If you want a more productive workforce and freedom from unnecessary medical and insurance expenses, then the answer is ‘Yes’. You will find ergonomics a worthwhile investment, with savings made in terms of decreased absenteeism, time wasted, medical costs and employee turnover. You can also look forward to a more motivated and creative workforce. You will be amazed by how simple improvements on the physical arrangement of your office can do wonders for your business.

So how should you get started with your ergonomics efforts?

Arrange desks and seats the proper way.

Computer users are most vulnerable to risks of acquiring cumulative trauma injuries (work related upper limbs disorder). One best way to prevent this is by paying attention to your employees’ desk and seat arrangements. You can start by keeping the monitors at the employees’ eye level. The desks should be conducive to this kind of arrangement. This will keep the employees’ heads over their shoulders, a good position for avoiding strain on the neck, back and shoulder.

Also, you must provide chairs that give the lower back the support that it needs. Chairs must be just the right height so that the employees’ feet reach the floor. This is important for providing support to the body’s overall weight.

Position keyboards the right way.

You should position keyboards in a manner that allows employees’ wrists to remain straight as they spend long hours working at the computer. As shown by research, bending the wrists too much when doing repetitive tasks increases pressure in the carpal tunnel, causing serious injuries.

Do not allow stress to set in.

How do you manage stress? It’s simple-take a break. Instruct your employees to leave the computer for fifteen minutes after two hours of work. They should also take little breaks within the hour. Allow them to get up, stretch their limbs for a bit or simply take the time to close their eyes and relax.

Allow them to take hold of the reigns.

A work environment that encourages employees to take control tends to be more stress free. You should encourage employees to speak up and to voice out their opinions and ideas. Also, you should encourage camaraderie among employees.

Cultivate a healthy lifestyle among the employees.

The best way to stay productive and free from injury remains the same-staying healthy! Remind your employees of how they should eat well, get enough sleep and live a well-balanced life. Encourage them not to skip breakfast and to take vitamins. Remind them that taking care of their own selves will not only help them with their jobs, it will also help them stay young and look attractive.

Many benefits await you with your ergonomics efforts. It may actually be a more worthwhile project than costly software and technological innovations. And what’s great about it is that you don’t have to shell out big bucks for great returns.

As you can see, it’s not a hot trend for nothing.

The author, Jason Cheney, is a small business entrepreneur with a keen interest in furniture and the Amish.

Visit http://www.online-office-furniture.com to see, and find out more about ergonomic office furniture.

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We have become a nation of professional sitters. Next time you are in an office building, look around at all the people sitting behind computers. Chances are, you’ll see a full array of really bad posture positions: necks craning forward, slumping upper backs, rounded shoulders.

Sitting for a long time is a major cause of back discomfort: it puts continuous pressure on the muscles and discs of the lower back. You may think your back muscles get a rest when you sit. Actually, they’re working very hard to hold you upright.

Sitting puts 40 percent more pressure on the lower back disks than standing does.

Sitting is particularly hard on the lower back, especially if you sit with your lower back rounded out (called forward flexion). Make sure you sit with your pelvis in neutral where the top of the pelvic bones (iliac crests) should line up with the pubic bones. This is much less stressful for your lower back. Leaning over a desk and looking up and down from a keyboard to a computer screen puts pressure on the neck and upper back, too. By stopping the slouch, supporting your back properly, and avoiding the head-forward position, you will be able to work more comfortably and productively.

Replacing or modifying your office furniture is a good start. Fortunately, more manufacturers are producing furniture and accessories with good posture in mind. Ergonomically designed furniture can help reduce the user’s fatigue and discomfort, and help increase productivity. Keep in mind that a piece of furniture is ergonomically correct for you only if it fits your particular body.

In any case, furniture alone can’t help your posture. You also have to become more aware of how you sit, and you need to take little breaks during the day.

Janice Novak, M.S., author of Posture, Get It Straight! book and companion DVD have been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. Ms. Novak demonstrated to Oprah’s audience how her One Minute To Better Posture technique could have them standing straighter instantly! Janice Novak is considered this country’s premier posture expert. She is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker and wellness consultant. Her unique posture program has helped thousands of people look and feel better. To learn more or to order a copy of Posture, Get It Straight! book &/or companion exercise DVD, go to http://www.ImproveYourPosture.com
To subscribe to Janice’s free Health Newsletter, send a blank email to: Janice@ImproveYourPosture.com

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Ergonomics is a huge field potentially incorporating many sciences, a huge number of processes, and nearly every tool and object used by humans. The basis idea is simple, although biotechnologists might have you believe otherwise. Ergonomics is simply the application of science to the tools we use and the systems within which we work. The goals are the same across the board: to make our physical environment more comfortable and less stressful on the body, to improve efficiency, and to produce a high level of quality.

While ergonomics seems like a recent buzzword, the concept is anything but-there is evidence that the Greeks were working on streamlining their work spaces as early as the 5th century BC. The word itself first appeared in the mid-19th century and was applied to certain jobs such as coal mining and bricklaying in order to find what tools allowed a job to be done quickly and most productively, and to determine which steps of a task might possibly be eliminated or rearranged.

Today, we are more likely to hear the word applied to office spaces, as so many humans have been relegated to that type of environment. There have been many studies done to determine the proper angle at which your hands should align when typing on a computer keyboard, the best height for the armrests, and how to sit to avoid back and neck strain. A lot of it is common sense, but it has resulted in some pretty cool office chairs and work stations!

If you spend a lot of time at home or at work planted in front of a computer, an ergonomic office chair is an investment you might wish to consider. Whether you realize it or not, a chair that is wrong for your body can be causing you fatigue and putting undue stress on your back, neck, and circulatory system. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you have more energy, feel better, and are more productive in the long run.

Be able to adjust your home office workstation. You’ll need to make adjustments sometimes to ensure a safe working posture and be able to make a few changes in posture while you’re working.

Be sure to minimize glare from overhead lights, desk lamps and windows by arranging your workspace accordingly.

Choose a place that has appropriate air circulation. Stale air will make you feel you stale too and your productivity will drop like a rock.

Be sure you don’t sit directly under air-conditioning vents that would force cold air right on top of you.

Vary your tasks and change workstations to lessen the effects of working. Move to a different desk or table for writing or phone calls, for instance.

Use adjustable equipment that allows you to change your working posture. The use of easily adjustable furniture will increase your comfort level and use different muscle groups occasionally.

Switch between keystrokes and mousing, especially if you mouse a lot. Staying in either working position for too long can cause problems later. Differing postures mean less wear and tear on you.

Take regular breaks from the computer. When you do, take a couple of minutes to stand, stretch and bend. Your body will love you for it. Avoid the laps to the fridge.

Switch between computer tasks and non-computer tasks. The changes in posture and motion help give muscles and eyes a chance to recover and refresh.

Your Home Office Ergonomic Workstation

Use a properly designed and appropriately adjusted desk for you. It should have sufficient room to move your legs around as needed.

Place your computer monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away.

Don’t keep stuff under your desk that restrict leg movements and shifts in body position, such as files, CPUs, printers, books, etc.

Keep your keyboard, mouse and phone within easy reach. Reaching too far will lead to repetitive stress injuries. Having this equipment nearby greatly reduces your chances for such injuries.

Keep arms, hands and wrists away from sharp-edged surfaces, such as the square edge of your desk. They’re called distress points for a good reason - causing you distress! Use a wrist rest or cover the desk’s edge with cushioning. Strongly consider buying a rounded desktop.

Never sit too far away from your workstation. Shoulder, back and neck pain can be caused by reaching too far for components.

Raise or lower work surfaces to suit you approximately 20 to 28 inches above the floor to give your thighs enough clearance. Remove the center drawer of your desk if you need more clearance. Get a different chair if your current one feels uncomfortable.

Speaking Of Office Chairs…

Try out a lot of chairs before buying. Really, a lot. A good fit is more than worth the time and trouble.

Buy the most adjustable chair that’s also the most comfortable for you.

Your chair’s backrest should nicely fit the natural curve of your spine and give good lumbar support. If your chair of choice has no built-in lumbar support, try using a rolled up towel or a removable back support pillow to help maintain the natural curve of your spine.

The seat of your chair should be comfy, not too hard and allow your feet to rest flat on the floor or a footrest if you prefer.

Armrests should be soft and allow shoulders to relax while keeping elbows close to your sides. If not, either lose them or find another suitable chair.

Your chair should have a five leg base fitted with with casters to allow you to glide on the floor. Less legs means tipping over.

You should be able to lean back while sitting at least 15 degrees. The backrest should lock in place for safety and allow tension adjustments to contain lower back movement.

Keyboards

Keyboards, pointing devices and desktops that are too high or low lead to bad wrist, arm and shoulder position which lead to injury. When your keyboard’s too high, you may unconsciously elevate your shoulders to raise your arms in order to reach it. Split keyboard designs allow keying without bending your wrists inward.

Place your keyboard directly in front of you.

Your shoulders should be relaxed and elbows resting at your sides. Your wrists should be straight, in line with your arms.

If you use a keyboard tray, it must be adjustable for height and tilt. it sholuld also provide good leg and foot clearance. Of course, it must also have enough room for your mouse and keyboard.

Tilting your keyboard by raising the legs on the back of the keyboard will cause your wrists to bend upward. Smaller keyboards, such as those on laptops, will also cause stressful wrist positions. Awkward wrist positions will cause “contact stress” to your tendons, that must move more while keying.

Monitors

Make sure you sit at a comfy distance away from your monitor so that you can easily read text with your head and body in an upright position, with your back properly supported by your chair.

Be sure you have enough desk space to fit your monitor. Pull your desk away from the wall if it’s too big or use a flat panel model. Move yourself back and use an adjustable keyboard tray for a deeper and better spaced working area.

The center of your monitor should always be right in front of you and not more than 15 to 20 degrees below your direct line of vision.

People who use bifocal glasses tend to look at their monitor screen through the bottom lens of their glasses, with their head tilted back if the monitor is sitting too high. This will soon cause neck stress and back pain.

Stop looking at your monitor occasionally to lessen eyestrain. Studies have shown that eyes blink fewer times while looking at monitors. When resting your eyes away from your monitor, blink a lot to moisten eyes or do something non-computer related.

Dan Reinhold works at home as best he can with two boys, a dog, a cat, two rats, a wife and a household to keep together to boot. Learn how to cope with all those day-to-day home business hassles and hold on to your sanity at http://www.WAHumor.com

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When it comes to buying furniture for your office, you would never compromise on quality, would you? Office furniture must be selected with utmost care. Long working hours in your office might make you tired by the end of the day. When you come back home after work, you are required to spend time with your family members. That is why it is important to buy ergonomic versions of office furniture.

There are basically two types of office furniture: pre-assembled office furniture and unassembled office furniture. The former type of furniture does not require any sort of assembly; you just need to put it at the desired place in your office. However, the latter (read unassembled furniture) needs to be assembled before you can use it.

Before purchasing office furniture, it is also important to confirm with the seller that the furniture is covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. What are the different types of executive office furniture? Office desk chairs, sectional sofas, conference tables and chairs, custom leather chairs, computer chairs, high-back office chairs and designer lounge chairs are some of the popular office furniture.

Mostly used in business organizations, executive office chairs add to the business atmosphere of corporate offices. Conference rooms as well as the waiting areas of the CEO’s and managers of business organizations are incomplete without executive office chairs. Office chairs must not only be comfortable; they should also present a professional image

Computers have become an integral part of every business organization today. The chairs which we generally use at our homes are of little or no use for a business enterprise. Professionals working on computers need comfortable chairs which can support their back. This is the reason why computer chairs have become so popular everywhere in the world.

Leather and fine wood are generally used for making high quality executive office chairs. Moreover, such chairs also have various adjustment mechanisms. What are task chairs? An office chair that swivels and has casters on the bottom is known as a task chair. The Internet abounds in online furniture shops which specifically deal in high quality executive office chairs

Working long hours in the office can wear you out by the end of a day, and even after that you have family obligations to attend to. This highlights the importance of buying only ergonomic versions of the best office furniture. Being absolutely certain that the product is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty is extremely important. So what are a few differing types of executive office furniture? You can find office desk chairs, sectional sofas, large conference tables, task chairs, custom leather chair designs, computer chairs, high-backed officer chairs, executive office chairs, and specialty designer lunge chairs are among the varieties of office furniture available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Marcus

A large number of peopel seem to be avoiding the purchase of an air bed as a result of a lackluster experience in the past. Although this is certainly understandable, people need to realize that the air beds of the past couldn’t be any more different from the ones available today. Given that a quality air bed is purchased, almost all of the things which were once issues should no longer be areas of concern.

The first impression which most seem to be under is that they’ll wake up to a deflated air bed come the first night of utilization. This scenario is not only unlikely but downright outrageous. Modern air mattresses are constructed of heavy vinyl and are designed to support large amounts of weight. In contrast, older air mattresses were made with either thin plastic or vinyl. This thin material made them very prone to air loss.

The second concern on the minds of many is that of comfort. For some reason, it is believed that air bed manufacturers would be ridiculous enough (as they’ve been in the past) to leave bare vinyl atop their air beds. Let me assure you that these manufacturers know what they’re customers demand and thus line the top of their beds with a comfortable, velvet-like material. With that, comfort should be anything but a concern.

Finally, many have been mislead into thinking that they’ll be inconvenienced in adjusting the firmness of their mattress. Current air bed models offer the convenience of firmness adjustment from a remote control. This is far less burdensome when compared to the trial-and-error method involved with older air mattresses.

Now that you’ve been dug out of air bed lies, we hope you will put some thought into purchasing one. Chances are in your favor that your new air bed experience will be worthwhile.

Much more information on Inflatable air beds can be found on our inflatable air bed website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=T_Mi

Based on the best ergonomic research available today, you would believe that if your monitor is in the right place, if your keyboard and mouse are positioned just right, you’ll be free of any type of repetitive stress injury. This is just not the case.

My practice is in an area heavy on computer users. They all work for top notch companies that have hired ergonomic experts to measure the angles and modify the employee’s desk and chair to make sure they are in the best position possible. Still, all of the people that come into my office are still experiencing pain and discomfort in the head, neck, upper and lower back.

Why isn’t the ergonomic chair enough? Why doesn’t it “fix” everything that can go wrong? Do we need more expensive chairs?

I don’t think this is the problem. You have to agree that the early computer workstations were not very ergonomically friendly, so it certainly helps to have improved that situation. I still see people that have problems because of either spinal misalignments or because they get so little physical activity that their spines are starting to show the wear and tear of their normal daily activities.

Just about every problem with the spine can be linked to some kind of trauma. Trauma from a car accident or a fall is easier to notice. A small, repetitive trauma that seems benign when done for a short period can really start to affect the person when done for forty or more hours per week and compounded by years of the same movements.

The muscles in the front of the body become short, creating a hunching over. The muscles in the back become longer and, because of this, they become weaker. After awhile, the best chair in the world is really only providing support for a spine that is not nearly as healthy as it could be.

In fact, it could be argued that since the chair is providing all the “support,” the person may not feel the need to improve their own spine and create a better support for themselves. Over time, the spine is only getting weaker and more is being asked of the ergonomic equipment meant to prevent injury.

What’s the solution? See a chiropractor, and make sure your spine is in alignment. Next, get some exercise and work specifically on targeting stretching of the muscles in front of your body and strengthening muscles in the back. Now your ergonomic setup will actually have something to support!

Dr. Philip Cordova is a chiropractor in Houston, Texas. More information about this Houston Chiropractor can be found on his website at http://www.MyHoustonChiropractor.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_V._Cordova,_D.C.

Is this your life? Every morning you stumble out of bed, shower, get dressed, choke down some Fruit Loops, make your way to the office, grab a cup of bad coffee, and get ready to do battle with-your crummy desk chair. In the past, it has been known to dump you backwards into the ficus tree, roll precariously in the wrong direction as you reached for a file, and teeter perilously on loose bolts. Add to that the fact that the arms are too low, the seat too high, and the lumbar support nonexistent, and by the end of the day, you are nursing some real “war wounds.” This is the sad story for far too many people.

Fortunately, there is hope in the war against desk chairs. Ergonomics, or the study of human factors dedicated to the improvement of their work and living environments, has resulted in a revolution. Manufacturers are acknowledging that humans are not all the same size; they are developing furniture designed to provide maximum comfort for all. Humans are finally fighting back against torturous chairs and poorly designed work stations-and the humans are winning! With ergonomically designed office furniture, they are leaving their offices feeling energized, victorious! No more pain! No more fatigue!

People are discovering a real difference in such pieces of furniture as the executive chair. Strong, well designed and comfortable, it allows you to work for hours without feeling stress or tension in your back, legs, and neck. It can be effortlessly adjusted to suit nearly any body height or width. Arm rests pivot easily to the most comfortable position. Unique memory foam padding insures that pressure is evenly distributed, causing no undue stress to joints. In addition, this chair sports handsome leather upholstery available in an unusual variety of colors. What more could anyone ask of a desk chair?

Do not be intimidated by your office chair any longer. Relegate that old torture device to the dump and look into an ergonomic executive chair! Find out what it feels like to end the day with the energy to go dancing or shoot hoops! With the proper chair, you can say farewell to pain.

Good posture makes everybody look 150 percent better. You look thinner - taller - and your clothes hang better. It is probably the most consistent connective thread running through every man and woman of style.

There is a certain magnetism, self-confidence, and to-the-manor-born charisma about a strong, graceful carriage. It is a body language that works.

But there is much more to good posture than your mother might have told you. It is during a state of ideal posture that the muscles will work most efficiently. Poor posture not only takes away from aesthetics, it compromises how we were designed to function, eventually leading to pain and/or injury.

Old, unconscious habits of misalignment, never detected and thus never corrected, directly cause muscle and joint pain, fatigue and general bodily difficulty. Most of us do not realize this crucial connection, much less know what to do about it.

Whenever we get injured, we experience pain. The body will seek avoidance of pain even if it means moving in ways we would consider as poor posture. That wrong way of moving may well become an unconscious habit by the time healing is completed.

Some therapists seem to believe that the absence of pain equals recovery…it does not! The body must be retrained to use muscles correctly. Continued misuse may well lead to serious problems later in life.

Extended sitting is one of the primary causes of poor posture. Not only do people sit most of the time they are at home, eating or watching TV, the seated workplace is the most common in the world today. Some people sit almost every minute of their waking day, aside from walking to the bathroom.

The modern environment is not favorable to good posture. It is practically impossible to sit both correctly and comfortably in a chair. Most chairs are so constructed that maintaining correct alignment while sitting is out of the question.

They are the wrong size, the wrong shape, and the wrong degree of firmness. The seats of many chairs are too long from front to back for anyone under five foot four inches or so. Place as many pillows as you need behind your back so that you can relax a little and still be held upright.

A big part of improving ones posture is to become active. However, most of us need guidance to understand where our alignment is wrong and how to correct it-and finding that guidance may take some effort.

Weak muscles tend to get weaker and strong muscles tend to get stronger when standard gymnasium exercises are poorly supervised. It is human nature to enjoy doing the things we are “good” at and avoid those where we feel clumsy or that hurt.

Simply looking and studying correct posture charts does not help much. It takes a trained observer to discover the flaws and problems in how we stand, sit and move. It may include assessment of our home and work environments.

There are a few excellent bodywork methods that are wonderful for improving alignment and helping you move with more fluidity. Some have been popular with dancers and athletes for years. They include yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Pilates, Alexander technique and Feldenkrais method.

The emphasis is on doing and being. Your mind is directed toward your body, concentrating on what is happening as it happens. Learning, growth and integration are brought about by the activity itself. Exercise is more pleasant when your mind is totally engaged with your body.

It is well worth experimenting to find the method that appeals to you. You will come to look forward to the stimulation it will provide. As time passes you will find that without conscious effort you are walking and sitting straighter, moving more gracefully.

Your muscles will become firmer and sleeker, better shaped, stronger without being large and bulky. And you will be calmer and more relaxed, with a new sense of control and inner harmony. These effects are subtle at first, and it takes time for them to develop, but they are real.

Only when your body is in balanced alignment, each part working in harmony with every other part, can you experience the power, lightness and ease intended by nature.

Sign up for a free Becoming-Your-Best Newsletter at http://www.LivingBetterAndBetter.com - The newsletter features lifestyle changes for optimum health, living life in abundance, feeling and looking great, changing your mind to change your world and other resources for self improvement.

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You sit down at your computer, ready to put in a full day’s work and make some serious headway on your projects. You know you’ll easily be spending 8 to 10 hours sitting in front of the computer.

You’ve set up your computer workstation as effectively as you can figure. Your keyboard is appropriately placed in front of you and your monitor is directly in front of you at eye level. So why will your neck start to hurt? Why will your effectiveness be destroyed by the nagging, aggravating neck pain that seems to show up more and more frequently?

If you are regularly spending a lot of time in front of a computer, you have to realize that your body is going to begin to change and adapt to take on this frequent activity. Your front neck muscles are slowly growing shorter and tighter, while the muscles in the back of your neck are growing longer and weaker.

The back muscles are also growing full of spasm and knots while they are forced to hold up your ten pound head for hours at a time. You would think they would grow stronger from having to hold your head up all the time, but it just never seems to work that way. As they get longer, they are growing weaker, and the job of holding up your head becomes increasingly difficult.

The best options are to do exercises and activities that will counteract the extended computer usage. The rule of thumb is to spend time stretching the front of your neck and strengthening the muscles in the back. This same rule applies to anyone looking to improve posture.

To stretch the front of the neck, turn your head slightly to one side, about forty-five degrees. If you turn your head to the right, you are stretching the left and vice versa. Place your right hand on left side of your chest and pull down gently as you tilt your head back. Stop immediately if you feel sharp pain or any dizziness.

To strengthen the back of the neck, the easiest route would be with a neck exercise machine. Some health clubs have them, but they are more of a specialized device. You can also fold up a towel and place it against a wall. Put the back of your head against the towel and push into it. Hold for a few seconds and release. This is an isometric contraction.

If you are unable to complete some of these movements, or you find that you can’t painlessly move your head backwards, it may be time to visit a chiropractor. The chiropractor will perform a spinal adjustment and restore the normal movement of your spine.

Your neck shouldn’t hurt just because your sitting in front of your computer. You’ve got to work and pain can be a nuisance, but it doesn’t have to be there with a little effort.

Dr. Philip Cordova is a chiropractor in Houston, Texas. More information about this Houston Chiropractor can be found on his website at http://www.MyHoustonChiropractor.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_V._Cordova,_D.C.