How Computer Ergonomics Can Help You

The term ergonomic office is no longer just a catchphrase on the lips of the trendy. Ergonomic office standards have even been implemented in some US Governement offices. Ergonomic office products are now being sold both to individuals for home offices as well as to companies for their offices. But what is it that makes ergonomic office products so special?

Ergonomics is basically the science of design that is tailored to fit the requirements of a human and the task they need to perform. For example, many people have to sit for many hours a day, which can cause pain when sitting in a bad posture. Therefore, it is important to design the chair so that it supports the body well. Most of the pain experienced by office workers is due to repetitive tasks that are performed with non-ergonomic products, as many doctors and chriropracters have stated.

Perhaps the most vivid example of an ailment caused directly by office work is Carpal Tunnel syndrome. Carpal Tunnel is one of the most common ailments reported by people who spend most of their day working with a keyboard and monitor. The repetitive motion of typing while the hands are not properly aligned and positioned causes the tendons in the wrists to become inflamed and painful. Carpal Tunnel can become a chronic condition if not dealt with, and a slew of cases from the 90’s nearly overwhelmed the medical community.

Carpal Tunnel was a new ailment, brought in by the rise in computer related jobs. Throughout the 80′s and 90′s, Carpal Tunnel was most commonly found among secretaries and programmers, as well as other computer-heavy job descriptions. The ergonomic keyboards first appeared on the market in the mid 90’s and was popularized by Microsoft. A new, revolutionary design tilted the keyboard body in a V shaped angle, thus enabling fingers to reach keys more easily and with less stress to the wrists. Relief, or at least the first wave of it, had arrived.

Like in all things in the technology age, a new generation of ergonomic keyboards was born from better design and technology. Adjustable keyboards became the rage, allowing the user to adjust the keyboard at exactly the right angle for them. Other ergonomic keyboards included a built-in trackball, fully separated keyboards, and other gadgets and designs.

Soon after the ergnomic keyboard appeared, so did the first ergonomic mouse. It is perhaps a little known fact that the wrist suffers from the normal everyday mouse just as much as from the keyboard. The ergonomic mouse shfits the angle they are held in, providing the maximum possible support for the wrist and hand. This can dramatically lower the possibility of having Carpal Tunnel. The ergonomic mouse can look a tad whacky in its design, but it delivers ongoing comfort that cannot be found in the traditional mouse design. Design ranges from mouse boxes to upright mice.

There are other ailments that are directly related to computer use. As computers became more commonplace everywhere, these ailments rose dramatically. Neck and shoulder pain was especially bothersome to many people who spent hours in front of a computer monitor. Desks were most often not adjustable, and monitors were not positioned in the correct angle for that person. The basic adjustment of a monitor for an individual was usually overlooked by office managers and administrators, causing a great deal of suffering to many people.

Some problems were solved when monitor manufacturers began to create adjustable monitor stands. Monitor risers replaced telephone books when people wished to adjust the angle in which they viewed their monitors. Since many of them had a down-slope, they were much more effective than the telephone books. Laptop stands of all kinds helped people all over the world avoid the stress inflicted on the body by leaning into a laptop. Monitor stackers lifted monitors above the desk to gain a better angle, and once flat screen monitors appeared on the market, so did Flat Screen arms that could be adjusted perfectly for each individual.

The monitor glare headache is possibly the most wide-spread and least talked about ailment. Human eyes are drastically affected by the constant high-speed flickering of monitors. The glare and flickering are much harder on the eyes than paper, making reading from a monitor doubly fatiguing for the eyes. This, of course, can cause headaches and migranes.

Glare monitors were developed in the early 90’s to reduce these headaches and have come a long way since then. Anti-Glare products should reduce the glare from the screen as well as sharpen the picture on the monitor, which in turn lowers fatigue for the eyes and reduces headaches.

Although our life today more often than not revolves around a computer, there are ways to avoid the ailments that curse the computer generation. Using ergonomic chairs, adjustable desks, as well as the multitude of other products that employ computer ergonomics can literally be a life-saver for all those cursed with the aches and pains associated with any computer job. Whether you work in an office or have a home office, make it an ergonomic office. Your entire body will thank you, and may even give you a standing ovation!

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