Healthy U Wellness Challenge 2012 Ergonomics

 The study of how to improve the fit between the physical demands of the workplace and the employees who perform the work.

Chair  Height  Feet flat on floor or footrest  Knees equal to or slightly lower than hips  Elbows are at your side and wrists flat while typing or using mouse  Backrest  Curve of chair hits curve of lower back  degree angle

Chair (cont.)  Other  Sit with hips all the way in back of chair  Should have 2-3 fingers width of space between edge of seat and back of knee

Keyboard  Flat! Do not raise legs in back  Place directly in front of monitor  Center yourself over keys used most often, not necessarily the center of the board  Palm rests  Support palms not wrists!  Can help w/pressure points

Keyboard (cont.) INCORRECT POSITION CORRECT POSITION

Monitor and Mouse  Monitor  Directly in front of you  inches from eyes (arm’s length)  Top of monitor 2-3 inches above seated eye level  Use of bifocals requires lower monitors  Mouse  Same height as keyboard  Within close reach (<16 inches away)  Hand, wrist and forearm straight

What’s wrong with this picture???

Be aware of….  Awkward postures  Repeated or prolonged reaching or twisting  Holding of fixed positions  Repetitive motions  Pressure points  Sides of fingers, palms, wrists, forearms, and elbows are more susceptible because nerves and blood vessels are closer to skin and bones

Common Conditions with Prolonged Sitting  Rounded shoulders  Forward head position  Tight hip flexors  Forearm or wrist tension  Low back pain  tight hamstrings  weak abdominals  tight hip flexors

Resources  Workstation.html Workstation.html  f f  uides/S-898_WorkstationComfort.pdf uides/S-898_WorkstationComfort.pdf  uides/S-915_ErgonomicsWorksheet.pdf