What is An Ergonomic Assessment?
We’ve Seen lots of interest in our ergonomic assessments lately..
Whether your workplace has recently moved, undertaken a new fit out, or your workmates simply aren’t understanding the full functionality of their equipment - ergonomics can help educate and inform best practice in workplace wellness.
So what is involved in ergonomics? Don’t you just sit in your chair and get going with work for the day?
How do we prevent shoulder, back, neck and other injuries at the workstation?
There’s actually a lot to consider when we look at a person in their workplace environment. And we are all human - we’re not designed to sit (or stand) for such long periods. Unfortunately we cannot all retire at 40!
Ergonomics is the practice of fitting the person into their environment efficiently. Physiotherapists are uniquely placed to perform workplace assessments with our background in injury management and prevention. And whilst our offices are ever improving, I still regularly find that equipment like desks and chairs do not fit all people.
The best practice is having an on-site visit to watch you in your space. An individual assessment runs through a full injury history, immediate changes to improve a persons set up and a report with all findings plus future recommendations. Often we visit workplaces in larger groups and perform on the spot quick checks and education as well.
You can perform these quick checks to improve your set up TODAY:
Sit right back into your chair, use that backrest!
Scoot the chair close to the desk, this reduces ‘perching’
Bring your keyboard and mouse close-ish, allowing for about 15cm space to rest your forearms
Finally check your screen height - your eyesight should be hitting the top ⅓ of the screen
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules, try these quick tips to see if you can get more comfortable at your desk today!