Computer Workstation Ergonomics

Hello all,
Welcome to my blog.  I am Dr. Andrew Schafer, co-owner and chiropractor of Schafer Chiropractic and Healing Spa.  I want all of you to have the information that you need to help you avoid neck pain, back pain, and headaches.  Perhaps this is a poor business decision, but it seems like the right thing to do anyway.

Do you work at a computer for more than 3 hours a day?  The longer you spend in front of one, the more important ergonomics becomes in avoiding neck and upper back pain.  OSHA has 33 items on it's evaluation checklist.   In my experience, you can boil it down to 3 things: 
1.  Use the back of your chair. 
2. Keep the keyboard and the mouse the same height as your elbows. 
3.  Keep your monitor eye level and directly in front of you. 
If you can do all of these things simultaneously, you will minimize any problems that might result in neck and back pain, and even numbness or tingling into the arms and hands. 

Problems will often arise if your desk does not have a pullout tray for your keyboard and mouse.  When the keyboard is on top of the desk, it is likely higher than your elbows.  You can correct this by purchasing a seperate screw-in keyboard tray from an office supply store or even IKEA.  Attaching this to your existing desk is easy and inexpensive. 

Problems will also arise if you use a laptop (on a desk) because when the keyboard is the right hieght, the monitor is too low.  You can correct this by purchasing a remote keyboard.  This is alot cheaper and more convenient than purchasing a seperate monitor. 

Using a laptop on your lap for anything more than a few minutes is not advisable.  Your head will be in a flexed position for an extended period of time, promoting a head forward or slouched posture.  This posture will be the topic of my next blog.

I hope this has been helpful so far.  Have a great day.