The Importance of Ergonomics
Going into the second month of working from home, maybe some of you are recognizing some new body aches that you haven’t felt before. With the recent move into your new “home” office, you may realize that your posture has been worse than ever because of this new workspace.
Some of you may have written it off as temporary but it’s important to make adjustments so that it doesn’t have the potential to do long term damage.There are many new technologies popping up on how to get your back straight with postural devices to maintain good posture, but there’s a cheaper solution - adapting your workspace to facilitate good posture is the best way to maintain upright posture. If you're looking down at your laptop because it’s resting on your lap… 8 hours a day, 5 days (or more) a week - your back and neck are hunched over in order to lower your visual field, thus creating bad posture. It’s amazing how technology has allowed us to work from home in many aspects, but proper positioning for computer tasks is really important to reduce strain on your body. Laptops are not generally encouraged, but if you’re like me and it’s your only option- there are ways to optimize your posture.
Ergonomics is a specialty area of Occupational Therapy that works with businesses to reduce the risk of injury at the workplace. Occupational Therapists look at the broader spectrum of a person and are trained in task analysis to improve performance. If you reflect on your physical aches and pains, most of the time it’s because of micro-injuries over time. For the average American, much of that points to your workplace positioning or movement. You spend most of your waking hours at work, whether it’s seated at a desk or lifting items - proper positioning is most important when it’s repeated again and again.The idea is to refrain from using the same muscles, in the same way for long periods of time.
We all have a budget and may not be able to afford the perfect workspace, I will do my best to give you options that may be adaptable with the things you already have at home.
A Few tips on positioning for desk and computer set-up…
Try and stretch every 30 mins, getting up and repositioning
Standing and leaning back
Rolling wrists
Stretching neck side to side
Shoulder rolls and arm raises
Personally, my legs get restless- so my solution is doing simple squats sets of 10 reps
Even when it comes to work specific devices, or utensils- working smart is important. Things like the use of a food processor to cut up onions, tomatoes, and garlic will help preserve your joints if it's repetitive (bonus for saving tears!). If you do a lot of writing, or use devices with handles, the larger the handle, the easier it is for you to grip and it won’t put as much pressure on the small joints of the hand. Most of these adaptations are not needed for infrequent activities, but if your job requires specific repetitive movements, it’s important to preserve your joints.
At the desk, most of us are using an office which has been transitioned to home. Things to be mindful of:
Wrists should be in a neutral position (not flexed up or down)
Elbows should be in a 90 degree angle, supported by desk chair
Hips should be at a 90 degree angle
Knees should be at a 90 degree angle
The computer monitor should be at eye level with your neck in neutral (not bent up or down)
With a laptop some of the above may be difficult because the keyboard is so close to the screen. There are laptop stands that adjust the positioning so that the screen is closer to eye level with the keyboard angled down so the wrist joint is closer to neutral. Your elbows may not be in 90 degrees as they were for the laptop on your lap, but if we’re addressing the back and neck pain, we want the screen as close to eye level with shoulders back. Also, if you have any wrist pain radiating to your hand, the track pad may be the culprit. Opt for a detachable mouse for better preservation of your joints.
For those at desks...
Chairs should be adjusted to hips and knees at 90 degrees, if not possible, try using a seat cushion/pillow to get there. Keep mindful to accommodate your elbows at 90 degrees, you can add a textbook/box at your feet, or textbook underneath your monitor for quick fixes.
Occupational Therapists can help you to implement more efficient ways to move and set up your work-now home space to promote healthy joints and minimize repetitive movements. Contact us or book a session for consultation on your ergonomic evaluation.
