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Tag Archive for: ergonomics

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Practice Safe Shovelling

Shovelling snow is not only a requirement (based on your municipality) and a way to mitigate liability, but it ensures your safety and that of others.  Shovelling can be strenuous work, therefore it’s important to use the proper tools and techniques to reduce the risk of injury.  The following from Toronto Paramedic Services provides you with some great information on how to shovel safely.

Toronto Paramedic Services:  Snow Shovelling

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Happy Ergo Month!

October is Global Ergonomics Month!  As Occupational Therapists, a large part of what we do involves ensuring proper ergonomics for our clients at work or school, at home and at play.  The following from the Public Services Health and Safety Association provides you with some great information and resources for Ergo Month.

For more information check out some of our articles on ergonomics and download our free E-book “Cost Effective Ergonomic Solutions.”

Happy Ergo Month!

The Public Services Health and Safety Association:  Ergo Month

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What Is Sitting Disease?

The negative health effects of sitting for extended periods of time, coined as “sitting disease” has been a hot topic recently. Studies show that sitting for extended periods of time, as many of us do at work, while commuting, and even while watching television or reading, can lead to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and a decreased lifespan. But while we need to work, commute, and enjoy our down time, how do we combat these negative effects? Here are our top 5 tips to conquer sitting disease:

1. Take Regular Breaks: Taking a regular break can help boost productivity, reduce stress and benefit your physical health. Once an hour make sure you stand up, walk around the office, stretch or do some simple exercises like squats or lunges.

2. Stand While You Work: Standing workstations are becoming an increasingly popular choice in offices across the globe. These workstations allow you to adjust your desk from sitting to standing so you can have both options during the day.

3. Switch Your Seat: If you must sit while working, think about changing your seating options! From exercise ball chairs to desks with pedals, there are many options to help you increase your health while sitting.

4. Perfect Your Posture: While you are seated ensure you are not slouching, leaning or bending over to access your workspace. Sitting up straight and ensuring proper posture will go a long way for your physical health!

5. Make it a Mobile Meeting: If you’re meeting with a colleague see if you can have your meeting on the go. Take a walk around the block while you discuss or walk to your favourite coffee shop where you can continue your discussions there.

Check out the web’s premier sitting disease prevention guide brought to you by Beyond the Office Door for more information and resources on the prevention of sitting disease.

Beyond The Office Door:  The Web’s Premier Sitting Disease Prevention Guide

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Back to Routine, Back to Ergonomics

With the change in routine through the summer months, it is time to rethink about how we are sitting and working all day to make sure our body can adjust to the new routines that are devoid of summer vacation and summer activities.

In our previous posts, we have discussed using proper ergonomics to help support your back, neck and shoulders.  Today, we look at how to reduce wrist pain and related injuries.

Wrist injuries and corresponding pain are common work-related musculoskeletal disorders that can have detrimental consequences. Repetitive hand movements completed on the job is often a key culprit, however, improper positioning of the wrists, forearm and shoulder can also be a factor. Keyboarding, use of a mouse and extended periods of sitting at a computer in one position can lead to symptoms like wrist and forearm pain, weakness, numbness or tingling in the fingers and in some cases, development of cysts or nodules around the wrist joint and tendons.

Injuries to the wrist are particularly troublesome as we heavily require use of our hands throughout the work day. Barr, Barbe and Clark (2004) reported that work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the wrist and hand cause the longest absences from work and as such, are associated with greater losses in productivity and wages than injuries in other body areas. This research was also supported by a more recent study, which found that lost productivity costs related to hand and wrist injuries was roughly $411 million dollars per year and this was the highest among any other injury type studied (de Putter, Selles, Polinder et al., 2012). There are some strategies that can be used to prevent and address wrist pain, but it is essential to keep in mind that as with any other potential for injury at work, the worker, work station and job demands must all be considered.  Some great strategies to address wrist pain at work include:

  • Take regular breaks to stretch and allow your wrists to rest. If needed, use a timer on your computer to tell you when it is time to take a break. There are several free timers you can download and use such as Focus Booster (available for download at https://www.focusboosterapp.com/download) or Orzeszek Timer (available for download at http://www.orzeszek.org/dev/timer/)
  • Alter your job demands between typing, using the phone, filing or other duties that reduce strain on the wrist.
  • Ensure you are positioned so that your wrists remain in a neutral position during typing. This may require adjusting your keyboard, mouse or chair.

Many other great solutions to address wrist pain at work can be recommended by an Occupational Therapist, with solutions ranging from low to high cost. For more information, check out Entwistle Power’s FREE Office Ergonomic E-Book or contact an Occupational Therapist to help meet the ergonomic needs of your organization.

 

Resources

Barr, A., Barbe, M. & Clark, B. (2004). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the hand and wrist: epidemiology, pathophysiology and sensorimotor changes. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. Oct 2004, 34 (10), 610-627.

de Putter, C., Selles, R., Polinder, S., Panneman, M., Hovius, S. & van Beeck, E. (2012). Economic impact of hand and wrist injuries: health-care costs and productivity costs in a population-based study. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012, 94:e56 (1-7).

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/mouse/mouse_problems.html

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Back to Routine, Back to Ergonomics

With the change in routine through the summer months, it is time to rethink about how we are sitting and working all day to make sure our body can adjust to the new routines that are devoid of summer vacation and summer activities.

In our previous posts, we have discussed using proper ergonomics to help support your back and neck.  Today, we look at how to reduce shoulder pain and related injuries.

Sloppy shoulders – are you guilty? Take a second to freeze at your desk and notice how your body is positioned. If you are like most people, your shoulders are slumped or rounded and you are bending over your desk. Many people’s work stations consist of their computer or laptop, keyboards, phone and mobile devices, requiring them to switch back and forth between devices while still spending extended periods of time in a seated, slumped position.

Being in this position for an extended period causes strain to the upper body, particularly the shoulders and upper back. At first, you may feel achy or tired in these areas, but this goes away at night or during days off work so it doesn’t impact your work performance. However, over time you may start to notice that your aches and pains begin earlier in the day, your muscles feel tight, and this starts to hamper you even when you aren’t at work. This impacts your productivity, quality of life and can lead to more serious and long-lasting injuries.

Here are some great tips to help address these issues before they start to impact your daily function, or if they do exist, to stop them from worsening:

• Lower your keyboard so your shoulders are not elevated when typing.

• Adjust your posture so you are sitting up straight in your chair, with your shoulders pulled away from your ears and your feet are flat on the floor with your knees directly over them.

• Alter your position so that you are not reaching forward to your keyboard or mouse.

• Adjust your chair so that your arms reach your desk at a 90 degree angle.

• Take regular breaks to stretch or stand up to relieve tension in your upper body.

• Stick out your chest to bring your shoulders back and down. Do this several times per day and hold this position.

Want more strategies to address pain at work? Check out our free e-book “Cost Effective Ergonomic Solutions” to learn additional strategies for addressing shoulder and upper back pain, among others, while you are sitting at your desk.

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Back to Routine, Back to Ergonomics

With the change in routine through the summer months, it is time to rethink about how we are sitting and working all day to make sure our body can adjust to the new routines that are devoid of summer vacation and summer activities.

In our previous post, we discussed using proper ergonomics to help support your back.  Today, we look at how to reduce neck pain and injuries.

Text Neck—are you guilty? A recent article in the two way by Laura Sullivan discusses the posture adopted by many people when leaning over a cellphone while reading and texting. This bad posture can put up to 60 pounds of pressure on the upper spine — sometimes for several hours a day, depending on how often people look at their devices.

And it isn’t just texting. Believe it or not, holding the upper body still and sitting in an upright position, as is required when spending time sitting at a desk for long times such as working at a computer, requires a lot of effort from our muscular systems. There is an invisible but constant battle against gravity to maintain the head in an upright position, at the optimum distance from the screen, combined with maintaining one’s arms in the proper typing position increases the static load on our body, especially the neck and shoulders.

The Institute of Work and Health reported that neck pain related to work is one of the most common complaints of working aged adults and in 2006 it was reported that injuries to the upper extremity account for 30% of lost-time claims in Ontario.

There are often some commonly occurring culprits in the office that lead to poor postures and over time, fatigued bodies and resulting neck pain. Some of these culprits include:

• Non-adjustable workstations

• Workstations that are not properly designed or not well suited to the individual

• Lack of knowledge and experience on how to set up and adjustable workstation properly according to the worker’s needs (being sure to consider the worker’s body and their job tasks)

• Unsuitable job design that requires workers to sit uninterrupted for longer than an hour at a time

The good news is that many of these issues can be addressed through prevention. Some great tips for adjusting work stations to prevent neck pain include:

• Making sure that your monitor is directly in front of you and does not require you to look to the side

• If your monitor is too low, raise it with a book or another solid object

• Use split screen to read two documents at once while reducing neck rotation

For more great suggestions on how you can address neck pain in the workplace, download our E-Book:  “Cost Effective Ergonomic Solutions” and check out past posts on Wellness in the Workplace.

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Back to Routine, Back to Ergonomics

With the change in routine through the summer months, it is time to rethink about how we are sitting and working all day to make sure our body can adjust to the new routines that are devoid of summer vacation and summer activities.

Today we focus on proper ergonomics to support your back.

In 2010, back pain was found to be the single leading cause of disability world-wide according to the Global Burden of Disease.   It has been estimated that 186 million work days are lost each year to back pain alone which greatly impacts workplace productivity and costs. The Mayo Clinic has found that a number of factors can contribute to back pain and back injuries at work. The four most common factors include:

1.       Force:  Job demands that require lifting or moving heavy objects exerts force on our back which can lead to injury.

2.       Repetition:  Repetitive movements leads to muscle fatigue and in turn can lead to injury, particularly if these movements involve stretching our back near the limits of our range of motion or using awkward body positions.

3.       Posture:  Posture is a critical component in preventing fatigue and injury. Slouching or sitting in awkward positions alters the natural curves in our back, increasing fatigue and can lead to pain and injury.

4.       Stress:  While we often think of the negative impacts stress can have on our mental well-being, it also impacts our physical well-being. High levels of pressure at work or increased stress leads to muscle tension and tightness, which can contribute to or worsen back pain.

If back pain is something you or someone in your workplace experience, there are some strategies you can use to help minimize existing problems and even prevent issues before they arise:

·         Ensure that your feet are flat on the floor, as this helps stabilize our pelvis and lower back

·         If you have an adjustable chair, alter the settings so that your lower back has increased support

·         Get a colleague to take a photo of you sitting at your desk or workstation and examine your posture. Can this be adjusted?

·         Take regular breaks to stretch, stand up and walk around the office to complete other tasks

For more information, take a look at our FREE downloadable resource on office ergonomics and stay tuned for more Workplace Wednesday blog postings highlighting stretches and exercises to help address common work-related concerns such as back pain.

Resources

http://www.inthefaceofpain.com/content/uploads/2011/09/factsheet_Workplace.pdf

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/inj_prev.html

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Backpack Safety For Kids

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Backpacks are a staple for every student. They travel back and forth between home and school, lugging books and school supplies. They are put through the unavoidable daily abuse of being thrown on the ground, trampled on, stuffed into a cubby or locker, saving a spot in line, and become over-stretched and over-used with the necessities of school. They are a necessary part of your child’s education, yet how much thought do you really put into the backpack your child wears aside from maybe price or color?  Have you considered the health implications of an improperly worn, fitted, or poorly supportive backpack?

Backpacks are meant to be worn over both shoulders so that the weight can be evenly distributed across some of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. Due to this, backpacks are preferable to shoulder bags, however they must be worn properly in order to avoid postural issues and injuries to the back, shoulder, and/or neck (1). Additionally, backpacks that are too heavy or large increase a child’s risk of injury due to falling or tripping (2). The following are some simple tips to help ensure your child’s backpack is fitted properly in order to avoid any negative health implications.

First of all, when choosing a backpack look for the following features (1,3):

1.    Make sure the backpack is made of a lightweight material. Sure, some trendy materials may look cool, but these can also add unnecessary weight.

2.    The backpack should have two wide, padded shoulder straps that are adjustable. Thin, narrow straps can cut off circulation resulting in pain, tingling, and numbness.  Straps with a clip to secure them across the chest are best.

3.    Look for a padded back to increase comfort and also to protect your child from being poked by items inside the bag.

4.    Backpacks with a waist strap help distribute the weight more evenly and can protect the neck and shoulders from carrying the weight independently.

5.    Check out backpacks that have a roller option if allowed in your child’s school. This allows freedom to switch between wearing on the back (for example on snowy days when rolling is not practical) and rolling the bag on the ground to take stress off of the neck and shoulders.

6.    Ensure the backpack has multiple compartments as this helps to distribute the weight more evenly, and keeps things organized and separated.

Once you have found the perfect backpack, ensure the backpack is worn properly by following some of these general guidelines:

1.    The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that backpack load should never exceed 10-20% of your child’s body weight. Make sure unnecessary items aren’t traveling back and forth – leave heavy items at home or school if possible.

2.    When putting on a backpack, ensure your child bends at the knees (not the waist!) and uses both hands to lift it onto their shoulders. Watch for signs of strain or difficulty when putting it on – if any are present consider reducing the load in the bag by having your child carry a few items.

3.    ALWAYS use both of the shoulder straps. No matter how “cool” your child thinks using one shoulder strap looks, it can cause muscle, spine and orthopedic injury down the road.

4.    Tighten the shoulder straps and use the strap around the waist (if available). This helps to ensure even weight distribution. The bag should sit in the center of the back, about two inches above the waist (not down near the buttocks!).

5.    When packing, ensure heavy items are near the center / back of the bag. Use all of the available compartments to help distribute the weight more evenly.

6.    Talk to your child about making frequent trips to their locker, desk or cubby to avoid carrying extra weight around all day.

7.    Consider the backpack as a possible culprit if your child starts complaining of back pain, numbness or tingling in the shoulders or arms, or discomfort in the upper body or lower back.  If so, consult with a professional about how to correct the issues, and prevent these from getting worse.  Core, back, or strengthening exercises might be needed if your child is having difficultly lugging around their school stuff – and consult a professional to have any exercises prescribed.

Then, make it fun!  Give your child a list of things to look for when picking out their backpack, and comment on the different features of the ones at the store.  Once purchased, load this up with different things so you can show them the difference when weight is distributed evenly, unevenly and gets too heavy.  Have them try the straps at different lengths so they can comment on what is most comfortable.  Encourage them to leave things at school that should stay there (like indoor shoes) and consider having a double set of school supplies at home so these don’t need to travel back and forth.  Make Friday “clean out your backpack day” for a special treat.

Remember that you get what you pay for.  A $10.00 backpack chosen on style or color may cost you a lot more in the long run.  Backpacks are not an item you should cheap out on!

For more informative articles on kids health check out our OT For Kids page.

1)      American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (2013).
2)      KidsHealth (2013)
3)      American Academy of Pediatrics (2014)

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What Is Ergonomics?

I’m sure you’ve heard the term, “ergonomics” before, but do you know what it means and more importantly, how it could benefit your organization?

Ergonomics is a catch-all phrase for the process of ensuring the body is in an appropriate position when completing daily tasks. Sitting, standing, bending, lifting – all these movements require the proper ergonomic position of the legs, spine, and arms to promote comfort and productivity, and to reduce the risk of physical injury.  Proper ergonomics is often most important at work, as this is where you spend the majority of your time.

Everyone deserves to be comfortable at work – from the front line staff to the CEO. When people are comfortable they are happier, more productive, feel valued and supported, and are less likely to leave work due to physical injury from poor office ergonomics.

Check out our informative video for information on how an Occupational Therapist can help in your office by keeping people at work, enhancing productivity, reducing costs, and promoting employee morale and satisfaction.

 

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Solutions for A Sore Neck

Sitting at a desk, staring at a screen, reading a book, working on a laptop or tablet, texting, daily commuting… these are all activities that can lead to pain and soreness in the neck and shoulders.

The Institute of Work and Health reported that neck pain related to work is one of the most common complaints of working aged adults and in 2006 it was reported that injuries to the upper extremity account for 30% of lost-time claims in Ontario.

The following handout provides you with some simple and cost effective solutions to reduce neck pain while at work.

NECK PAIN -- ergo doc one pager