Do you spend hours every day sitting down at the screen typing away? Ask yourself these questions to see if you’re stressing your body by not doing it properly!
- Do your ears line up with your shoulders and hips (like they should if you are sitting up straight)?
- Is the top of your screen at forehead level? (hard to do if you’re on a laptop!)
- Are your mouse and keyboard directly in front of you at elbow height? (The answer is ‘no’ if you’re sitting at a desk or table with your laptop.) (Your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees.)
- Is your upper arm hanging straight down?
- Is your lower back supported by the backrest of your chair?
- Feet flat on floor, thighs parallel to floor?
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Don”t forget to walk around and “circulate” regularly, as well as get regular exercise.
And here’s a picture of proper hand posture:
My office has a semi-ergonomic setup, and I’m working on making it better. I just bought a large monitor that I can connect up to my laptop that is at eye level. Trouble is, I often get sick of working there and tend to take my laptop to work in a sunny room, especially when the weather is nice. So I often catch myself slumped over my laptop, squinting at the screen.
Here’s to proper posture to increase our endurance while we work! Now, if someone could only come up with a few more hours in each day…
Sources:
PT handout: A Self-Guided Ergonomic Assessment for the Seated Compouter Operator E.K. Benner,, M.A., P.T., O.C.S.
http://ctya.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/posture.png
http://www.keral.com/upload/image/Here-ar-some-correct-postures/posture1.jpg
