My place of employment had this wonderful thing where they brought someone in who would personally come to our workspace and review our set-up and give us tips. There were enough slots for 16 people to sign up.
Since I have had to go to physical therapy twice in the last year and a half for neck and back pain, both likely related to sitting at my desk working at a computer all day, I did not hesitate to sign up. I know next to nothing about ergonomics or how I should be adjusting my workspace. All I knew was that I was probably doing something (or more likely many things) wrong.
So today was the day the woman came in to work with us. I was provided with this great new chair several months back, but silly me never bothered to figure out how to adjust it properly. One of the best features of the chair is how customizable it is. I was clearly not taking full advantage. Overall, I was slightly disappointed. I think that is mostly because my expectations were too high. The woman did give me some good information. She moved the lumbar support to the correct position which made a world of difference. She also recommended I lower my monitor and lower my desk. I knew my desk was way too high for me (I am short, barely hitting 5 feet) but had no idea that it could be adjusted. She also essentially game me a demonstration of how the chair works and all the different ways it can be adjusted. Another good tip she gave was to adjust the tilt of the chair frequently. Keep it locked in the upright position when concentrating on the computer, but if thinking or speaking with someone else, unlock the chair so you can rock back and forth.
After doing a little searching online, I found a pretty nice pdf available that has some good information. Pages 4-11 looked useful.
If you have any sort of back or neck trouble at work, I highly recommend adjusting your environment and doing some exercises/stretches at least every couple of hours. It really does help!
Since I have had to go to physical therapy twice in the last year and a half for neck and back pain, both likely related to sitting at my desk working at a computer all day, I did not hesitate to sign up. I know next to nothing about ergonomics or how I should be adjusting my workspace. All I knew was that I was probably doing something (or more likely many things) wrong.
So today was the day the woman came in to work with us. I was provided with this great new chair several months back, but silly me never bothered to figure out how to adjust it properly. One of the best features of the chair is how customizable it is. I was clearly not taking full advantage. Overall, I was slightly disappointed. I think that is mostly because my expectations were too high. The woman did give me some good information. She moved the lumbar support to the correct position which made a world of difference. She also recommended I lower my monitor and lower my desk. I knew my desk was way too high for me (I am short, barely hitting 5 feet) but had no idea that it could be adjusted. She also essentially game me a demonstration of how the chair works and all the different ways it can be adjusted. Another good tip she gave was to adjust the tilt of the chair frequently. Keep it locked in the upright position when concentrating on the computer, but if thinking or speaking with someone else, unlock the chair so you can rock back and forth.
After doing a little searching online, I found a pretty nice pdf available that has some good information. Pages 4-11 looked useful.
If you have any sort of back or neck trouble at work, I highly recommend adjusting your environment and doing some exercises/stretches at least every couple of hours. It really does help!
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