Computer Ergonomics: Work Pain Free

Your chair is one of the most important pieces of equipment at your computer workstation. Used properly it will reduce stress, fatigue and pain, and increase productivity. Used improperly it will contribute to pain, fatigue, injury and poor productivity.

Many people think you have to get the most expensive chair to feel good. That is a mistake. There is a way to customize any chair, even a simple inexpensive one.

The only necessary factor is it must be adjustable in height. Sit in the chair and adjust the height so your feet are flat on the floor. If the chair is so high that your heels are off the floor, you do not realize it but you are constantly contracting leg muscles to hold that position. This contributes to fatigue and leg tension, which will then travel up your leg to your trunk and low back. This then make you prone to low back pain and injury.

If there is a reason that your chair must be higher than just described, or if your legs are short and the heels are off the ground when the chair is at the lowest, then you must bring the floor up to your feet so they can be flat on the ground. This is accomplished by using a foot stool. If you do not have a commercially produced foot stool, you can use a box, a few old telephone books taped together, a briefcase, etc.

The next adjustment to look at is how the height of the chair affects the knee hip angle. The knees should be slightly lower than your hips. This creates an open angle at the knee and there is good blood flow to the lower leg.

If there is a right angle at the knee, or if the knee is higher than the hips and there is an angle less than 90 degrees, this causes a mild pinching of the blood vessels. Then with decreased blood flow to the lower leg, there is leg tension and fatigue which can lead to other problems as described earlier.

This decreased blood flow to the lower leg can also lead to blood clots which can lead to a life threatening medical condition. You may have read articles in the last few years about airline passengers getting leg blood clots. The cause is the short seats and spending several hours in a sitting position with the knees higher than the hips, which of course led to decreased blood flow to the legs. The same thing can happen from prolonged sitting in an improperly adjusted seat.

Your chair is one of the most important pieces of equipment at your computer workstation. Used properly it will reduce stress, fatigue and pain, and increase productivity. Used improperly it will contribute to pain, fatigue, injury and poor productivity.

Many people think you have to get the most expensive chair to feel good. That is a mistake. There is a way to customize any chair, even a simple inexpensive one.

The only necessary factor is it must be adjustable in height. Sit in the chair and adjust the height so your feet are flat on the floor. If the chair is so high that your heels are off the floor, you do not realize it but you are constantly contracting leg muscles to hold that position. This contributes to fatigue and leg tension, which will then travel up your leg to your trunk and low back. This then make you prone to low back pain and injury.

If there is a reason that your chair must be higher than just described, or if your legs are short and the heels are off the ground when the chair is at the lowest, then you must bring the floor up to your feet so they can be flat on the ground. This is accomplished by using a foot stool. If you do not have a commercially produced foot stool, you can use a box, a few old telephone books taped together, a briefcase, etc.

The next adjustment to look at is how the height of the chair affects the knee hip angle. The knees should be slightly lower than your hips. This creates an open angle at the knee and there is good blood flow to the lower leg.

If there is a right angle at the knee, or if the knee is higher than the hips and there is an angle less than 90 degrees, this causes a mild pinching of the blood vessels. Then with decreased blood flow to the lower leg, there is leg tension and fatigue which can lead to other problems as described earlier.

This decreased blood flow to the lower leg can also lead to blood clots which can lead to a life threatening medical condition. You may have read articles in the last few years about airline passengers getting leg blood clots. The cause is the short seats and spending several hours in a sitting position with the knees higher than the hips, which of course led to decreased blood flow to the legs. The same thing can happen from prolonged sitting in an improperly adjusted seat.