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silddx -> RE: For the guys with office jobs... (Apr. 15 2014 19:23:31)
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I'm a qualified health and safety adviser, I deal with quite a lot of these kinds of issues at work. I train display screen equipment assessors too.
A key thing to note is that no matter how well you are set up ergonomically, if you do not take regular breaks you are putting yourself at risk. You need a minute away from your desk every 15 minutes, and 5 minutes every hour. Your legs help your heart pump blood around your body so walk about, do some filing, whatever. You need to get your blood circulation going to get the good stuff to your soft tissues.
You should not use a laptop for more than about an hour without a separate mouse, keyboard and monitor. The top of the monitor should be at eye level, the keyboard and mouse close to you with a few inches of desk to rest your wrists on when not typing. You could also use a laptop-raiser with a keyboard and mouse. Never stretch to your mouse and keyboard, you'll probably get shoulder and neck strain, and tennis elbow. Remember most of your soft tissues will not cause pain through injury, the pain comes from secondary issues that impact on your nerves, like inflammation.
Keep your wrists' position neutral when typing and using mice and trackpads - no flexion, extension, ulnar or radial deviation. This will cause injury over time. The Evoluent Vertical Mouse pictured in a previous post is excellent as it preserves the handshake position.
Make sure you set up your seat at the right height, you need lower back support and your thighs and forearms should be parallel with the floor. Don't slump in your seat as that can damage the discs in your lumbar spine.
Hope that helps a bit, it's general advice, it all really depends on the person's specific activities and whether they have an existing health condition. Whatever you do, if you get any pain, you need to do something about it.
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