TabletPC Tips:

TPC users needs to observe the same mechanical laws and principles that apply to desktop computer ergonomics, specifically with respect to neck/head posture, but for some individuals the entire upper extremity.  Cradling a mobile TPC when standing often requires forward flexion of the neck to view the screen. This means the entire weight of the head (12 lbs.), is levered forward stressing the fulcrum at the base of the neck. This can cause tendonitis at the base of the skull where the muscles attach. Prolonged rotation and lateral flexion can strain small apohyseal joints in the neck. A tension headache may result from sustained contraction. Bicipital tendonitis can also result at the elbow, from hours of carrying a tablet. The simplest remedy is frequent breaks from the posturally stressful position. If the involved muscles are weak, specific exercises may be needed to strengthen the muscles as prevention. A host of low grade continuous trauma injuries or repetitive stress injuries (RSI) can result in tendonitis of the wrist and fingers as well. Entrapment of the median nerve at the wrist (Carpal Tunnel) is a less remote possibility with a TPC, but can occur. With respect to the wrist, don't write in tight small fonts if possible, this tends to cramp the fingers and wrist. Loosen your grip on the stylus. Try and change the angle of your wrist when writing. Sometimes when holding a TPC, one inadvertently cramps the wrist angle. Consider a screen fluid (Plexus) that lets the stylus flow over the screen. You will lose the paper feel but it is easier to write for longer periods.

Summary: Common sense biomechanics with emphasis on prevention.

1. Frequent breaks
2. Strengthen guy wires or supports of the spine and upper extremity muscles
3. Maintain normal architecture of skeletal/structural framework


Miscellaneous Treatment: Can range from physical therapy, moist heat and ice, magnetic therapy, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections, Prolotherapy, even Electric Shock Wave Therapy. The best therapy is common sense biomechanics with emphasis on prevention.

Check Out Your Workstation

You sit at your computer for eight hours a day, staring at the monitor and making the same tiny finger motions over and over. Your files are electronic, so you don't even get up to go to a filing cabinet. After a full day of this, you're tired — and maybe you even hurt.

People who work with computers have reported a variety of problems that can be related to work habits, work station design or job design, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These complaints include fatigue, eyestrain and irritation, blurred vision, headaches and pains in the neck, back, arm and muscles.

It doesn't have to happen. Although the way you work in an office can put a strain on your body, there are things you can do to be more comfortable and to help prevent injuries.


Setting Up Your Computer Work Area
 Workstation Graphic You can download this page as a pdf by clicking here

Here are some basic tips, adapted from OSHA and other sources:

Take periodic breaks. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends a 10-minute rest after two hours of continuous computer use, or a 15-minute rest every hour for work that is repetitive or makes intense demands on your eyes. If possible, get up from your desk and walk around.

In between these breaks, give your eyes a chance to rest by occasionally looking away from the computer screen and focusing on an object at least 20 feet (about 6 meters) away.

Whenever you can, alternate tasks that use the computer with those that do not. For example, after a long session at the keyboard, make a phone call or go pick up your mail.

Try our desk exercises to relax and stretch your muscles.

Sit up straight in your chair. Good posture keeps your body in the proper alignment to reduce muscle strain.

Your sitting posture:
1. Your legs and back should be at a 90 degree angle.
2. The back of your chair should lift and support your lower back.
3. Your head should remain erect.
The height of your chair:
1. Your arm from the elbow to the heel of your palm should remain level
while allowing you use the computer keyboard.
2. The heel of your palm should be level with the tabletop where your
keyboard is placed or level with the keyboard itself.
3. Your feet should be flat on the floor.

Lighting and glare:

If possible, lighting for computer use should be indirect and not too bright. If direct, overhead lighting is used, light-diffusing slats or louvers on the fixtures can help to reduce glare.
Workstations should be arranged to reduce glare. Ideally, your computer screen should be at right angles to windows or other light, so you do not have to face the light or see it reflected in the screen.
Blinds, shades or curtains should be used on windows located less than 20 feet (6 meters) from a computer terminal.
Glare filters can be attached to the computer screen. These should be used as a last resort because they can make it harder to read text on the screen.

Your line of sight:
Adjust the height and angle of the monitor and your computer desk or table so you can look straight ahead or slightly down into the computer screen. The top of the screen should be no higher than eye level, and you should not have to tilt your head backward.
Sit so that the distance between your eyes and the monitor is about 18 to 30 inches.
Use the brightness and contrast controls to make sure you can read the screen clearly and with a minimum of glare.
1. While in the proper sitting posture (see above), you should be able to
look straight out at the top of your computer screen and be able to
drop your eyes (not your head) to look at the bottom of the screen.
2. Any work you are transcribing or referencing should ideally be in this
same line of sight either slightly to the right or to the left of the
computer screen.

Are you comfortable?

Adjusting Your Work Area

Unfortunately not all computer work areas can be tailored to us as
individuals. There are a few simple, inexpensive adjustments that can be
made to almost any computer work area.

Exercise
Your body is meant to move instead of remaining in fixed positions. Take
frequent short breaks to stretch or walk around your desk before sitting
back down. These breaks should occur every hour or so. If you have trouble
remembering set a timer to remind you.

Eye Strain

WHEN WORKING at a computer, it may be difficult to recognize
eye strain, according to the St. Louis-based AOA. Signs include
headache; blurry or double vision; tired, burning or irritated eyes;
and stiff, aching neck and shoulder muscles.
After age 50, computer users may need an extra pair of
glasses designed to deal with the distance and angle of computer
monitors, according to AOA spokesman Kent Daum, an optometrist at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Older adults usually have glasses or contact lenses designed
for near- and far-sightedness, but as far as distance, computer
monitors fall somewhere in between. “It’s hard to get a pair of
glasses to work well for your computer and everything else,” Daum
explained.
Glasses focused for intermediate and close distances work
best for computer users; for those who wear one contact for distance
and one for near vision, the AOA recommends wearing
intermediate-distance half glasses over the contacts.
Daum offered some more advice for the weary-eyed:
Use a quality, 17-inch monitor and increase the type’s font size to
avoid strain.
Eliminate glare by shading windows and reducing overhead lighting.
Reduce overall room lighting by about half; in an office, turning
off fluorescent lights in favor of desk lamps may help.
Make sure the monitor is slightly below eye level and the screen
brightness closely matches the level of room lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My key board is too high.
A: Raise your chair. If your upper legs are no longer on a 90 degree angle
to your body use a foot stool to raise your legs.
Q: My key board is too low.
A: Lower your chair.
Q: My monitor is too high.
A: Raise your chair. If your upper legs are no longer on a 90 degree angle
to your body use a foot stool to raise your legs.
Q: My monitor is too low
A: Lower your chair or your can purchase a monitor stand. There are
several varieties available at computer stores. Metropolitan phone books
also work well if you're not into style.
Q: My chair is too high, and I can't lower it.
A: Use a foot stool, and if it is possible raise the computer.
Q: My chair is too low and I can't raise it.
A: A wrist-rest may be of help, but try to get another chair.
Q; I have to turn my head to see the paper I'm working on.
A: There are a wide variety of document holders available.
Q: My wrist hurts
A: Clean your mouse pad and mouse. This can make a huge difference when your wrist glides smoothly without resistance.

Healthy Computing: Positioning or using your computer improperly can lead to various injuries, from the short term discomfort of headaches to potentially debilitating conditions like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. HealthyComputing.com's assembled the world's foremost experts to provide unbiased information on computer-related health and safety. Developed through the joint efforts of nearly a dozen leading ergonomists, physicians, and physical therapists, HealthyComputing com is the premier source for office ergonomics.

Microsoft Healthy Computing: Workplace Wellness. Making Your Workplace a Better Place.
Spending more time in front of the computer? How you sit, type, point, and swipe can affect more than your daily performance - it can influence your long-term health. Find out how Microsoft uses ergonomics to help you maximize productivity and minimize fatigue and discomfort.

Conditions:

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