October 4, 2005

Preventing Back and Neck Injury At Your Desk

Design an Ergonomic Work Station

By James Pedreiro, D. C.

Sitting at a desk all day can be hazardous to your health.  And your wallet.

Every year more and more office workers seek medical help for neck and back problems related to poorly designed work stations. 

These problems result in increased sick leave, reduced productivity and higher workman’s compensation costs, not to mention the pain and suffering people must endure. 

The key to preventing discomfort and injury is to design a work station that is ergonomically suited to each individual or to fit the person to the work station, whether it is for yourself, or your employees.

Here are a few ways to create a safer, healthier work environment:

If you work at a computer, make sure that the monitor is at the proper height.  A monitor that is too low will cause you to constantly tilt your head down.  Before you dismiss this idea, consider a bowling ball.  If you hold the ball with your arm bent up and near your chest, like a waitress holds a tray, you can maintain that position for a long period of time.  But if you  hold the bowling ball at arm’s length, your muscles now have to do all the work and keeping the ball up becomes painful.

The same is true with your head.  Looking down at a monitor creates stress that results in muscle tension and headaches.   Over time, tilting your head could damage the discs in your neck.  A disc is a section of cartilage that acts like a shock absorber or sponge in your spinal column.  When the neck is held in an abnormal position for long periods of time, the fibers around the disc become weak and start to tear.  These micro tears can eventually lead to bulges or ruptures which cause severe pain.

To avoid this problem, make sure the top of the the screen is at eye level.  Your eyes should be focused on the tool bar at the top of the screen.  The monitor should be approximately arm’s length away.   Do not lean forward to look at the monitor.

To reduce the chances of back pain, sit deep in the chair with your back against the back rest to help maintain proper posture. Your hips should be level with your knees.  

When typing your wrists should be in the neutral position, that is, not tilted down or up.  Elbows should be, at your side. Your ring finger should be at the same level as your elbow, between 90 to 100 degrees.
The phone should be on the opposite side of the desk from your dominant hand.  So if  you are right handed, the phone should be on the left side.

The mouse should be level with the base of the keyboard, about two inches away, so that your elbow stays at your side.

Please keep in mind that the body was not designed for many of the things we make it do.  Also, there is no single best posture for working at a desk for extended periods.  This means you should change positions frequently to reduce stress and fatigue which can lead to injury.  Stand up and move around from time to time and use the 20-20-20 rule:  for every 20 minutes you work at a computer, take a 20 second break looking anywhere other than at the monitor for 20 seconds.  If you want, you can stand up and look around for 20 seconds, which gives your back a break, as well.

Applying this rule can reduce eye strain while preventing unnecessary wear and tear on your body.

I strongly urge you to make the appropriate changes now.  An ergonomically incorrect work station will increase mental and physical stress.   By the end of the work day you will feel more tense and tired, and have less energy to spend quality time with your friends and family.  If you make the changes you will feel better and have more time to spend with family and friends.

If you are an employer, instituting these improvements will result in increased productivity and a better bottom line.

James Pedreiro, D. C., has a chiropractic practice in Campbell.  He is a State Qualified Medical Evaluator and a Certified Injury Prevention Specialist with BackSafe.  He teaches injury prevention classes to large and small businesses such as United Airlines, Kaiser, Kendall Jackson Wineries and several colleges, to name a few.   Dr. Pedreiro can help you set up your computer work station to make it more ergonomically suitable or offer customized 1-2 hour injury prevention programs to the industry.  For information, call 408-371-6003.