Good Office Ergonomics – 5 Things You Need To Avoid
Most office workers tend to be affected by many aches and pains. Between muscle strains, tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and lower back injuries, these all can affect your health and well-being. The truth is that most of these aches and pains will continue to evolve and become worse over time if you don’t do anything about them. This is why it is so important to focus on your office ergonomics.
The basics of office ergonomics is to ensure that the job fits the worker. A lot more than just buying the right office chair for you, you need to understand how office ergonomics and how certain tasks, when repeated, can lead to injuries like the ones we mentioned above.
So, here are 5 things you need to avoid to ensure a good office ergonomics:
Table of Contents
#1: Sustained Exertions Or Static Loading:
While you may not be familiar with these terms, the concepts aren’t difficult to understand. When you are looking to have a good office ergonomics, you want to make sure that you aren’t in the same position for a very long time. This applies to sit without making any movements for a long period of time as well as to keep your head in the same place and position while you’re looking at the monitor, among many others. By maintaining your body in the same position for a long period of time, you will be causing muscle tension and circulation problems. And these are the kind of problems that you really want to avoid.
Take a look at these office ergonomic tips.
#2: Repetition:
When you need to be doing a repetitive task over and over again, this can lead to a trauma on your joints or on the surrounding tissues. Some examples of repetitive tasks include using a calculator, clicking a mouse, or even typing your keyboard.
#3: Mechanical Contact Stress:
As you probably already know, a good office chair is crucial to help you maintain a good posture and overcome all these aches and pains. However, in case you need to use an old office chair which armrests, for example, don’t have a good padding, this can also prevent you from having a good office ergonomics. After all, you will notice that the sharp surface of the armrests is pressing into your blood vessels, nerves, and tendons, and these can lead to serious injuries.
#4: Force:
While you don’t notice, some of the tasks that office workers need to do require a certain degree of force. Simple things such as gripping a mouse or grasping heavy folders are two perfect examples. The truth is that they can affect a good office ergonomics. How? By applying this force, you will be using the same little muscles over and over again and this can result in fatigue, swelling, and ligament and muscles strains.
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#5: Strange Postures And Positions:
When you are completely focused on the task you are doing, you probably won’t even realize that you are actually in a strange position. Incorrect postures such as leaning forward in your chair or slouching are some examples.
As you can see, there are a lot of things that you should consider to ensure that you have a good office ergonomics. However, the good news is that you can do all of them by yourself.
