  needs.
• Challenges can include
• uneven lighting
• reflections and glare
• improper height of computer monitor
• distance of monitor
• prolonged use of the eyes.

10
Neck Eye Strain

• Neck Strain
• Position the center of the screen 10-20 degrees
  below your straight-ahead gaze. You should be
  able to look at your screen without tilting your
  head.
• The monitor should be placed at a distance of
  20-40 inches from your eyes to the screen.
• Keep the screen and source documents at about the
  same distance away from you to avoid constant
  re-focusing while working.

11
Neck Eye Strain

• Eye Strain
• Keep lighting levels as even as possible.
• Reduce glare by adjusting the monitor angle
  and/or height.
• Eyestrain can result from dry eyes. Blinking
  helps lubricate your eyes. Place a Blink
  post-it note on your monitor to remind you to
  blink while working.
• Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes,
  look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to rest your
  eyes.

12
Neck Eye Strain Solutions
Adjustable Monitor Risers

• What should you look for?
• When choosing a monitor riser make sure of it is
  strong enough to support your monitor
• Also choose a monitor that has both vertical
  mobility, such as height adjustable supports so
  that you can adjust to your specific needs
• How do you use it properly?
• Set up you monitor arm so that your monitor in
  directly in front of your line of sight. From
  this point adjust the height and depth according
  to your proper sitting posture and the
  recommended sight distance

13
Neck Eye Strain Solutions
Document File Holders

• What should you look for?
• Document and file holders should be large enough
  to hold the project you are working from.
• They should be high enough for you to look from
  your monitor to your holder with out have to look
  up or down, in other words monitor height
• How do you use it properly?
• Place you document or file holder on which ever
  side of the monitor that is correlates to your
  dominant eye. Make sure that it is placed at an
  angle so that you will not need to adjust your
  head to view it

14
Wrist Discomfort

• Wrist discomfort is caused when your hands,
  wrist, forearms, and elbows are not resting in
  the correct position when you are working at your
  computer station or when you are not writing at a
  comfortable position.
• By not maintaining the proper positions of your
  hands, wrists, forearms,and elbows serious
  problems can arise called CDT or Cumulative
  Trauma Disorders. Tendonitis and Carpal Tunnel
  Syndrome are the most common.

15
Wrist Discomfort

• Symptoms of these CTDs include
• tingling, numbness, or pain in hands of fingers
  or shooting up along the arms
• Loss of strength or coordination in hands
• Numbness or discomfort in hands which can cause
  you to awake during the night
• Hands, wrists, forearms - should be straight,
  in-line, and roughly parallel to the floor
• Elbows Your elbows should remain close to your
  body, bent at in angle in between 90 and 120
  degrees

16
Wrist Discomfort Solutions
Key Board Trays

• What should you look for?
• Keyboard trays are designed to help bring the
  keyboard down to a level more comfortable for you
  to type from. Many of them come with attached or
  removable wrists rest and mouse platforms.
• How do you use it properly?
• Your keyboard should be placed in front of you,
  slightly lower than the desk height, but give
  ample room between the bottom of the tray and
  your knees. Most keyboards slide in and out
  allowing you to adjust distance between your body
  and the desk.

17
Wrist Discomfort Solutions
Writing

• Avoid leaning heavily on your forearm.
• Keep your fingers relaxed. Your knuckles should
  not be curled up or turn white when you write.
• Reduce finger motions. Use your wrist and forearm
  to move the pen or pencil rather than your
  fingers.
• Re-orient your writing paper or use an inclined
  surface to keep your wrist relaxed, especially
  for left-handed writing.
• Select large diameter pens and pencils or use
  rubber grips to reduce gripping force.
• Replace standard ballpoint pens with easy flow
  ink fountain pens, roller balls, and gel ink
  pens.
• Write at a reasonable pace with frequent breaks.

18
Wrist Discomfort Solutions
Writing Instruments

• PhD Multi PhD Ultra
• Ergonomic Triangular Grip reduces writing fatigue
• Ultra is available in pen mechanical pencil.
  Multi is 3-in-1!

Endorsed by the American Physical Therapy
Association (APTA) for persons with gripping
difficulties.
19
Wrist Discomfort Solutions
Writing Instruments

• Expo Grip Dry-Erase Markers
• Ergonomic design comfort grip on barrel makes
  writing comfortable and controlled
• Features a built-in eraser for quick and accurate
  erasing during use

• Expo Small Whiteboard Eraser
• Ergonomic shape with designated grip makes this
  eraser extremely comfortable to hold and easy to
  use.

Tip When standing and writing on a dry erase
board remember not to lock your knees and relax
and stretch your writing arm often

• Expo Large Whiteboard Eraser
• Comfort Grip for comfortable, controlled erasing
• 10 inch pad for quick erasing of larger dry erase
  surfaces

20
Preventative Exercises

• Neck Stretch 
• Tilt ear toward shoulder
• Reach up and touch top of head with palm to hold
  in tilted position
• Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times
• Do this for each side

• Overhead Reach 
• Take a deep breath and reach up over head with
  both arms.
• Hold 5-10 seconds.
• Exhale and lower slowly.
• Repeat 2-3 times

21
Preventative Exercises

• Shoulder Pinch
• Place arms behind head being careful not to press
  hand into head.
• Relax shoulders, and squeeze shoulder blades
  together while keeping shoulders back and down.
• Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

• Chair Rotation Stretch 
• Sit in chair, and if you can, wrap feet around
  chair legs.
• Reach across body and grab back of chair.
• Pull gently to increase stretch in mid back.
• Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 5 times.

22
Preventative Exercises

• Arms Behind Back Stretch
• Hold hands behind back, and grasp hands together.
  
• Pull shoulder blades back and down.
• Hold 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times.

• Wrist Extended/fingers point up
• Hold arms straight at waist height with palm
  facing away from you and fingers pointing up
• Hold onto palm of hand and stretch wrist back
• Make sure fingers and thumb are kept together
• Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times
• Repeat with fingers pointing down

23
Final Helpful Hints

• Make sure to take breaks often. Get up and walk
  around, stretch, or relax
• Make sure to sit properly at all times in your
  chair, making slight changes your posture
• Use a writing instrument that does not cause you
  to fatigue your hand or press to hard.
• Make sure your keyboard is always placed directly
  in front of you

24
Final Helpful Hints

• Use a chairmat underneath your chair to make
  mobility in your workspace easier
• When possible using rolling storage units to
  reduce bending and lifting which can lead to
  soreness or injury
• If you wear bifocals or trifocals make sure you
  can see the screen with out bending the head or
  neck backwards

25
Sources

• OHSA, Ergonomics Solutions
• www.sfwa.org/ergonomics