Ergo Tips and Facts

Statistics

In 2000-2001, 2.3 million Canadians reported that they had experienced an RSI sometime in the past 12 months that was serious enough to limit their activities!
-Statistics Canada Health Reports, Vol. 14, No. 4, August 2003

Alberta Injury and Illness Statistics: In 2003, Sprains, strains and tears accounted for 47% of all lost time WCB claims. Of those, 41% were related to overexertion while pushing, pulling, lifting or carrying and 22% were due to bodily reaction such as bending, twisting or reaching. The most commonly injured body part was the trunk with over 1/3 of lost time claims and 70% of trunk injuries were sprains, strains or tears affecting the back. 24% of claims involved the upper extremities and of those 22% were sprains, strains or tears. By occupation, truck drivers had the most lost time claims with sprains, strains and tears being the most common type of injury.
-Occupational Injuries and Diseases in Alberta. Lost time claims and claim rates, 2003 Summary. Released July 2004

Reducing Risk of Back Injuries

In a 1998 study, pain days were reduced by 23% for individuals with non-specific back pain simply by avoiding forward bending motions in the early morning. In a 3 year follow-up of these individuals, pain days decreased by a further 10 days per month for a total decrease of 51%.
Snook, S.H., Webster, B.S. and McGorry, R.W. (2002) The reduction of chronic, non-specific low back pain through the control of early morning lumbar flexion: 3 year follow-up. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 12(1)

When you fully flex your spine (round your back forward as far as possible), the spine is much weaker than if you maintained a neutral back posture (keep the normal curve of the back). Gunning et.al.(2001) The role of prior loading history and spinal posture on the compressive tolerance and type of failure in the spine using a porcine trauma model., Clinical Biomechanics, 16(6): 471-480).
When performing any manual material handling activity, it is critical that the normal curve of the back be maintained. This also applies to back posture if you are working out at the gym! The back naturally wants to round when using a squat technique to lift so it is important to teach yourself to keep the curve in the low back.

Think that you need to increase your back strength and flexibility to reduce your risk of back injuries? Think again!! While you certainly need enough strength and range of motion to do what's required for your work and away from work activities, having a very flexible spine doesn't have much to do with function at work.
Parks et.al. (2003) On the validity of ratings of impairment for low back disorders. Spine 28(4):380-384

In 1984, Biering-Sorenson showed that muscle strength is not related to who will have back problems in the future.
BUT, improving back muscle endurance does have a benefit in reducing risk of back problems!
Biering-Sorenson (1984) Physical measurements as risk indicators for low-back trouble over a one-year period. Spine 9:106-119
Luoto et.al. (1995) Static back endurance and the risk of low back pain. Clinical Biomechanics 10: 323-324

Tips for Computer Users

Mouse use can be a trigger for shoulder, neck, arm and wrist symptoms. One of the common factors is the reach required to use the mouse.

Ever feel like you just can't get centred in front of the monitor for both keyboard and mouse work? This is a common complaint! The mouse should be located in a position that allows you to keep the upper arm relaxed at the side of the body with the elbow bent to about 90 degrees and a straight wrist. BUT, even when the mouse is placed directly beside the keyboard to the right, reaching is still required to use it due to the width of the keyboard.

Options!

a) Take the time to learn to mouse with the left hand and then alternate regularly between right and left hand use. If you're right handed, it will take you anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to feel comfortable mousing left. When you mouse with the left hand, there is no number pad on that side of the keyboard so the mouse can be placed closer to you to reduce reaching. It also allows the loading from mouse use to be shared between the hands. You'll need a pointing device that is non-handed to allow switching between the right and left hands (e.g. non-contoured mouse, centred trackball, touchpad, graphics tablet, etc) or a separate device for each hand. You may want to switch the right and left buttons on the mouse when you use your left hand. Do this by going to your Control Panel and double clicking on 'Mouse'.

b) If you don't use the number pad on the keyboard, get a keyboard that does not have a number pad or use a mouse bridge type device to create a surface over the number pad that the mouse can sit on to bring it closer to you. There are also keyboards that have devices such as touch pads built into the centre of the palm rest to eliminate the reach to the mouse.

c) Reduce your mouse use by learning your keyboard shortcuts. They are usually faster to use so once you've got them down, you'll not only reduce your mouse use, you'll be more productive! Here are some basic one's to get you started (Windows operating system)...

= Start menu, + E = Open windows explorer (find your files)
CTRL + O = Open a document in program (same as clicking on the open folder icon)
CTRL + X = Cut, CTRL + C = Copy, CTRL + V = Paste, CTRL + Z = Undo, CTRL + U = underline
CTRL + B = Bold, CTRL + I = italic, CTRL + P = Print, CTRL + S = Save, CTRL + W = close document, CTRL + F = find, CTRL + H = Replace, ALT + F4 = Quit program, ALT then hit TAB while continuing to press ALT = switch between open programs (continue to tap TAB until you get to the program you want), ESC = Cancel/undo last action

Find more Windows shortcuts at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q126449

For MAC users, find keyboard shortcuts at: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459

On the ball - are fitness balls a good choice for seating?

I'm frequently asked whether sitting on a fitness ball at work is a good thing to do. The ball is proported by its vendors to assist in developing the core stabilizing muscles and in a recent Business Week article, testimonials were reported from users stating that their back symptoms had been eliminated using the ball. What was missing was the other side of the story - the reports from those who have developed back symptoms or had symptoms aggravated when sitting on the ball.

The pros of the ball are that does provide an unstable surface which will work the stabilizing muscles and some people find that they move around more when using the ball verses when they are sitting in an office chair, and movement/changes of position is certainly something that should be promoted.

The cons are that the sitting posture places increased pressure on the discs in the spine. It doesn't matter whether you're sitting on a chair or the ball, you're still in a posture that places the hips at about a 90 degree angle, rotating the pelvis in such a way that the normal curvature of the spine is lost. When the muscle activity required to stabilize the spine is added on top of this posture, it may actually increase the pressure on the discs as the activation of the muscles places an increased compressive force on the spine. Sitting on the ball does not promote an upright posture - it's as easy to slouch on the ball as it is in an office chair. If you work at a fixed height surface and have to raise your chair to place yourself at an appropriate height with respect to the keyboard/work surface, the ball likely will not be an appropriate choice since you can't raise its height and would have to raise your shoulders and arms to key or work at the surface in this case.

Generally, use of a fitness ball for seating would only be recommended under the direction of a qualified rehabilitation specialist or for short durations of time as a chair alternative.

Rather than the fitness ball, your back will likely experience more benefit from standing and walking more frequently during the day and working on core stabilization through exercises that allow you to maintain the normal curvature of the spine.