What about workplace pains?
Workplace pains and strains can be tolerated at times but they can turn serious if taken for granted. They can cause pain, numbness and discomfort or worse – they can also lead to severe disability. Workplace pains and strains include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs), Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs), and Repetitive Motion Injuries (RMIs). These kinds of injuries affect the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves and they can drastically affect a worker’s life if not prevented or treated early.
Some of the known examples of these injuries are:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome – numbness, tingling, or burning sensations in the thumb and fingers (particularly the index and middle fingers)
- Epicondylitis – painful condition of the elbow caused by overuse
- Synovitis – inflammation of the tendon sheath that includes swelling and fluid collection
- Muscle strains – pain and discomfort resulting from damage to a muscle or its attaching tendons
- Sciatica – inflammation radiating in the lower back and going down the leg
- Tendonitis – inflammation or irritation of a tendon, a thick cord that attaches bone to muscle
- Rotator cuff tendonitis – inflammation that affects the tendons and muscles that help move the shoulder joint
- De Quervains’ disease – inflammation of tendons in the thumb that extend to the wrist
- Prepatellar bursitis (Carpet layers knee) – inflammation and swelling of the bursa (pad-like sac that protects the knee) in the front of the kneecap
- Trigger finger – condition that causes the fingers or thumb to catch or lock when bent
- Low back pain – pain that involves the back muscles and bones
Forceful, frequent and repetitive movements of a part of the body can be the main cause for these. For example, sitting or standing for too long, typing for intensive hours, using a computer mouse a lot, etc. Other factors may also contribute, such as poor posture while doing the movement, using extreme force while doing the movement staying in a poorly supported position while working and not having enough breaks from task.
Can workplace pains and strains be prevented?
Fortunately, these injuries can be prevented. If you take appropriate steps to reduce, or better yet – eliminate the exposure to the work-related risk factors, you can also minimize your risk to injuries in the workplace.
Making basic changes to your workplace ergonomics like adjusting workspace arrangement or replacing equipment to improve safety are good options to reduce these risks significantly. This may include modifying heights and layouts of office chairs, desks, keyboard, computer screen, and other things that should be arranged correctly for efficient use. The easiest way to improve ergonomics is likely by making adjustments to your computer workstations. Here’s how:
Basic Workspace Arrangement
To start off, you have to arrange your workspace where you can vary your postures, enabling you to sit or stand comfortably in a position that does not put stress on any specific area of your body. Whatever position you have, you should be able to keep your neck in a neutral angle and minimize looking up or to the sides while you are working. You must also reduce stressful movements from your waist. Always keep the workstation and workstation tools within reach without having to lean, bend, or twist at the waist frequently.
Make it a habit to take breaks
Remind yourself to take short breaks frequently throughout your work period. For 15-20 seconds, you can look away from your computer monitor, take deep breaths as you shrug and relax your shoulders while still sitting. You can also stand up and stretch your neck, arms, shoulders, back and legs. If you do similar work or activities at home, be sure to make this a good habit to avoid eye strains, muscle tension build-up and cumulative effect of repetitive motions.
Workstation Tools
To improve your workstation, choose tools that fit your personal physical and comfort needs. If you feel some discomfort while using a tool or object, it is probably a sign that you need something better that fits you and your task.
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Desks: Choose a sturdy desk that is not reflective and big enough to accommodate papers, personal items, and other workstation tools. It should be arranged in a way that allows easy access of objects and its height should allow enough space for your knees and thighs to comfortably fit under the desk.
Additional Tip: Place all items and tools within a comfortable reach of both hands so that there is no unnecessary twisting of any part of the body. You can choose to buy desks with sliding drawers or you can simply put document holders or item bins on your desk’s surface.
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Chairs: Choose a supportive chair that maintains your normal spinal curvature. Preferably, it must be something that is adjustable in height so that it can properly support your arms, lower back and legs. If possible, also choose a chair that revolves and rolls on wheels for easy movement without leaning or twisting the back. Even if you don’t use armrests, remember to keep your elbows close to your sides to prevent arm and shoulder tension. Also make sure to set the chair to the right height to keep your feet flat and supported on the floor to reduce pressure on your lower back.
Additional Tip: To put less stress on the back while sitting, you can try to sit in a slightly reclined position. This position can be more comfortable for some people but you should refrain from doing this if you feel increased stress on the shoulders and neck when you reach for items.
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Monitors: Choose a computer monitor that is clear for you to see without leaning forward or looking up or to one side. If possible, it should be protective against eye strain, which may lead to vision problems and headaches. You can opt to buy monitors with plasma screens as it has less glare than other monitors. Another protective shield that you can use are glare guards. These are available either as part of the monitor or to be placed over the monitor screen.
Additional Tip: Set the height of the screen where the top edge is set at eye level or within 2 inches below eye level. You will know if it is adjusted right if the centre of your screen is near or exactly in level with your shoulder height. With this, you should be able to see or read the bottom of the screen without too much head, neck or shoulder flexing. For the distance, set the eye-to-screen space that permits you to easily focus on the screen. This is usually within an arm’s length but you can make some adjustments until it makes you feel more comfortable.
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Keyboard: Choose a computer keyboard that allows comfortable typing. The keyboard’s height or tilting angle should be adjusted in a way that allows your elbows to be bent comfortably and close to your sides. You can have wrist supports to help keep your wrists in a neutral, almost straight position while typing.
Additional Tip: When you type, try raising your wrists from the support (or desk) so your wrists are in a neutral position. You may want to alternate between resting your wrists on the supports and raising them up. While doing so, be careful not to have the wrist extended or bent in an awkward position.
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Mouse: Choose a light, well-designed mouse that will not cause unnecessary pressure on the wrist and forearm muscles. Thus, a large heavy bulky mouse is not that advisable to use. It causes not only hand muscle tension but it can also damage the wrist in the long run as its weight forces the wrist to bend at an awkward angle.
Additional Tip: To prevent unnecessary strains on the hands, elbows and arms, always use the mouse as close as possible to the keyboard and to your body.
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Mouse: When answering calls using a home phone or mobile phone, avoid cradling the phone between your head and shoulder as it can put stress in those areas of the body. If you need to use your computer at the same time, use a lightweight headset or the phone’s speaker-phone capabilities to avoid awkward positions while talking and doing other tasks, such as typing.
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Ergonomic Environmental Factors
Our work environment can mean a lot. A comfortable room temperature, a quiet area, and sufficient lighting without glare from office lights, sunlight, or the computer screen – these can all affect the way you feel and how well you work. By adjusting your work environment, you may be able to minimize stress and discomfort, and reduce the risk of resulting strains that lead to injury.
An Ergonomic Workplace means Healthier, Happier and Pain-free employees
Employing ergonomics in the workplace can tremendously benefit a company. It doesn’t only make workers more efficient – it also saves a lot of time and manpower and it lessens the fatigue that leads to fewer mistakes. Aside from that, it also means fewer injuries that may lead to fewer sick days or the presence of employees unable to work at their best.
If you are one of the employees who are turning grayer each day at work, it might be that your workstation is designed poorly or unfit for your needs. Remember that in order to be happy and on the job, you also need to be healthy and pain-free. To achieve this, having a neat, clean and comfortable work environment is always essential.
Related Articles:
Ergonomics in the Workplace: An Overview
Posture, Movements and Ergonomics
At North Shore Chiropractic, we provide a variety of comprehensive health programs to promote good health practices within your workplace. We have programs that contribute to improved health and injury risk as well as improved workplace overall performance and job satisfaction.
For starters, we have an Essential Power Seminar that we can conduct at your place of work, business, sports or social club. In this seminar, will teach you how to be more ergonomically aware – this includes correcting beds, pillows & desk setup.
To book, you can Contact us or visit our Seminars Page.