Sports
Rehabilitation

Office Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science that studies human work, considering the physical and mental capabilities as well as limitations of a person during his interaction with the tools, work methods, tasks and work environment. In recent years, office ergonomics primarily focuses on computer work because of the increasing use of computers in the modern offices which relates to the increase in work injuries. Most of the work is being carried out in the sitting position these days which requires the workstation to be even more comfortable. Maintaining a good sitting posture and properly designed workplaces play an important role in preventing work-related neck and back pain.

Office ergonomics is a tool that helps reduce the risk of injury by adapting the work such that it suits the person instead of impelling the person to get adjusted to the work. You are more likely to sustain work injuries if you force yourself to conform to a job that is beyond your physical limitations. Applying principles of ergonomics to your office work enhances your performance at work by improving your efficiency and productivity.

Over a long period of time, work-related musculoskeletal disorders may develop which cause injuries to the soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels. The common symptoms that are reported include pain and discomfort, fatigue, swelling, stiffness, tingling sensation and numbness. It is important to identify these symptoms early and apply ergonomic principles to your workplace effectively before they result in serious injuries. Some of the important ergonomic improvements that make your work environment safe and healthy are as follows:

  • Maintain a comfortable posture at your workstation. Comfortable posture is a working posture in which your joints are in natural alignment with reduced risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders.
  • Change your posture more often, once in every 15 minutes. Make slight changes in the height of your chair, or lean back onto the backrest. You can also stand up and stretch or walk around for 1-2 minutes every hour.
  • Maintain a neutral posture while sitting. The important components of neutral posture include:
    • Keep your head level straight or tilted slightly downward while working
    • Keep shoulders in relaxed position
    • Elbows should be close enough to the sides of your body, and bent at 90ºangle
    • Support your lower back using your chair’s backrest
    • Keep upper part of your body upright while sitting
    • Your wrists should be straight while working, not bent down or to the side
    • Your knees should be at the same level as your hips or slightly below
    • Support your feet either by the floor or a footrest and place them slight out in front of your knees
  • Organize your workplace so that you do not need to strain your body while reaching out to something. Keep frequently used items, items that need finger dexterity(keyboard, mouse, telephone), items that need hand force(stapler, punch) and heavy objects (large books) in your easy reach zone
  • Avoid visual discomfort or eye strain while viewing computer monitor. Following are few common problems seen among computer users and their remedies:
  • Dry or itchy eyes: This happens because we blink less often when looking at the computer monitor. To prevent dry eyes, lower your monitor and look slightly downwards which promotes blinking and ensure the building’s ventilation fans do not blow directly over you
  • You may cause strain to eyes if you try reading from a monitor or document that is held at eye level or higher. Keeping your monitor very close or too high may cause eye strain and having it too low or far away may also make you lean forwards resulting in abnormal posture. Placing the monitor at proper height and distance helps prevent eye strain. Place your monitor at a distance between18 and 30 inches from your eyes so that you can read comfortably. The height of the monitor should be adjusted such that the top of the screen is just below eye level, and the screen is slightly tilted upwards.
  • Place the monitor at a right angle to light sources or windows inorder to minimize glare

An ergonomically designed work station and adoption of proper postures while at work prevent some of the serious problems that are likely to occur in a work environment.