Workplace Ergonomics and You

Workplace Ergonomics and You

Contrary to what your management may seem to believe, we are more productive and effective at work when we are comfortable and pain-free. Whether you’re doing intense manual labor or sitting at a desk for eight hours, physical comfort is a major component of workplace productivity. You’d think that working from home would make us more comfortable, but even with the comforts of home, we can still find ourselves aching (literally) for more.

Here at Vitality Precision Chiropractic, we hear you, and we’re here to help you identify ways to improve your workplace ergonomics.

What Is Ergonomics?

Simply put, ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging objects so that humans can interact with them with as much comfort and efficiency as possible. There are plenty of ways to improve the ergonomics of your workplace, and investing in the right equipment is a big part of it. After all, what use is any posture correction going to do if your office chair looks like a medieval torture device?

Investing in an ergonomic office chair is one of the most effective strategies to decrease back pain at work, simply because you spend most of your day sitting, and excessive sitting is the primary cause of chronic back pain in office workers. An ergonomic chair is one that is designed to maintain your body’s optimal alignment while you’re working. When trying out ergonomic chairs, you should take note of where your limbs are positioned and if the chair provides optimal lower back support. After all, you can drop as much money as you want on a fancy chair, but it won’t help you if you don’t use it properly.

Your workstation should also be at a comfortable height for you and your chair. Your feet should be able to comfortably sit flat on the floor with your body at a 90-degree angle, the top of your monitor should be level with your eyes, and your forearms should be parallel to the floor. Having a setup that’s too high or too low might cause pain in your shoulders, wrists, neck, and back.

Posture Counts

As we said, you can spend as much money on ergonomic equipment as you want, but if your posture is out of alignment, it won’t make much of a difference. There are many ways for you to improve your posture, but if you feel like you don’t know where to start, consider contacting our dynamic duo at Vitality Precision Chiropractic for a consultation, an adjustment, or even just a question or two. Dr. Thomas Madigan and Dr. Brendan Shanahan are more than qualified

to help you and the rest of Rochester Hills with even the worst cases of posture and poor workplace ergonomics.