Office Ergonomics – is my work place causing me pain?

Are you getting aches and pains around the workplace? Can’t seem to work comfortably? Getting back pain? There could be a simple solution – looking at your office ergonomics. Ergonomics focuses on the ‘match’ between people and their work environments. Done correctly it can prevent or be part of the treatment for back pain, neck pain, upper limb pain and other repetitive strain injuries.

Do you work at a computer or laptop for most of the day? Your posture and your workplace setup could be contributing to those aches and pains. Take a look at the picture above on how best to set up your work desk.

You can adjust your screen, table and chair height to achieve the best possible position as shown in the picture above. This may reduce your discomfort, but one of the best pieces of advice I can give is to take regular breaks.

Prolonged sitting can not only lead to pain, but has been shown to increase the incidence of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Our bodies are not designed to sit all day. In fact, the British Journal of Sports Medicine recommends spending 2 hours a day standing and doing light activity during working hours, eventually progressing to a total accumulation of 4 hours a day. To achieve this, seated-based work should be regularly broken up with standing-based work, taking short active breaks and/or using sit-stand desks.

If you have any questions about your workplace ergonomics please call us on 01 441 0100 to see how we can help.