What's wrong about this picture?

Well, many things. This guy is putting his back, arms and wrists under great deal of pressure and on the path to some serious damage. Really, his back, arms and wrists are crying for help. Lets dissect the picture, body part by body part.



First, the back is definitely not getting the support it needs. Its curved at the wrong angle and is supporting a lot more weight than it should. In the correct posture, it is the hips that take support of the body weight. But when you bend like this, the back now supports more weight than it can. Prolonged periods in this position can do some serious damage to one's back. It can start to become weak, and could lead to things like a slipped disc, something that can lead to a long time of bed rest and/or limited activity, and some unnecessary medical expenses.



Also, in this posture, the table seems too high. Don;t be mistaken, the guy is 6 feet 2. But since he has kept his chair low, the table top becomes 'too high' relative to his shoulder level. Because of this, his arms are raised a little too much, and are hence 'under attack'. Sustained pressure on the arms could lead to pain in the arm, leading to reduced usability and problems doing routine things like driving a car.



Again, the lowered position of the body puts more stress on the wrists than they can handle in the long run. This can lead to what they call Repetitive Stress/Strain Injury. The problem is that by sitting in the way this guy is, he is unable to place the wrists in the position that puts least pressure on the wrists.



Wrists take a lot of beating from typing on a computer, and for IT professions using a laptop the wrists maybe at a greater risk than does the human back. As I have emphasized earlier, an IT professional should take utmost care of his/her body, especially of the back and the wrists. There is nothing more important for the IT

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Laptops and human backs

What is the one thing that an IT professional should take utmost care of? Their backs. This applies to anyone who works long hours in front of computers. Repetitive Stress Syndrome strikes at the back and wrists (will cover wrists in another post) more than anywhere else. Another  major problem is DVT (which a friend of mine is suffering from right now) but that again is reserved for another post.



The major implications of an injury to the back could be anything from missed work-days (and the salary), medical expenses (especially if a surgery is involved) and/or lingering pain that haunts you for life.



I recently had a muscle sprain while lifting some household items and it lead to a three days bed rest. It was really difficult for me to even stand straight, and the pain was excruciating. After three days, I could not stand it any longer and decided to join office. The pain took its time to go away, but even today, I feel some pain in the affected area once a day or so. This episode made me realize how important it is to keep good care of our body, especially our backs.



I  have seen two of my colleagues in my previous company undergo
surgery for the treatment of slipped disc. Though excessive usage was
not the only reason for their medical condition, but it definitely was
an important one.



My current employer takes good care of its employees when it comes to good furniture. We all have the legendary Herman Miller Aeron chairs, perhaps the best thing that happened to chairs. These beauties provide good comfort and keep our backs in good shape. Though a good chair is not the only solution, its the best investment a company can do for its employees. I'm located in India and I guess I can count on my fingers the number of organizations that have Herman Miller chairs. There is no dealer for Herman Miller in India and all of these chairs have been imported from the US. At about USD 750 a piece, they don't come cheap.



Here are a couple of tips one could use to avoid problems with one's back

• Use a docking station. If you cannot arrange for one (or afford one), go for an external keyboard and mouse. If you can afford it (in terms of space and/or money), get an external monitor also.

• Keep you monitor (either the external one or the laptop's monitor, or both) at a comfortable high position. The top of the monitor(s) should be at your eye level.

• The keyboard and the mouse should be on a flat, level surface. Both should be at the same level and close to each other. This limits the amount of stretching you would have to do to reach the mouse and back to keyboard.

• Take typing lessons. I'm serious!! When typing, if you look at the keyboard and not at the monitor, you are unnecessarily stressing your neck and your back. You can avoid a lot of it if you could type without having to look at your keyboad. You may either enlist for a training session somewhere nearby or just any good typing tutor software. Google them out.
  
  

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