More Ergonomic Info

Prevention of Carpal Tunnel is Simple with the

Ergonomic Positioning of Your Office Chair and Workstation

Carpal Tunnel is a common workplace concern due to the rising numbers of people suffering from carpal tunnel due to bad workplace ergonomics. Carpal tunnel affects the hands, arms, fingers and even the back of the sufferer and can cause serious problems, rendering the worker useless for even the simplest of tasks. Carpal tunnel syndrome while it sounds complicated is actually quite simply explained.
At the heart of the problem, the median nerve is under control of the sensations in our hands and fingers. This nerve passes through our wrist in a “tunnel”. Carpus is actually Latin for wrist and the problem stems from wrist placement.

The wrist bones and ligaments in our arms form the walls of the nerve tunnel median nerve. The tendons that control finger motion are also in this tunnel along with the nerves. These tendons are supposed to move in a straight line and are designed with a straight motion in mind. These same tendons, when moved at an angle repetitively will start to rub and swell.

When constantly moving your fingers in a typing motion with your wrists bent, you are forcing your tendons to move in a pattern that they were not designed for. Eventually, the rubbing of the tendons will cause so much swelling that it will leave no room for the median nerve. When the median nerve becomes damaged by this constant compression you can lose sensation in your fingers and hands, starting with a tingle similar to numbness. This renders you incapable of completing even the simplest of office tasks.

Usually corrective action is taken first, such as a wrist brace stabilizer to keep the tendons from rubbing. Drugs such as cortisone, to help control the swelling are also used. If the problem is not fixed or continues to be aggravated, surgery to open up the carpal tunnel and make more room may be needed.

Positioning your keyboard tray and mouse platform so that the elbows are at or above the keyboard height is important. Relaxing your arms so that they hang naturally from your shoulders will also help you to keep the proper position. Also make sure to keep your forearms parallel to the floor and your wrists in a neutral position. Make sure to always keep your feet on the floor, even if this requires a footrest.

If you have adjusted your seat to accomodate your elbow to desk heights but now your feet are not Flat on the floor, you will need to get a small footrest in order to keep your feet flat. Your upper arms and lower arms should be at 90 degree to 120 degree and you can accomplish this by moving your chair closer or farther away from your workstation, again helping with the wrist positioning.

Also know that when you are performing different tasks, your chair might require adjustment with each job to adequately stay in the ergonomic positioning needed. When you are typing at your computer your body is in a completely different form than when stapling, using the mouse or taking notes. Your chair may need to adjust to these tasks at different workstations and some tweaking of the chair is required.

With good ergonomic positioning and practicing proper techniques and keyboard/seat height placement, carpal tunnel syndrome can be avoided. Prevention of carpal tunnel in the office environment is as simple as keeping proper keyboard/seat height and remembering your postion throughout the day.

With the hours that employees spend seated in their office chair in this, the computer age, it is important to remember to practice good ergonomics and keep the correct positioning throughout the day. Ergonomics are the key to a healthy body, back and neck when working long hours in your task chair. When you sit in your office chair, you should adjust it to the proper position first, remembering a simple checklist of setup motions and enjoy more comfort ability as well as productivity.

Ergonomics Explained                                            Ergonomic Office Chair Collection