How comfortable are you at your workstation? Is it easy to spend eight hours at your desk, or do you ache at the end of the day? Ergonomics is about making your office more comfortable and productive. Here are some tips and tools that can improve your comfort and increase your productivity:

Adjust your chair. Ergonomic typing posture is focused on minimizing the movement and work required on your muscles. Good posture prevents strained muscles and a sore back. And a good ergonomic chair is the best foundation for maintaining good posture for long periods of time. Make your feet rest firmly on the ground, and ensure that your lower back has sufficient support. If needed, you can add portable lumbar support. Finally, make sure your arm rests out of the way to allow free arm movement while you type.

Upgrade to an ergonomic keyboard. Ergonomic keyboards are specifically designed to support good hand position, making your typing more comfortable and efficient. When looking at a new keyboard, try several different designs to fine one that fits, and give yourself a few weeks to determine if it is really the best keyboard for you.

Move your keyboard. Add an adjustable keyboard tray to your desk to provide fast, easy adjustment of your keyboard. While typing, your keyboard should be only an inch or two above your lap, just below the height of your elbows. When adjusted correctly, your shoulders, arms and hands should feel relaxed and you should be able to easily reach the top keys without stretching or reaching. 

Try a document holder. Looking back and forth between your screen and a document creates pain in your neck and shoulders. It also can strain your eyes to continually refocus, resulting in headaches. A document holder can help relieve all this pain and can actually increase your productivity. Place the document holder immediately next to your monitor and at approximately the same distance from your eyes.

Try these tips to improve your work space ergonomics. Adjusting your ergonomic chair and adding ergonomic tools, such as a keyboard tray, can help improve your comfort and increase you productivity.

Shoulder pain and injury is frequently caused by repetitive motion and poor posture. Too often, computer users unconsciously sit in awkward positions instead of maintaining a neutral sitting position. This quickly leads to soreness and pain.

Here are some tips for finding relief and improving your posture for pain free typing.

1. Rest and Stretch: Give your muscles a break. Stand up and walk around at least every hour. During your break, stretch the sore muscle area to relieve any building tension. Here are some effective shoulder stretches recommended by National Institute of Health.
2. Restore Proper Sitting Posture: A good ergonomic chair can and should serve as the basis for good posture.  You should adjust it to fit you specifically. First, evaluate the back rest. Does the shape of the chair properly support the curvature of your lower back? A rolled towel or additional lumbar support can encourage proper posture and relieve muscle strain. Next, adjust the chair height to ensure that your feet rest flat on the floor. Finally, the armrests should be placed low enough that you can relax both arms and shoulders freely at your side during computer use.
3. Re-position the Computer Screen: You should never have to bend your neck or move your body to view your computer monitor. Instead, it should be centered directly in front of you, raised to eye level, and about an arm’s length from your body. An easy-to-install monitor shelf can quickly add height for better viewing. Also, if you frequently type from a document or notebook, try adding a document holder  immediately next to your monitor to improve your neck position.
4. Adjust Your Work Space: A significant contributor to shoulder pain is the improper height and placement of your keyboard and mouse. An adjustable tray allows the freedom to quickly reposition your keyboard and mouse. The best keyboard placement is one or two inches above your legs, just below your elbow height. A slight angle away from your body will help you relax your hands as well. Your computer mouse should be tight against the keyboard, at the same height and angle, so that you never have to reach outward for your mouse.
5. Upgrade Your keyboard. Ergonomic keyboards are specially designed to encourage good hand and wrist posture, relaxing your arms and shoulders and making your typing more comfortable and efficient. You may benefit from the mini keyboard or a left-handed keyboard that do not have a number pad on the right side, allowing you to bring the mouse in even closer, thus decreasing muscle strain. When looking for a new keyboard, try several different designs to find one that fits your hands as well as your typing style.

Poor posture can impact your comfort and productivity at work. Upgrade to good, ergonomic chair for better support. Try an adjustable keyboard tray to  help arrange your workspace for better posture. These quick tips can help relieve pain and improve your comfort at work.

Dealing with Stress at Work

When I am stressed at work, I can feel the aches and pain rising in my shoulders and neck. Eventually this pain will drain all my energy and productivity. Even worse is when my stress levels are triggered, or at least worsened, by physical discomfort that I ignored until it impacted my state of mind. This is when I stop and look at my physical comfort and re-evaluate my ergonomics at work.

The science of ergonomics is about finding ways to support our bodies to accommodate repetitive positions and to complete our tasks with much less stress and strain.  Take a few moments to review these simple ergonomic practices and powerful tools to find ways to improve your comfort and your health.

Ergonomic Tips for Stress

• Keep regularly used items, such as your phone or stapler, close to you, so you do not regularly stretch and strain to reach what you need.
• Don’t cradle your phone receiver between your shoulder and ear.  Instead, try using a headset or a speaker phone.  
• Evaluate your chair. Sitting in a good ergonomic chair that specifically meets your body’s needs can significantly reduce the stress on your neck, back and shoulders.  During the purchase, evaluate the seating, the back support, the armrests, and the various other adjustments available to make sure you get the chair you need for your work environment.
• Keeping your forearms, wrists and hands in a straight neutral position helps to avoid repetitive stress health issues.  Try installing an easy-to-use keyboard tray to help you keep your keyboard and mouse in the best position to minimize strain.
• Upgrade your keyboard and mouse. Using an ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic mouse will also help you avoid stress.  Ergonomic keyboards help you keep your hands and wrists in a relaxed positioned to reduce trauma to nerves and tendons in your wrists. The occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome can be greatly reduced by using an ergonomically designed keyboard and mouse.

Once you make the switch to ergonomic products and practices, you will be amazed at how much job stress is reduced.  These practices will help eliminate stress and strain as you work.  Make necessary changes today.