Ergonomics at the workplace

Introduction

On average, every German with a desk job spends about 80% of the day sitting on a desk chair, in the car or on the sofa. With 40 years of work, this amounts to about 100,000 hours per lifetime. This is in contrast to the fact that the human body is made for movement and not for long static positions in an upright position!Information:Employers are obliged by an EU directive to inform employees about all health-related issues related to their workplace.

This directive alone is not enough. The need to take personal responsibility for a healthy workplace will remain, even if it is proven to reduce sick leave due to back pain. Larger companies have in-house health advice from a company doctor and physiotherapist.

Healthy sitting is a matter of attitude!

Many people sit sick despite having a good seat. The causes are lack of knowledge about the movement and adjustment possibilities of chair and table, lack of motivation to consciously pay attention to their sitting posture and movement possibilities and to train wrong sitting habits. This problem can be solved in many cases :

To “Postural deterioration”,
For immobilization (movement restrictions) of the spine,
To shorten and weaken many muscle groups
To “muscle imbalances” (muscle imbalance) with painful tension
To digestive disorders
To constrict the respiratory system
To reduce the performance of the cardiovascular system
Ultimately lead to back pain – and neck pain and possibly with appropriate disposition (plant) and previous damage to a herniated disc.

Seating furniture, office chair: Since long static sitting postures can make you ill in the long run, a form of dynamic sitting should be chosen.

A suitable work chair that can be adjusted in many directions supports the dynamic form of sitting and facilitates the natural change between the different sitting postures. Recommendations: Even the best chair cannot replace lack of movement!

Choose dynamic office chair with many adjustment possibilities, there are also chairs that allow a rocking movement forwards and backwards
Seat height: Feet must be able to stand firmly on the floor, hip and knee angles should not be less than 90°, use a footrest if the chair is too high
The chair should have adjustment possibilities in terms of size and weight
A seat suspension prevents the spine from being compressed when sitting down
A tiltable backrest follows all movements and constantly supports an upright posture.
It should extend to the shoulder area or possibly have a neck support. The ‘counterpressure’ of the backrest is adjustable to the body weight or adjusts automatically. The shape and/or adjustment of the backrest provides optimal support in the lumbar and neck area.
Armrests allow the spine to be relieved by supporting
Choose an anatomically shaped seat with adjustable tilt angle.
A slight forward tilt supports the forward movement of the pelvis and thus provides a relieving sitting posture for the intervertebral discs and joints of the lumbar spine. Breathable seat cushions ensure a pleasant sitting climate.
A good chair adapts to changes in sitting posture without readjustment
The chair should be rotatable and stand on the floor with at least 5 points of contact.

Flat screen monitor: Keyboard: Desk:

Flat screens take up less space, produce less heat and are flicker-free than the old CRT screens
Flexible arrangement of keyboard and screen should be possible
Frontal view of the monitor is important, the placement of the monitor prevents reflections from unfavorable light incidence on the screen
When adjusting the monitor, please note that the top line is not above the horizontal visual axis, the viewing angle should be lowered by approx. 30°, the viewing distance should be approx.
half a meter
In order to protect the eyes, it is advisable to avoid sensory overload by adjusting as few color contrasts as possible.
The height of the ergonomic keyboard should be aboutDo not exceed 3 cm in the middle row
Sufficient distance from the keyboard allows the forearms to rest on the work surface when operating the mouse and keyboard, in order to avoid tension of the shoulder muscles through constant holding work
A palm rest of 5-10 cm is desirable, possibly an additional relief splint for the forearms and an ergonomic mouse can be used.
Working heights between 68 and 76 cm are the norm. Height-adjustable desks that adapt to the respective requirements are ideal, otherwise the situation can be remedied by raising the desk legs accordingly
The table surface should be large enough to provide space for paper and other work materials (coffee cup! )
The contact angle of upper arms and forearms should be approx. 90° in an upright position, the forearms must be able to rest relaxed on the table surface without raising the shoulders
Under the desk there is enough space to place the legs apart, which makes it easier to straighten the spine.