How to Avoid Leg Pain at Work

Let's face the facts, work typically takes up the majority of most people's days with some of us spending up to 12 hours a day in a seated position. Whether you work 4 hours a day seated or 10, chances are you have experienced some form of discomfort while working. While sometimes it can be expensive to relieve work related injuries pertaining to back pain as most of the time this can only be remedied with the use of an ergonomic office chair, leg discomfort is an easier and less costly problem to fix.

Do you ever feel your legs start to feel uncomfortable while sitting in your office chair? Maybe they start to feel heavy or maybe you begin to experience the irritating feeling of your legs falling asleep. This pain can eventually turn to numbness and move into your thighs creating a distracting and uncomfortable work environment. Luckily most leg related pain experienced on the job can be easily relieved by simply adjusting your current office chair.

Leg pain can be attributed to a number of different factors related to your office chair, which is why it is important to determine which pertains to your circumstances. The first common culprit may be that your chair is not adjusted at the right height for your legs. This is a common problem that shorter or taller people experience, however it can affect anyone who does not have their chair height adjusted properly. You should be able to keep your feet firmly placed on the ground or on a foot rest, with your knees bent at a 90° angle. If your chair can not be properly adjusted to you, consider looking for a petite office chair if you are shorter or a big and tall office chair if you are taller. These speciality chairs are specifically designed for users that do not fit the typical office chair mold. High quality and more ergonomic manufacturers will offer alternative size gas lifts allowing users who find that a standard gas lift is not advisable for them to obtain the correct seat height setting.

In order to determine the seat height needed for you to sit comfortably without experiencing leg pain you will need to take a few simple measurements. First, measure from the floor to the inside of your knee-joint without shoes on. Once you have this measurement, check to see if your chair will adjust a little up or down from this measurement, measuring from the floor to the top of the seat. If your chair is capable of reaching this height, then you should be able to find your ideal setting. If your chair is too short or too tall, you may want to consider purchasing a different office chair that will allow for this height adjustment.

After adjusting your seat height, if you still find that the pain persists other culprits could be an inadequate seat depth or poor quality foam on the seat cushion. The depth of the seat is crucial as this determines how much coverage your thighs will receive when sitting. A chair with a seat depth that is too short will not provide the support needed to sit comfortably for hours on end. If a seat depth is too long, it can cut off the circulation to your legs and jut into the back of your knee caps. You also may find yourself scooting forward and sitting in an unnatural position which will lead to back pain. Unfortunately, if your seat depth is not where you need it to be and you do not have a seat slider to pull out your seat if a longer depth is needed, your only option may be to purchase a new office chair. The same can be said for a cheap office chair that's seat foam has been flattened or deteriorated from use.

If you find you are in the market for a new chair, make sure to take the proper measurements as aforementioned to ensure that your chair will meet your needs. Most online retailers provide all the information needed to ensure that you choose the correct chair including the chair's seat depth and seat height range. If you can not locate this information, be sure to ask a customer service representative prior to ordering. When trying to determine the quality of a chair's seat foam, a good place to start looking is at the manufacturer's warranty. Most high quality manufacturers will have at least a 5 year warranty on their chair's seat foam. And above all else, be certain not to sit in a chair that is fixed in height such as a dining room chair or meeting chair as not only will you experience leg pain but you may experience back pain as well.

Chelsea Alves is the marketing manager for Sitbetter.com, a company with more than 30 years experience in the office seating and office furniture industry. Dedicated to finding the best chairs for you, at the best price possible, with the best customer service available. For more information on high quality office chairs please visit http://www.sitbetter.com/

Original article

The Lumbar Support on Your Chair For Optimum Comfort

Working for long hours while seated creates high tendency of getting backaches and other bodily pains caused by the said static position of the body for everyday of one's life. Thankfully, the ingenious minds of our generation have innovated a chair that provides complete support and comfort to all parts of the body especially the back part. The spines at the back of our body virtually hold all of our body parts into one system. As we sit, we seek not just support to our buttocks but also for our back especially for the spines since they are burdened by keeping all our pieces up together. As we sit, stand, walk, run, and even lie down, our back plays a very vital and indispensable role. But in all of these mentioned activities, it is the sitting part that seems to cause less comfort especially if the chair has no back support or even if it has but lacks the proper lumbar support.

The need for a lumbar support has arisen due to the increasing jobs that require long hours of staying at the office doing paper works, telephone communication, encoding, and many more that prevent the person from frequently standing up to get some required stretching. Worst is, most of these offices do not provide their employees with the proper chair that has lumbar support. Take for example the cases of call center agents. They are required to be at their post for the whole duration of their duty to answer calls from clients. An eight-hour work everyday does not seem to be a relaxing sitting position. It causes severe contractions, tensions, and pains at the back of the person due to prolonged improper sitting position.

Thus, a chair that has a lumbar support should be provided for these kinds of employees. This lumbar support must also be adjustable for optimum comfort of the person sitting on it. A proper adjustment of the lumbar support for optimum comfort is one that perfectly fits and suits with the shape and structure of the lower back part of the person. It should be adjusted in such a manner that it does not let any part at the back of the curved body shape lack any immediate and actual support.

A worker that has a chair with properly-adjusted lumbar support for optimum comfort results in a better job performance, higher quality of production, and a happier and healthier workplace for everyone. Hence, if you are concerned with your workers welfare and desires to provide them with the best comfort and protection while working, then one of the best way to show such care is by providing them with chairs that have adjustable lumbar support for them to avoid sever backaches and other body pains due to the nature of their jobs. Hence, the fear of possibility of getting diseases and pains due to improper sitting position is now gone with the help of adjustable lumbar support mechanisms in modern chairs.

Marion Mccants enjoys writing about massaging chair and massage chair ratings as well as related products.

Original article

The Health Benefits Gained From Ergonomic Chairs

It is important to understand that bad posture when sat at your desk can cause a multitude of problems, such as bad backs, shoulder pain, and neck pain, if any of these symptoms are affecting you then you need to look for good quality ergonomic chairs.

There is a wide selection of these types of chairs from many different manufactures, choosing one can be very daunting if you are not sure what to look for. In this article we will explain some of the factors involved when looking to purchase an ergonomic chair, this should help you in making an informed decision on which chair would be right for you.

A proper ergonomic chair will allow you to sit for long periods of time and preserve the all important spine angle in your body, this helps to keep those muscles relaxed when sat in a chair which has the side effect of relieving pressure that builds up in your joints.

The important factors to consider when looking to buy ergonomic chairs are, first you should make sure the chair can move freely in any direction. You should also look for chairs that include a headrest and armrests, both these factors will give you the support you need for your neck, shoulders and arms this relieves pressure in these areas and makes sitting in the chair for long periods of time much more comfortable.

The cost can be a big factor when people are looking to buy ergonomic chairs, you can find that they can range from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand dollars for top of the range models. This is when you have to do your research and make sure the chair you are looking at has all the necessary features you need, this is a task you should spend a bit of time on as you will be spending a lot of time sat in your chair as well as you're hard earned money.

I have done some research and found that the chairs costing around $300 to $500 had all the things you should look for in an ergonomically designed chair, although this seems a lot of money to pay for a chair do not let this put you of buying one. The benefits of owning the correct chair for you far out way the initial cost involved, the right chair makes a difference to your work and your skeletal health.

You will be able to see the benefits very quickly once you start using these chairs, you should feel more relaxed and comfortable when doing your work at your desk. So if you spend a lot of time sat at your desk at work or at home, then you should go online and check out some of the ergonomic chairs that are available.

If you are searching for more information on ergonomic chairs then visit us at http://newergonomicchairs.net/ to learn more. Here you can also find information on the popular leather desk chair.

Original article

A Simple Back Exercise Regimen and Common Sense to Go With a Desk Job

A desk job to someone who has a weak back can be quite a thing to be stuck with. That's what most people in such a position end up thinking. It doesn't have to be that way however. Not unless one is chained to their desk. The thing is, as much as we seem to love sitting these days, that's not how our bodies were designed to be. If being at your work station requires you to slouch there, staring at your computer all the time, you can be sure that you are placing quite a bit of stress on all the muscles that support your spine. At some point, your muscles will stop being able to hold the pose any longer, and will slip a little bit. This is when the discs between your vertebrae will begin to feel little pressure, and experience pain and stiffness. Surprisingly, the best thing you can do for a painful back is to take up a bit of back exercise. Actually, you need to take up regular back exercises all through every day that you need to be at your desk.

So you need to get up and move - at least once every half-hour through the entire time that you are at your desk in the office. But that doesn't mean that you can let your time spent thinking go without any scrutiny. Offices spend a great deal of money on ergonomic office chairs to help their employees stay healthy. If you've been given an ergonomic chair, it's about time you learned to use it. You need to make sure that the height, the angle, the lumbar tilt, the seat length and every other adjustment allowed is properly set. But an ergonomic chair can't help you do everything right.

Let's say that you're sitting there at your desk and your desk telephone is far to your right. Every time it rings, you twist your body at the waist to reach for it. Now that is a terrible thing to do to your back. Twisting motions are a no-no. In fact, that's what that ergonomic office chair of yours swivels for. You are supposed to swivel your whole body, chair and all, to reach for anything. And then, you are to make sure that you sit with your feet flat on the ground. You need to adjust the height of your chair to make sure that you can do this. And you aren't supposed to sit with your legs crossed or anything. That places extra stress on your back. But apart from all these, pain that comes from sitting too long at your desk is easily taken care of with a regular back exercise regimen.

Now that you've learned that your ergonomic office chair's your back's best friend in the office, let's get on with how you can exercise your back to relax the build-up of tension. Walking is about the cheapest and best exercise you can think of for your back. It's a nice, rhythmic, coordinated set of movements that will work everything in your lower back like a good massage does. Yoga and Pilates have great back exercise routines that can strengthen your lower back muscles and make you a lot more flexible too. But remember, lots of people have found injury rather than healing through yoga. You need to be sure that you go slow, and go with a proper certified instructor.

Avihenda Summerton loves to write interesting health and beauty articles on Facial Skin Care and the like. Be sure to drop by our site at http://www.healthinfoonline.net/ to learn more about health and fitness routines and topics.

Original article

Dynamics of The Erogonomic Chair

For most of us, as the winter months set in, we spend less time outside and more time inside.... sitting. We sit to have breakfast, sit on our drive into work or school, sit in our office and then come home after work to sit to watch TV. The detrimental effects of a sedentary lifestyle are well-documented and more effort needs to be placed on physical activity. But we can't ignore that we do need to sit - some of us for many hours. So, just as those who run a lot buy the best shoes, those of us who sit a lot must find the best in chair adjustability, support and comfort. Sitting in itself is a specialized activity and changes based on our job tasks. Architects, dentists, administrators all require unique features to their chairs. There are, however, key features that all chairs should possess, with the most important being stability and adjustability.

Stability
The chair is our base of support and affects all other surroundings. The chair should be positioned on a five point base that moves easily around the workstation. Selected chairs should not make the tasks more difficult so it is important to consider the job tasks and the surroundings. Sometimes chairs with castors or wheels are used when a stable and stationary work position would be better. If chairs with casters are needed, choose ones that match the type of flooring you have (carpeting or hard floors).

Adjustability
Adjustability of the chair is the most important. Not only do your tasks differ throughout the day but the user of the chair may change as well. The chair needs to be adjusted to fit your body dimensions and your tasks throughout the day. At a minimum, the seat height, the backrest, seat pan and arm rests should all be adjustable. To ensure your chair is properly adjusted, refer to the diagram below.

SEAT HEIGHT - Thighs horizontal to the floor or sloping slightly downward, knee angle 90°-100° and feet flat on the floor or foot rest.SEAT ANGLE - The seat angle should be varied from forward to backward throughout the day.SEAT DEPTH - Leave approximately a 3 finger width of clearance between the back of the knee and the front of the seat.BACK REST HEIGHT - The lumbar support should be about 2 inches above the waist.BACK REST ANGLE - Locked at greater than 90° so the angle between your upper body and thighs is greater than 90°. Your back should be in contact with the backrest of your chair at all times.TILT TENSION - Adjust to suit your weight so that the chair moves with you in a controlled and effortless manner as you shift your weight forward and backward.ARM RESTS - Adjust to lightly support your forearms to reduce muscle activity in your neck and shoulders without causing your shoulders to rise. They should not prevent you from getting close to the work surface.KEYBOARD - Adjust so that the keyboard is 2 to 3 CM below your elbow height when sitting. Elbows should be at your sides and bent at 90°. The F6 key should be centered to your body.MONITOR HEIGHT - Should be placed so that the top of the screen is at an eye level so that your eyes rest on the upper third of the screen. Monitor should be centered to your body.MONITOR DISTANCE - Approximately an arm's length from your eyes.

Brenda Rusnak is a health care specialist who writes about health-aging and prevention.

For more information about healthy-aging and Brenda Rusnak, check her out on Inside Toronto.

Original article

Work and Shoulder Problems: Why the Shoulders Are at Risk of Injury on the Job

Depending on the job, every part of the body is at risk for work-related injury and dysfunction. Occupations that involve manual material handling and other physical labor obviously pose more risk to body damage than do desk jobs. However, when it comes to the neck and shoulder, whose functions are integrated into almost every work activity, the pool of jobs that can bring about pain is very large. Looking at the shoulder specifically, it can be difficult to connect pain to work tasks. The shoulder works so closely with the neck and arms that problems in the shoulders can show up as pain elsewhere. Since the shoulder is taxed during daily activities outside of work, it can be hard to miss the relationship between pain caused by the shoulder and work tasks. Extensive research has shown, however, that in cases of chronic pain and pain that limits activity, the relationship between work activity and shoulder symptoms are too strong to ignore. The shoulder is a versatile and complex joint that is easily affected by several activities. 

The shoulder is comprised of 4 separate boney and musculotendinous joints and has the greatest range of motion of all other joints in the body. Muscles acting on the shoulder go far beyond the rotator cuff muscles everyone is familiar with. In addition to moving the shoulder, muscles can be taxed by stabilizing the shoulder. Shoulder stabilization is necessary in a number of activities that can also include neck, arm, and back movement. The complexity of the shoulder joint and its relationship to the rest of the body can create some very frustrating diagnosis issues. Just as problems in the neck can be felt as pain elsewhere, shoulder stress can travel up the neck, down the arms, into the chest, and into the back depending on what part of the shoulder is affected. When a person "protects" a part of his body to minimize the pain, he may actually exacerbate the problem by demanding more damaging action at the source of pain in order to compensate for it. 

In a work setting, the most likely culprits for shoulder dysfunction are repetitive motion and static posture. In an exercise regimen, these forces on the shoulder (or anywhere) can build strength. This is true in the workplace, too, but the difference is after that exercise, the muscles are allowed to rest and often are stretched. Placing the arm at various angles and putting stress on the shoulder at work without allowing the joint to recover can lead to a variety of problems. Some of the most common issues involving the shoulder are: tendonitis, bursitis, frozen shoulder, impingement syndrome, degenerative joint disease, and arthritis. 

Any kind of pain is a signal from the body to stop or change activity. If work is placing too much stress on any part of the body, change needs to happen immediately. The longer pain is ignored and activity continues, the more debilitating an issue can become. This can lead to less efficient work, time loss, mistakes, and medical care - all costly and unwanted by any employee or employer. Minimizing the risk of injury can be accomplished with a number of ergonomic solutions. Some may be as simple as varying work tasks or incorporating more breaks. Others may involve changes to a work station or using a device to eliminate an activity. In any case, it benefits both the health of employees and business to identify possible threats to well-being and eliminate them.

Carol Olin is Vice President of Americarts USA, a manufacturer of material handling carts and platform carts. Americart USA can address your material transport needs with a low cost motorized cart that can be used in a variety of industries.

Original article

Office Fitness and the Mighty Micro-Pause

The mighty micro-pause is a simple way to improve office fitness. Maybe you have heard of the term "micro-pause", maybe you haven't, either way it doesn't matter. What does matter is taking them.

What it means is taking a short break while you are doing work. Sitting at a computer for more than two hours without getting up and moving will make you feel tight, grumpy, and you're also likely to reduce productivity. Human bodies are constantly adapting, and if you sit in one position for a long time, muscles, joints, and nerves adapt to this position, creating imbalances in the body and can lead to short term and long term problems. Think of a 80-year-old you see getting up from a park bench. They may look like they are still hunched over. This is happening to all of us who sit a lot. The good news is these unwanted adaptations can be reversed by a few simple office-based exercises.

If working at a computer for more than two hours I strongly recommend you take one of these short breaks. These simple tips will help to maintain office fitness. It might be just five minutes, at least every two hours, where I advise you:

get up out of the chair and move

This will help to improve circulation, joint mobility and lubrication, assist with lossening tight muscles, and help to give your brain a rest from concentrating on the computer screen for hours.

walk for at least a minuteroll your shoulders back x 5

This reverses the common rounded stiff shoulders associated with sitting at a computer all day.

This will help to stretch the muscles around your chest, back and arms.

turn your neck slowly left and right x5

This can help keep your neck mobile to prevent office-related headaches

stretch your arms backwards, while squeezing your shoulder blades back, hold for 20 secondshave a seat, and gently rotate your trunk left and right x5

This will help to ease the stiffness in the middle of your shoulder blades

With any exercise program start gently and build up. Gently stretch, and avoid pushing in to pain. Your body will adapt as it gets used to these corrective exercises.

Maintaining office fitness with micro-pauses can help you to reduce excessive muscle tension, stretch out tight muscles, improve circulation, and make you feel human again! Maintaining office fitness is simple, free, it feels good and is good for you!

If you have any significant stiffness with these movements, or experience discomfort consult your physiotherapist.

For advice and recommendations to keep you fit and healthy in the office see http://www.fit2sit.wordpress.com/

Jaydn Nixon (BHSc, CSP, HPC)

Physiotherapist, Health Educator

Original article

How to Properly Adjust An Office Chair With Advanced Adjustments

Having an ergonomic office chair has become a necessary piece of office furniture for any business where employees are required to sit consecutively for multiple hours at a time. While purchasing an ergonomic chair is certainly the first step towards achieving a comfortable work environment, another essential step to take after purchasing is to fully understand how each adjustment works on your new ergonomic chair. No matter how adjustable a chair is, it will not benefit the user unless it is properly adjusted to meet their needs and specifications. If you have recently purchased an ergonomic office chair with advanced adjustments that go above and beyond the typical seat height adjustment most chairs come with standard, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with your new chair in order to utilize its full capabilities and comfort potential. By educating yourself on the features of your office chair, you will be able to properly adjust your chair to fit your body and you may even find yourself pleasantly surprised with additional features you were not even aware of when purchasing. We have outlined a few advanced adjustments found in highly ergonomic office chairs that your chair right now may have or may need, and how to properly use this adjustments.

Seat Slider - A seat slider is typically an add-on or an upgrade for most chairs, however it does come standard on some ergonomic office chairs. A chair that has a seat slider adjustment is advantageous to shorter or taller individuals as it allows for you to increase or decrease the depth of the seat. This is also a great feature to have if multiple people use the same office chair to accommodate the different heights of the users. A seat slider can be extended typically by pulling up on a lever located directly under the seat while simultaneously pulling the seat out to make the depth longer. If you would like a smaller seat depth you would pull up on the lever again and simultaneously push the seat in to make the depth shorter. A seat slider is always beneficial to have on any chair as it allows for you to have the correct seat depth for your body, without having a seat that is too long and hits the back of your knees or too short that your thighs do not receive enough support.

Air Lumbar Support - Air lumbar support is a pump built into the lower part of the chair's backrest that allows the user to inflate or deflate the level of support needed in the lumbar region. Because of its uniqueness, most office chairs do not come with air lumbar support and can only be found on more advanced ergonomic chairs, typically as an upgradable option. Air lumbar support is ideal for those who suffer from lower back pain and want to have the ability to determine the level of support they will receive in the lumbar region. Typically a hand pump can be found on the side of a chair's backrest and with this pump you can choose your level of support. Deflating is also a simple task, by simply pressing a button on the pump it will automatically return the chair's back to its original state.

Adjustable Headrest - Having a chair with an adjustable headrest allows the user to position the headrest in a position that is comfortable for both their neck and head. Depending on the chair, there are two ways to adjust a headrest. The first and easiest way, if your chair allows for it, is to manually adjust the headrest by simply moving it up and down or in and out until you reach your desired level of comfort. On other chairs with a less advanced adjustable headrest, you will have to unscrew a knob on the side of the headrest at which point you can then pull the headrest up or push it down until you find the right height. At this point, you could then would tighten the knob to keep the headrest in place. Having a chair with an adjustable headrest is helpful for those who suffer from upper back and neck pain by providing that extra support needed.

Back Angle Adjustment - A chair with back angle adjustment allows the user to position the angle of the backrest and lock it in place. To increase the angle of the back, lift the paddle up while putting your weight on the back of the chair until the desired angle is reached. Release the paddle to lock. To decrease the angle of the back, lift the paddle up while removing your weight from the back until you reach the desired angle. Release the paddle to lock into place. Back angle adjustment is best applied in environments where heavy tasking is required and typing with the back and a forward angle and seat with a downward angle is most comfortable. It can also be useful when you want to take a break from work and lean back in your chair.

Seat Angle Adjustment - Seat angle adjustment allows the user to determine the degree at which they would like to have their seat tilted at. To tilt the seat forward, first recline slightly in the chair and then rotate the handle clockwise until desired angle is reached. To return to the neutral position, rotate the handle counter-clockwise. Other chairs simply have a lever next to the seat which needs to be pulled up apply pressure to the front of the seat for a downward sloping angle or the back of the seat for an upward sloping angle. As aforementioned, a seat angle adjustment is most applicable in heavy tasking environments where long periods of typing may be involved.

While these adjustments are considered to be advanced they can be very valuable to have, especially for individuals that suffer from back and neck pain or as a preventative measure to avoid experiencing back pain. Ergonomic office chairs with advanced adjustments are normally more expensive in price, however they offer supreme levels of adjustability allowing the chair to be tailored to the individual while helping you sit healthy and happy at work. They are also more cost0-effective in the long run than a chair with basic adjustability that may break down after only a year or two of usage; advanced ergonomic chairs are designed to last ten years or longer with warranties that reflect this. Your wallet may not be happy but your back will thank you for years to come.

Chelsea Alves is the marketing manager for Sitbetter.com, a company with more than 30 years experience in the office seating and office furniture industry. Dedicated to finding the best chairs for you, at the best price possible, with the best customer service available. For more information on ergonomic office chairs suitable for any budget please visit http://www.sitbetter.com/

Original article

Ergonomic Desk Chairs - Choosing The Right Layout for Effective Workstation Ergonomics

A lot more companies nowadays are beginning to catch on to the concept of workstation ergonomics and productivity. These smart companies choose to start as early adopters to tap on the first mover advantage of enhanced work health, productivity, better bottom line as well as reduced medical claims and compensation. After all, in these days of economic downturn, any help to enhance the bottom line is very much appreciated. As most office managers are new to the concept of ergonomic workstations, ergonomic desk chairs and work desks, there are certain aspects they need to be aware of to be on the right track.

A good ergonomic workstation can have great impact on the health, safety, comfort as well as productivity of your workers. About 35 percent of work injuries and ailments originate from bad workplace ergonomics. Having ergonomically designed workstations can help to avoid unnecessary muscle strains and stress, thereby reducing work absenteeism, medical claims, and even worker turnover.

The basis of ergonomics is simply maintaining good postures whether you are sitting or standing. And directly affecting our postures is none other than our work desks, chairs and even our workstation layout.

A correctly designed work desk should be laid out with conveniently reachable equipment like computer and keyboard, phone, printer, file rack, and form racks and others. They should be arranged such that the items used most often are most accessible. The desk should have adjustable height for different applications and if that is not possible, it should be elbow height. There should also be sufficient empty space under the desk for your legs and thighs to move and leg to stretch.

Ergonomic desk chairs are critical in completing the picture of your ergonomically designed workstation. This is especially useful for companies whereby most of their staff are desk bound and involved very much in paperwork clearance. They not only help to reduce strain and aches from developing on your neck, shoulders and back, they also ensure that you feel refreshed after extended hours of sitting.

A real ergonomic desk chair comes with adjustable height, back rest, as well as seat pan. A lumbar support pillow is key aspect of the chair as it provides added support to the lower back where most pain and aches develop from slipped or dislocated discs.

Indeed, changing these elements can make an almost immediate impact on the general health of your staff which will eventually be reflected in enhanced productivity and better bottom line as well as reduced medical claims.

So Check out Ergomonic-Desk-Chairs.com for the full range of Ergonomic Chairs. Give yourself and your child a headstart in Spine Health and get Ergonomic Desk Chairs here.

Original article

Posture Myths

Your mom's advice to sit up straight and stand tall was well-intentioned. Unfortunately, few people have been taught how to maintain good posture. Instead, we've followed bad posture myths that cause muscle strain and make it even harder to achieve good alignment. See how easy it is to correct bad posture by learning which myths to ignore and what to do instead.

Myth #1 - Good posture is about looking good

People with good posture look better, more confident and believable that those with average posture. Standing upright also makes you taller, usually a half an inch taller, but alignment is more important than that. Poor posture compromises your ability to breathe, which dampens mental clarity and physical strength. Standing and sitting with good posture helps every system in the body, it minimizes the risk of injuries such as pulling muscles or repetitive strain injuries. Many common aches and pains are due to bad posture.

Myth #2 - The right way to stand or sit up is to pull your shoulders back

If you are slumped and pull your shoulders back, the biggest effect is to add tension in your neck, which is not a sustainable posture. The problem with a slouch isn't in the shoulders, it is the rib cage that drops forward. The solution is first and foremost to get grounded. If you're sitting that means both feet on the floor. If you're standing that means having your hips over your feet. The second step is to align your ribs over your hips. With your ankles, hips and ribs in line, the chest naturally lifts and the shoulders drop down and back. Viola!

Myth #3 - Good posture requires tension

If you've been taught to pull your shoulders back, correct posture will seem tense to you, but as you learned above, good posture starts from the ground up. Structural alignment requires core strength in the legs and deep abdominals, so the upper body is able to relax without tension. When you are developing your alignment, practice for a few minutes at a time and slowly build up to give your core muscles a chance to develop their good posture strength. Whenever you feel tension building, that's a sign that your core is not on line.

Myth #4 - Standing or sitting straight requires a straight spine

In slouched posture, the spine is shaped like a "C." A healthy spine naturally has curves that prevent injury. Small arches in the neck and low back should be maintained when sitting and standing, even when the spine is lengthening and the crown of the head is reaching for the sky. The spine is shaped like an elongated, tall "S" in good posture.

Make your mom proud with posture that looks good and nourishes your body. Start from the ground up, aligning head, ribs, and hips over your ankles, engaging your core, letting your upper body relax, and keeping the natural gentle curves in your spine. Take the time to practice healthy posture every day and soon it will be an effortless habit.

To learn more about alignment, posture and structural integration, visit http://www.undulationexercise.com/. Anita Boser, LMP, CHP, RYT 500 is a Certified Hellerwork Practitioner and Registered Yoga Teacher who has helped hundreds of people achieve better alignment.

Original article

How Could I Sit Comfortably in My Office Chair?

The Office for National Statistics declares that as working hours go up, noted low back pain in the overall human population are also growing - so much in fact that over 70% of us have problems with low back pain in the course of our working lives.

Nevertheless it will not end there. Without ergonomic and supporting seating systems you can develop long lasting terrible posture, repetitive strain injury, eyestrain, carpal tunnel symptoms, amplified anxiety, severe headaches and strain. It's more than enough to deliver you returning to bed- and also contacting the doctor. If you deal with terrible seating issues, we boost productiveness by bringing about a much healthier, more content working surroundings and substantially lessen time lost to illness amongst the employees.

How to pick the proper chair

Chair usage needs to be considered - any time precisely the same chair is employed each day, it ought to enable the person to vary and modify the sitting position often.

To begin with, and crucially, we'd like a chair that enables us to site in a situation which offers the correct support for the back, so you can obtain a well-supported and healthy balanced position for the spine.

The second thing is, we must sit in order that our pelvis is rotated a little bit forward and our thighs are angled in a very gentle downward direction, motivating good blood circulation to the feet, which needs to be flat to the floor, or possibly using a well-adjusted footrest.

Following, we must sit down near our own desks and get our work space wisely set up in order that everything we'd like is within close range of both our own eye and hand. Computer displays needs to be set in order that the top of monitor is flat to our eye line. Computer key-boards needs to be put parallel to as well as the proper distance with the edge of the desk, and needs to be about 10cm from the desk edge which means your fingertips rest in a relaxed manner on the keys. Your computer mouse and wrist needs to be supported plus the mouse needs to be within easy reach, to steer clear of stretching for it or rotating at a detrimental angle to reach it.

Furthermore, organize your work in order that you are pretty much looking right in front. Sit back inside your chair and relax your upper body against the backrest.

http://www.officeandchairs.co.uk

I have over 18 years experience in various capacities of marketing, customer service and event management in the public and private sectors. This has placed me into specialising in online marketing and SEO, and as part of my SEO, I write articles for my clients.

On a private level, I enjoy a healthy lifestyle, cycling, horse-riding and running. I have two teenage children and two poodles, who are my wonderful companions.

Original article

The Ultimate Ergonomic Office Chair

So you are on a quest to find the ultimate ergonomic office chair, one that is going to keep you sitting comfortably throughout the day while keeping those unnecessary aches and pains away. Does such a chair even exist? Your first thought might be to get in your car and drive to the nearest Staples to find your new ergonomic chair, but then you remember that they only carry cheap office chairs that are not designed for all day sitting. Your next thought then may be to visit an online office chair retailer, but you are not sure where to even begin looking with the wide selection of chairs to choose from. If you are looking for the one universal ergonomic office chair that works for everyone, think again, because such a chair does not exist. To find the ultimate ergonomic office chair for yourself, you need to first figure out what is going to work best for your body and your needs rather than purchasing a chair just because everyone else has it or you have heard it is popular.

The first step towards finding your ultimate ergonomic office chair is to figure out the dimensions needed to accommodate your body size. First, determine the seat depth(length of the seat) that will be required for your new chair. This is a crucial step because a chair that is too long will put pressure on the back of your knees and a chair that is too short may not fully support your legs. A good way to determine your ideal seat depth is to turn towards your current office chair; if your current seat depth already works for you then make sure your new chair will have the same seat measurements. If it is too long, look for a chair with a smaller seat depth and vice versa if your chair's seat is too short. If you prefer a softer sit while working look for a chair that offers seat foam upgrades such as a gel seat or triple density foam otherwise some chairs come standard with an extra thick seat.

Next you will need to figure out the seat height range necessary for you to be able to keep your feet flat on the floor while working(or on a foot rest) and work with your height. You will also need to take into consideration the height of your desk to ensure your chair will fit underneath your desk if needed, especially if you would like a chair with armrests. Most standard desks are 29" measured from the floor to the top of the desk, however some have higher workstations or adjustable desks that can be lowered and raised if needed. If you are a shorter individual a standard cylinder that comes with most office chairs may be too tall for you causing your legs to be bent at an awkward angle. The same can be said for taller individuals who need a longer cylinder and higher seat height adjustment range. Certain specialty ergonomic office chairs offer different cylinder size options to accommodate individuals of any height from children 4' tall to adults that are 6'8".

Having the right back height for your office chair can be of particular importance for those who suffer from back pain and even for those who want to avoid back pain. A good way to determine the back height that will be needed for your chair is to look at your current office chair. If you currently suffer from upper back you will want to look for a chair that's back will come up high enough to support your shoulder blades. Have a friend measure your back in its entirety from the top of the seat on your current office chair up to your shoulder blades to calculate how tall you will need your back rest to be.

If you experience neck pain look for a chair that comes with an adjustable headrest. Again you will need to measure your back to ensure you do not pick a chair that has a back that is too high or too low, otherwise your headrest may end up turning out to be detrimental rather than helpful. Many people suffer from lower back pain from having a chair that does not have proper lumbar support which is why it is crucial to find a chair that offers built-in lumbar support, adjustable lumbar support, or air lumbar support to prevent lower back pain.

The last factor to consider is how adjustable you will need your ultimate ergonomic chair to be. If you work for more 8 or more hours a day, you will likely need a highly adjustable chair that allows you to recline throughout the day with tilt lock and tilt tension control(allows the user to choose the amount of tension needed to recline back in their chair and to lock their chair in the upright position when typing then unlock when recline is desired). If you are a taller or shorter individual, it may be beneficial to have a seat slider adjustment that allows you to determine make your chair's seat depth either longer or shorter.

If most of your day is spent hunched over typing it would be beneficial to have a chair with back and seat angle adjustment to allow you to lean your back rest and seat forward while doing extensive typing. A chair with an adjustable back rest can benefit just about anyone if the chair comes with built-in back support, then the individual using the chair can adjust the back to reach their lumbar region rather than having a chair that pre-determines it for you and risking having it not fit your back properly. The level of adjustability need will vary amongst individuals and will require some thinking to decide which adjustments are absolutely necessary and which you may be able to live without.

A new ergonomic chair does not come at a cheap price, which is why you need to do your research and make sure that you know exactly what you need to keep you sitting comfortably. Make sure to look at the chair's warranty, if the chair is warranted for only a few years this is a good indication of how long the chair will last you. Contrarily, if a chair has a ten-year or lifetime guarantee this is a good indication that the chair is built to last and withstand tough working conditions. You may need to put a little extra money than you hoped to get your ultimate ergonomic chair but in the long run it will save you from visits to the chiropractor, money spent on having to replace a bad chair, and aches and pains caused by sitting in a poorly designed chairs.

Chelsea Alves is the marketing manager for Sitbetter.com, a company with more than 30 years experience in the office seating and office furniture industry. Dedicated to finding the best chairs for you, at the best price possible, with the best customer service available. For more information on ergonomic office chairs please visit http://www.sitbetter.com/sorted/search/ergonomic_chairs/

Original article

The Importance of an Office Chair

Getting the right chair will help to not only keep you comfortable while working at your desk, but will also help you prevent typical office injuries. Many of the injuries that people get in the office are due to not sitting correctly or having bad posture in a bad chair. Much of this can be avoided when the right chair is used.

It is not only important for a chair to be ergonomically correct, but it should also be comfortable. Just because a chair is set to meet healthy expectations doesn't mean it is comfortable to sit in eight hours a day. Comfort means just as much as correct posture, because the main cause of most back-pain at the office is from the back posture sitting on the chair at work, therefore it is important to have the correct sitting posture.

If you are a big or tall person having the right chair can be a challenge. It is even more important for a big or tall person to have a chair that helps support them. A big and tall office chair needs to have some special additions that a typical office chair won't have. If you are in the market for a big and tall office chair it is important to keep these things in mind when looking for the right chair.

Average office chairs are built to hold up to 250 pounds, but reaching the top end of this weight capacity isn't always accurate or safe. For a big and tall office chair you want to make sure that the weight capacity matches your needs or goes up to 500 pounds.

The higher quality big and tall office chairs will be made with a steel frame. This guarantees that they will last longer than their average size counterparts. A steel frame is going to make an office chair more sturdy and reliable. Most average size chairs don't have any metal in their frame work.

Ordering your chair through a company that offers a trial period is important. For example make sure that you work with a company that offers a 30 day money back guarantee. You won't really know how your chair is going to work for you until you get to try it out. If after a couple of weeks it isn't meeting your needs or it isn't comfortable, you want to be able to send it back.

Big and tall office chairs that come with a warranty are always a good idea. Things happen and if your chair should have a malfunction or break you want to make sure that you can replace it or get it fixed. By ordering your chair with a warranty you are sure to have that protection should something go wrong.

Original article

Ergonomics Is Important to Grow Your Business

Ergonomics is a science that focuses on the adapting of a job and/or a piece of equipment with the human body so that each can be optimized for safety, as well as for productivity.

Ergonomics Increases Productivity

It is quite simple, when people feel comfortable, they do not tire as fast. When people do not experience any pain or soreness, they are able to think better and perform their tasks more efficiently.

Ergonomic exercises are specifically designed for people at their workstations. These exercises can help to reduce discomfort, the occurrence or headaches, experiencing eyestrain, and prevent wrist, shoulder, back and neck pain. Brief breaks that involve performing ergonomic exercises need to be taken routinely during the time that employees are at their stations working.

Ergonomics Saves Money

There are countless cases where a valuable employee is lost due to computer-related injury. This will mean paying overtime for the other employees who need to take on more workload to compensate for the absence of the injured employee. Another problem that may arise is that employees working overtime to make up for the load of the injure employee may themselves suffer injury due to work overload. Hiring a new employee is also a drain on resources as training the new recruit means spending money and it also takes time for the newbie to get up to speed.

The matter of having to deal with worker's compensation, plus the loss of work costs a huge amount of money. Buying equipment that is not as ergonomic as they were marketed to be also means money loss.

Having your employee do ergonomic exercises will help your business save money by preventing the occurrence of injury and thus avoiding costs associated with losing an employee due to injury.

Ergonomics Is Not Expensive

In the workplace, there is constantly a potential to make improvements, associated with the prevention of injury, with the existing work settings. Aside from issues like proper seating, positions of computer monitors, and others, the utilization of office ergonomics exercises by employees is also vital. Most companies hold the view that an ergonomics workplace program will cost them great amounts of money that can be better used elsewhere in the business. But this is untrue.

Ergonomics Already Exists

It is true that ergonomics is already all around you. But, until your employees learn how to adjust their computer monitors to prevent eyestrain or adjust their chair so that the backrests provide good support, having all the ergonomics in the world will not help you. Employees need to be trained in proper office ergonomics exercises and practices so that they will learn the right way to adjust their chair's backrest and position their keyboard.

Ergonomics Help Open-Up Communication

Your employees may become injured due to repetitive strain and may never speak up until they are so injured that they need time off. Having an ergonomics culture in your workplace will encourage employees to speak up about issues related to ergonomics so that you can do something about it right away and prevent further injury.

Everyone May be Hurting

If you believe that everything is fine at your business, you may be surprised if your look though questionnaires and suggestion boxes to see how people avoid speaking up about ergonomic issues at work until they become truly injured. This is because they believe that you will regard their complaints as an excuse not to work.

Ergonomics Is Great for Morale

Employees who are comfortable in their workplace and know that you are concerned about their welfare will work more efficiently and also be more loyal to your business.

Ergonomics exercises with the Max Fitness ball can teach an individual how to sit, move, and stand properly while using it for health benefits and exercise.For further information, please click on Ergonomics Definition.

Original article

How to Combat Health Concerns Caused by Improper Use of Laptops? What Can We Do About It?

Health risks of using a laptop! Why you need to protect yourself

Are you stuck in the time and still using a desktop computer? Do you still sit at a pre-defined corner of the house / office when using your desktop home or office computer? Do you prefer to work at defined work-station instead of scurrying around your house, office or the local cafe? If yes - I must say, you're one of the rare few individual who's reaping the benefits of today's technological marvel while keeping the potentially negative side affects away!

If you are wondering with a raised eyebrow as to why am I praising you instead of labeling as someone who's not kept up with time? Well, consider this fact - today almost 200 million people across the globe use a laptop computer as against the traditional desktop. By 2015, this figure is expected to cross the 250 million mark. Assuming each laptop is used by a single individual, it would be safe to say that almost 200 million people across the globe today, run the risk of negative health impacts because of improper laptop use.

Professor Alan Hedge, from Cornell University has undertaken extensive research on Laptop ergonomics and he is of the opinion that the design and construction of laptops violates a basic ergonomic requirement for computer usage, namely that the keyboard and screen can be positioned independently for appropriate viewing and typing. While this flexibility is one of the fundamental reasons why laptops have become so pervasive, it is also one of the biggest design drawbacks. Depending on when and how you're using the laptop, one can tilt the laptop screen at various viewing angles and if the keyboard is not adjusted accordingly, people often retort to improper posture while using the laptop for long hours which increases risk of muscular-skeletal disorders, headaches, fatigue and similar complaints.

A few years back (say the 1990's, early 2000's), health disorders due to improper use of laptop went highly unnoticed as few people could afford buying a laptop. With the explosion of internet and phenomenal growth of mobile computing, laptop prices have crashed across the globe and more and more people have started replacing their home desktop computers with laptops. With increased usage, comes increase susceptibility to health risks. Today, a whole bunch of health disorders are repeatedly associated with improper laptop usage. Some key ones are:

Hand / Wrist pain (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome): common factors which cause this are typing for prolonged period without rest, forceful and repetitive movements with your hands moving the mouse, faulty positioning of the keyboard at an increased tilt, causing excessive bending of the wrist.
Neck Pain or Strained Neck (Trapezius Myalgia, "Tech neck"): common factors which cause this condition are, sitting unsupported and leaning forward or slouching on the desk for prolonged periods. Monitor height not in line with seated eye level and/or too far to the side. Insufficient back support from the chair or typing with elbows and forearms unsupported can create neck muscle fatigue. Repetitive head tilting while referring to documents etc.
Shoulder Pain (Cervical disc syndrome, spinal stenosis): In layman's terms this means injury to the vertebrae or disks in the neck causing pressure on the nerve roots existing close to the spine. Sitting unsupported, improper posture while using a laptop, improper posture while reading / eating in bed, slouching etc can be factors which can cause this condition
Male Infertility: Yefim Sheynkin, MD, FACS of the urology department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook conducted extensive research which has proven a direct link between improper laptop usage and male infertility. His experiment demonstrated an increase of between 3-4 degrees of scrotal temperature for an average male, when using a laptop for about an hour while keeping it on the lap and keeping the thighs clasped together. Elevated scrotal temperatures results in lower sperm count; thus leading to rising risk of infertility.

Did I end up scaring you? While that was not my intention, I will not be surprised if you were alarmed. It's a known fact that improper usage of laptops can lead to harmful side effects.

Occupational Health & Safety consultants across the world, especially in Australia are acutely aware of this growing trend. Experienced consultants are more often than not retained by medium to large corporate houses in Australia. Concerns about employee's occupational health, even in industries where traditionally the health concerns have been minimal have ensured that injuries and negative health effects have been kept at a minimum.

While OH&S consultants ensure that health risks due to improper laptop usage is minimized in large corporate houses with hundreds and thousands of employees, the small to medium business owners & individuals need not be worried. Over the last few years, a number of niche web portals have emerged who provide excellent knowledge, service and associated products directly over the web, thus bridging this gap.

My intention is not to provide an exhaustive list of products which will try and avoid the above mentioned syndromes, or conditions. You can always type in keywords like Ergonomic Table or Ergonomic Stands in popular search engines and get immediate access to fantastic products which can be bought. My intention was purely to inform you that you need to be careful and there are solutions out there.

In summary, I would like to re-stress that one should give due consideration to a new everyday chore of "using the computer" in our life, a bit more seriously than before. I'm not recommending that you dump laptops or iPads, but please be aware of the health risks. Use the latest computer accessories available, be it a laptop stand, laptop table, or notebook stand or whatever gadget you fancy, but make sure you're safe at all times.

Happy surfing.

Julie Norman is an avid researcher of ergonomic laptop products on the web. Additional health benefits of using an ergonomic notebook Stand can be found at the following link:

http://www.laptopstand.com.au/products/Notebook-Stand-%7C-USB-Laptop-Stand-%7C-Notebook-Holder-%7C-Notebook-Cooler-%7C-Desk-Laptop-Stand-%7C.html

Original article

Give Your Future Self a Reason to Thank You for Making These Simple Changes

Do you work 8, 9 even 10 hours a day in an office? I do and have been for 20 years and then a couple years ago, my doctor said half of the issues I complained about could be improved if I focused on doing little things to help myself during the hours I spent working. With the help of my beautiful wife Kathy, my daughter Nurse Megan and a friend who is a physical therapist, we went to my office and put this plan into place. I can tell you that while all of my problems are not gone, a number of them are better and a few have left the building.

So what were my problems? High cholesterol, overweight, lower back pain, daily headache, constipation (sorry), sciatic nerve issues and too tired to enjoy myself after work. I know, isn't this all about getting older? That's what I thought, but if making some changes could help any of these issues, I was on board. With 6 months behind me now, I have lost 16 pounds and am still a little overweight, my cholesterol is better, not great, I still have some lower back pain but it is better and the headaches and sciatic nerve issues are gone. Here is a list of the recommendations my "Team" came up with and how effective I think they were.
The Goal - Increase my water intake to 32 ounces per day at work.The Plan - Kathy sends a 32 ounce jug of our filtered water from home and a paper Dixie cup to work with me.The Result - Pretty good. I allowed myself one cup of coffee in the morning instead of the three I was used to and I cut out the "soda pop" after lunch that had become a habit. The lack of caffeine took a few days to get used to and I now make more trips to the mens room than ever before, but the end result is definitely positive.The Goal - Get off my butt and on my feet.The Plan - Bring in my laptop from home and set it up on a file cabinet so I can work standing up part of the day while I continue to work on my computer and stand when I am on the phone.The Result - I love it!! Working with two computers was a pain, but I have since added an adjustable height desk unit that allows me to sit or stand. I believe that standing part of the day helps my sciatic nerve issues. Try standing for an hour and then sit for 15 minutes. No more tired feeling after lunch. Standing while talking on the phone has resulted in me now pacing the floor which in my mind is like walking on a treadmill all on company time.The Goal - For goodness sake, Take a Break!The Plan - Set a daily reminder on my computer to get away from my work for 5 minutes every 2 hours.The Result - This was the hardest thing for me to get used to. At first I just ignored the reminders but when questioned by my wife I had to admit that this wasn't happening. So 3 or 4 times a day I now take a 5 minute walk around the building. You can't get too far but it is now part of my day and I am more focused when I return to my desk.The Goal - Get to know your coworkers.The Plan - When feasible, communicate directly with others in your office as opposed to sending an email.The Result - I now know much more about my coworkers and the direct communication is appreciated by most. It gets me on my feet and moving more which like most of these changes is helping my overall wellness. I do suggest following up with a reminder email on issues that may require verification that the conversation took place. Even though my sciatic nerve issues are better, you still want to cover your butt.

In summary, I am keeping with the program because it has helped me. If you decide to try these changes, give yourself a couple weeks to get used to them. Don't beat yourself up if you fall back to your old habits, today is a new day and believe me, your future self will thank you for the effort.

Ergo Desktop is an American Made Product that allow the user to alternate between standing and sitting while they work at a computer. When coupled with other healthy changes to your work day, you can improve your wellness level while you work.

http://www.ergodesktop.com/

Original article

The Importance of Good Office Desk Chairs

Anyone who works in an office knows how important it is to have the right chair. Since office workers are mostly seated all day long, the right chair can save them problems with back pain and stress to the spine. Conversely, an inferior chair can contribute to bad posture and back pain and maybe even frequent absences from work due to pain or related illness.

Ergonomic chairs

The best kind of office chair is an ergonomic chair. That means it has certain qualities that lead to good back health. For one thing, most ergonomic chairs are adjustable in a variety of ways. Seat height must allow for the feet to be flat on the floor. The seat itself must be wide enough and deep enough to offer good support. Backs should fit against the backrest with a few inches between the back of the knees and the seat of the chair.

Most important of all is that there is lower back support for the curve of the lumbar spine so that there is no strain in the lower back. The backrest, armrest and ability to swivel should all be adjustable so that the proper angle can be arrived at for ultimate comfort. Arms and shoulders should be able to relax while the occupant is seated. The chair should be able to rotate easily so that everything on the desk or table can be reached without strain.

Ergonomic chairs come in all fabrics and materials. There is the leather office chair, of course. Chairs do not have to be very expensive. But by all means there must be an opportunity to try them out to insure that they are comfortable for the persons who will be sitting in them.

Besides leather there are other materials used for office chairs, such as wood, webbing, or net. The same rules apply to those too: the ability to adjust the chair to the comfort of the user so that there is no strain on the back.

Very often desk chairs are an afterthought, ordered after all the other office furniture has been selected. Little thought is given to back health, but that should be the number one priority of office chairs. Just make sure that you can return the chairs should it turn out to be necessary. Office desk chairs that are a good fit means a happy office worker, who will provide service with a smile instead of with pain contortions.

UK's leading online specialist for office chairs, next day delivery service, over 2 million pounds worth of stock to choose from And a 5 year component guarantee. To see more please visit our website at http://www.office-chairs-showroom.com/

Original article

Need Of Ergonomic Assessment

Ergonomics may be described as human engineering which is the technique of transferring the work environment as per the human body and needs for the comfortable working atmosphere. Poor work environment can create lots of physical problems such as neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain etc. The main purpose of using ergonomic techniques is to avoid these painful situations. You simply need to have your workplace get ergonomically organized.

Professional occupational therapists also recommend people to change their spaces and working equipments to ergonomically preferable ones. Even they suggest some of them too such as ergonomic chair, ergonomic mouse, keyboards. It increases the productivity and health of employees. So its good for employers too as they get more results in the same time. In some organizations where ergonomic assessment has not been done, lots of employees use uncomfortable office equipments, such as not suitable chairs. It can a huge problem on one's body. It can create bad posture and hence can produce back pains and other body aches. For this they have to go to occupational therapists for help. Ergonomic products recommended, sometimes are not very comfortable, as first these don't get fit into the posture. But these help in long term.

Ergonomic assessment is done as per your business requirement. In this each and every thing which is connected to ergonomic techniques will be monitored. From furniture to seating arrangements, employee desks, common places of seating or standing used by employees. Employees can be asked to fill some checklists to get the better idea about the arrangement going on. After it has been assessed, a report will be generated and will be presented before the citing management for approval. Once approved, ergonomically changes will be implemented starting from small ones like improving employee behavior, sitting, postures and then seating arrangements and then the ergonomic products will be placed for better co-ordination.

Ergonomics is a scientific technique which has been researched over the years on the workplace and home environments for the perfectly placement of each and every thing in the space there. Its a way of organizing the things in the space wherever you work or live as per your human body's comfort and need so that body doesn't have to get into unnecessary stress or strain on its parts to do the required work. That is why assessing your native environment ergonomically gives a real boost to your health, productivity and life.

Author has been a professional occupational therapist for many years and has assessed many organizations ergonomically to bring resulting changes in their outputs. Ergonomic assessment helps in creating healthy environment to work and live.

Original article

Minimize Spinal Misalignment With a Lumbar Cushion

As you age, your bones become more brittle and porous. One of the areas which are most affected by the growing porosity of the bone structure is the back. The back is composed of a column of vertebral discs that support not only the entire body, but which also holds one of the most important parts of the central nervous system - the spinal cord. In the process of aging, the spinal column weakens and often becomes misaligned. One of the most common types of spinal problems is the weakening of the lumbar area. If you experience lower back pains, you should consider getting a lumbar cushion.

Back support

These cushions are specifically designed to provide lower back support. Most pillows have feathers, down or other synthetic materials for filling. Cushions designed for lumbar support, however, are made with resilient foams that are firm enough to support the back area and promote the natural curvature of the spine. Comfort, however, is another equally important feature of the lumbar pillows. These cushions come pre-molded to fit into the shape of your back to ensure comfort. Because of the foam filling, the cushions will also follow the contours of your back perfectly.

Different shapes

Most lumbar pillows are wedge shaped and will fit the normal space between your back and a chair. However, there are also a wide variety of other shapes that will cater to different body sizes and seat sizes. There are lumbar pillows that are packaged into a roll. This will allow you to unroll the cushion to the size that fits your back perfectly. There are also lumbar pillows that come with side wings that are perfect for long travels and which will prevent your body from bending as you sleep during travel. These lumbar pillows also work great with head support cushions which fit into your head and neck to keep your upper body from slumping during long travels.

Mobility

A large pillow such as the husband pillow can weigh as much as seven pounds. The lumbar cushions, however, are much lighter. This means that you can bring your pillows anywhere you need them. Ergonomics is one of the major issues that plenty of office designers are now taking into consideration. Even if your office still has the same back breaking seats, however, comfort can easily be had by wedging in a lumbar support pillow between your back and the chair. Because they are very light and because most come with small sacks or pouches, you can carry them from home to your car, and finally, to your office.

The chair and other seating furniture pieces are one of the most frequently used items in the house and office. People spend a third of their lives in bed, but the next place where people spend the most time is in seats. This makes lumbar support cushions an essential item to have around.

Whether for watching TV, reading a book, or working, the lumbar cushion can provide you with the back support that you need to prevent lower back pains or keep these from coming back. For more info visit http://www.lumbarcushion.org/.

Original article

A Holistic Approach to Healing

Chronic diseases and conditions are at epidemic levels. They include heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, arthritis, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and fibromyalgia. If you get hit be disease, there are holistic steps to take for healing. The holistic steps involve mind-body-spirit techniques to boost your energy, power and immune system. They will then boost your body's capacity to heal itself. These steps will also improve your brain chemistry and brain wave activity to deliver you good mental health. The mind-body and spirit (i.e., the energy body) are all connected and play a role in disease and healing. Disease hits when mind-body-spirit are out of balance and when negativity and stress take root. Healing occurs when they are put back into balance, stress is substantially reduced and negativity is replaced with positive energy.

If you have been diagnosed with a chronic disease or condition, the first holistic step is to set aside the next few months to heal. Focus on one thing - to achieve and maintain an ongoing state of inner peace - peace of mind and peace of spirit, along with an ongoing feeling of joy. Focus on making yourself feel happy and positive. Being happy and positive are important to heal. The exercises in this article will help.

At the same time fill yourself with energy and power. This requires easy, daily meditation, visualization and breathing exercises and prayer from the heart. Spend time in nature. Commune with nature and the Divine through prayer from the heart - ask for healing and have others pray for you as well.

Take the time to de-stress, indulge your self and build up your energy and immune system through daily meditation, visualization and breathing exercises. Do things each day to make yourself smile, laugh and feel peaceful and happy. With respect to depression and mental and emotional disorders, these exercises along with brain wave entrainment music (theta, beta, delta brain wave entrainment with binaural beat) will help improve your brain chemistry and brain wave activity.

While in the healing mode, you need to achieve and maintain balance and eliminate stress. You also need to let go of anger, fear, worry and anxiety. You need to stop ongoing negative thoughts and emotions. You need to avoid negative and toxic people, situations and environments. You need to avoid conflict and drama. All of these things are stressful. Stress will agitate you, throw you off balance and undermine your efforts to achieve and maintain inner peace. Stress will drain your energy and damage your immune system and your body's ability to heal.

Stress damages brain chemistry and brain wave activity. A lot of stress comes from our own thoughts and reactions to negativity. So, we let go of ego, end conflict and drama and move to inner peace. We detach from material desires for now and focus solely on feeling good and happy inside- a feeling that is achieved with inner work.

While in the healing mode, avoid negative, toxic and controlling people. Avoid angry people, people who intimidate, judge or criticize you. Avoid intrusive and co-dependent people. All of these people will agitate you and drain your energy and inner power and put you in stress. They will dominate your thoughts and keep you in a negative frame of mind. In order to heal, you need energy and vitality, peace of mind and peace of spirit and an ongoing state of happiness. If you cannot avoid stressful and negative people altogether, then at least build and maintain strong boundaries with them and do not let them in too close. Do not let them push you around or intimidate you or push you into anger, fear, drama, arguments and conflict... While in the healing mode, ask dependant people to take care of themselves if you can. Otherwise, ask a friend or family member to help.

While in the healing mode, focus on complete relaxation. Bring yourself inner peace and peace of mind. Boost your inner power and energy. This is all done through meditation, prayer, deep breathing exercises and visualization exercises.

To bring inner peace and a peaceful mind, work with holistic healers as well as physicians. These include energy healers such as Reiki practitioners, massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists and others. Learn how to center yourself in your heart. Learn how to live in your heart and senses and be fully present in the moment. Do not live in ongoing, running thoughts. Learn to stop negative thoughts by distracting yourself and substituting happy thoughts or no thoughts for the negative thoughts.

A continuous state of relaxation, inner peace and joy will enable life force energy to flow through you freely. The free flow of life force energy is great medicine. It will boost your immune system.

Turn off the news and turn on peaceful, happy and harmonious music. Surround yourself with beauty and positive and happy people who love you. Spend more time in nature and around art. Learn to totally relax. Get massages. Take soothing salt baths and showers. Have fun. Laugh and smile. Focus on the beauty and positive aspects of life. Focus on nature and people, entertainment and things that make you happy, smile and laugh.

Inner peace leads to peace of mind and peace of mind leads to inner peace. Breathing techniques help. Breathe into your heart in light meditation and focus only on your breath. Breathe in through your nose and hold your breath for a few seconds and then breathe out through your mouth. Visualize that you are breathing in healing energy and breathing out all negativity. Draw in visualized white light in meditation. Pray from your heart, meditate in your heart and do positive affirmations.

Forgive your self and others in your heart and let go of past wrongs. This is done through prayer, meditation and visualization. Through visualization, cut energy cords that keep you attached to the negative and painful past and negative and toxic people. Through visualization, purge the painful past. Let go of it. This will help you achieve inner peace and peace of mind. Purge all negativity inside you - all anger and fear and fill yourself with visualized white light through your heart. Visualize it as unconditional love that feels peaceful inside. Fill up with white light through deep breathing exercises and visualization.

Negative thoughts keep us in a state of stress. So, use your brain solely for thoughts about work, errands, hobbies and positive people and events. Then turn off your thoughts and shift into your heart and live in the moment and in your senses at all other times. Be mindful of your thoughts and who and what you are thinking about and move from negative to positive and from unhappy to happy.

Detach from obsessive desires. Obsessive attachment causes inner stress and agitation. Let go of rigid and negative beliefs and open your heart and mind. Adopt only one belief while in the healing mode- you love your self and your life and you want to enjoy your life, free of disease. But, focus on cultivating a feeling of inner peace, happiness and vitality instead of focusing on the disease.

As mentioned above, live in your heart or body center and not in your thoughts. Thoughts tend to go negative especially when one has negative or rigid beliefs. So, be mindful of your thoughts ad shift from negative to positive thoughts and images. Negative thoughts are stressful. Negative thoughts burn a lot of energy. Move from negative to positive and unhappy to happy thoughts and images as soon as you can.

It is important to quickly de-stress when hit with anger, anxiety, self pity or guilt. These negative and painful emotions will drain your energy and vitality. This is done through deep breathing exercises. Then detach from and purge these negative and painful emotions and related thoughts. This is done through visualization, meditation and prayer.

When hit by negative and painful emotions and thoughts, close your eyes and take some deep and slow breaths and focus solely on your breath. Let go of all else. Concentrate solely on breathing until you become peaceful inside. As you develop peace of mind and peace of spirit and let go of negative and rigid beliefs and open your mind and heart, your thoughts will be more positive. Be mindful of your thoughts. If they go negative, switch to positive thoughts (happy thoughts, thoughts about positive people and situations). Otherwise, get rid of thoughts altogether and just be fully present in the moment in your heart and senses. Your energy and vitality will improve. Negative thoughts will devour one's energy.

Do visualizations to purge the negative and painful past and related images. Focus on memories that make you feel happy and substitute positive memories for negative memories. Do this to prevent the negative and painful past from continuing to dominate your conscious and unconscious mind and infect your beliefs and thoughts.

Focus on being positive, peaceful and happy. Do not focus on your disease. Focus on your blessings, health and vitality. Express gratitude for your blessings. Do not focus on what you lack. Find ways to enjoy the moments of life. Smile, laugh and dance. Treat your self with kindness and shut off the critical, judgmental and negative inner voice. This is done through meditation, visualization and positive affirmations.

Build up your energy in your solar plexus. Do this by breathing in and drawing in visualized white light into your solar plexus or drawing earth energy into your solar plexus. Feel that energy build up like a mass of burning energy in your solar plexus and hold it there. You can draw and breathe in energy through your applied and focused will and intent. This energy will help boost your immune system.

It is important to build up the physical body too. Stress, toxins and negativity deplete the nutrient in one's body. One's energy and immune system require a lot of nutrition, especially given the level of stress and negativity in society. To help build up your physical body: (i) eat a high nutrient diet (mostly fresh vegetables and fruit), (ii) take mega vitamins and supplements including vitamin A, B (B-6 and B-12 and Folic Acid and Niacin especially), C, D and E, (iii) take antixoidants ( CoQ10, green tea and green tea extract), fish oil, adatogens ( such as cordyceps, reishi and shitaki mushrooms) and asrtagulus and anti inflammatory supplements such as fish oil and (iv) take trace minerals and amino acid supplements. Also, exercise daily. Walk a few miles each day. Stretch and stand and sit straight without slouching so your energy flows freely through you. Breathe deeply and take in plenty of oxygen. Hydrate yourself with a lot of filtered water and breathe more deeply. Get sunshine and let the sun shine on your face at least fifteen minutes a day. Whenever you can, take your shoes off and absorb earth energy through your feet. All of these things will help boost your energy and get healing life energy to flow freely through you.

Here are some meditation/visualization exercises for healing.

White light meditation

Sit comfortably or lie down. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Get relaxed. Visualize a bright white sun where your heart is. Visualize that this bright white sun radiates bright white light in your entire body and head. Visualize that the white light fills up your entire body and head and creates an intact white aura all around you. The goal is to achieve and maintain peace of mind and peace of spirit and to raise your vibrations. Clasp your hands together and visualize this white light goes out three to six inches to a foot from you. Now hold the visualized white light there with the intention of raising your vibrations. Visualized white light cleanses and heals the energy body and raises one's vibrations.

Green and blue light meditation

Sit comfortably close your eyes and focus on your breath. Get relaxed. Visualize a bright green and then light blue sun where your heart is. Visualize that this inner sun radiates bright green and then bright light blue light in your entire body and head. Visualize that these colors - green and light blue- fill up your entire body and head and create an intact color aura around you. Green is for healing depression. Light blue is for healing anxiety. If you have trouble visualizing the colors green and light blue, then look at the colors and then close your eyes and imagine them. Look at grass and trees for green and the sky and water for light blue.

Deep breathing exercises

Sit comfortably or lie down. Get relaxed. Breathe deeply through your nose into your heart. Hold your breath there for five seconds then breathe out through your mouth. Focus only on your breaths as any thoughts that come in drift away. Visualize that you are breathing in bright white light as pure unconditional love on the in breaths and exhaling all negativity as black smoke on the out breaths. Let go of all negativity. Fill yourself with inner peace.

Centering

Center yourself in the middle of your heart and the middle of your forehead and stand or sit straight. Shift your energy and consciousness with focus to your heart and middle of your forehead. To center yourself, visualize a big white sun where your heart is located. Close your eyes and put your hand over your heart and shift your consciousness and energy to that spot. Alternatively, visualize an orb of white light above your head and below your feet and visualize that a beam of white light shoots out from the orbs and the light beams meet at the center of your body. With respect to centering in the middle of your forehead, put your fingers on your forehead and shift your energy and consciousness there. Center and focus. To fortify your ability to center and focus, look at an object or symbol. Then close your eyes and visualize an image of that object or symbol in the middle of your forehead. Focus on this image. When thoughts come into your head, focus on the image in the internal screen in the middle of your forehead. Negative thoughts and a negative inner voice come from the sides and back of the head. Be mindful of negative thoughts and a negative inner voice. When they come, switch to positive thoughts and images, positive affirmations, deep breathing exercises, centering yourself and staying focused in the moment. Live in the moment and your senses and not in your thoughts. Thoughts tend to always go negative when we live in them. Stop angry thoughts about the painful past or worried thoughts about the future especially. Just Be.

Chakra cleansing, healing, balancing and alignment

Close your eyes and sit comfortably or lie down. Focus on each of the major seven chakra points, one at the time and visualize that you bathe them in white light. Then visualize each of the chakra colors one at a time with your eyes closed. YouTube has good chakra cleansing, healing, balancing and alignment meditation videos.

Melting the hard shell around the heart (heart chakra)

Traumas and stress often cause a hard energetic shell to form around the heart (or heart chakra). To more effectively draw in chi energy/positive energy/love, we must melt the hard shell around the heart. In meditation, close your eyes and visualize a hard gray shell around your heart. Visualize a white light orb above or in front of you. Visualize that this white light orb shoots out laser beams that blast the hard gray shell around your heart. Visualize the hard shell melt and your heart become pink, open, soft and vital.

Higher self and inner child meditation/visualizations:

In meditation visualize a pure white angel that looks just like you (but is happy, peaceful and full of love and white light). See an energy cord connect you to that angel from your heart. Visualize that angel (your higher self) now merge with you. Visualize you as a child playing and having fun. Now visualize that you hug that child and tell him or her that he or she is safe and to just have fun. Take a pillow and visualize that pillow is you as a child and hug it. Tell the inner child you love him or her. Now, become the loving inner parent to our inner child. Indulge your inner child everyday by allowing yourself to have fun and do things that make you happy.

Meditation/visualizations to get rid of negativity:

Here is an exercise to get rid of stored anger, fear, anxiety and painful and negative memories: visualize the image of the painful event from the past or the image that worries you about the future. Close your eyes and visualize this image in a glass ball that hovers a few feet in front of you. Put your hands on this visualized ball and push it with force deep into the ground. Hear and feel the energy cords that attach you to the image snap and fall away. Do this over and over until the image no longer has an energetic grip on you and all related anger and fear melt away. As you push the ball deep into the ground say the following to yourself: "Into the ground, into the core go away, melt away, gone." In deep meditation, visualize positive scenes that make you feel happy. Focus on scenes from nature and celebrations.

Cutting energy cords

The ego spins out energy attachments to people, things, substances and beliefs to fill the void inside us. These energy attachments lead to unbalanced thoughts, obsessions, ruminations, lusts and addictions. As we heal the void inside us (through energy body cleansing and healing), and as we build up the white light within, we will not spin out these energy cords very much. In order to substantially reduce ruminations, obsessions, lusts and addictions and establish balance, it is important to cut energy cords - especially energy cords with negative and toxic people and painful memories. Likewise, it is important to let go of anger and hate and fear. To heal, it is important to detach from and let go of emotional pain. So, to cut energy cords, do the following: Sit down and close your eyes. Visualize the energy cords that attach you to people, things, substances, ideas and beliefs that cause unbalanced or obsessive thoughts. Visualize them as cords connected to your heart and torso. With your weak hand visualize that you grab the cords. Then with your strong hand visualize that you cut them and sever them from you with a visualized knife or scissors. Visualize that they fall away.

Grounding

Grounding and centering are important to do to fully focus your mind and to be in the moment. You can find the centering exercises in this article above. With respect to grounding, do the following. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and your feet firmly planted on the ground. Take off your shoes. Visualize that roots or laser beams shoot out from your feet and into the earth. Visualize that they anchor you firmly to the earth. Visualize that you draw the energy of the earth in through the soles of your feet and up your body.

Visualization for energy and power

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and your feet firmly planted on the ground. Clasp your hands together. Visualize and will the energy from the earth come up the soles of your feet, up your legs and accumulate as a molten mass of energy in your solar plexus. Hold that energy there. Alternatively, visualize a bright white sun in the middle of your solar plexus or an orb of white light in front of you that shoots white light in you. Visualize this white light accumulate like a molten mass of energy in your solar plexus. Hold the energy in your solar plexus for awhile.

By: Michael E. Goldberg, Reiki Master

You can learn specific techniques to reduce stress and boost your energy and immune system in the book The Road to Healing, Good Health and Wellness, available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Kindle.

Michael E. Goldberg is a Reiki Master and Life coach and Author of The Road to Healing, Good Health and Wellness (available on Amazon.com, Kindle and Barnes and Noble.com), The End of Mood Disorders (available on amazon.com and barnes and noble.com) and The Road to Happiness, available for free at http://www.theroad2happiness.com/ and the Facebook Page entitled The Road to Happiness.

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Ergonomic Foot Rest

Depending on what type of seating you are using, it may be necessary to use an ergonomic foot rest. In situations where it is necessary but is not being used, you may begin to experience issues such as numbness of the legs, and eventually, circulation problems. Here are some of the things you'll want to consider when choosing.

What is an ergonomic foot rest?

An ergonomic foot rest is a foot rest that has been designed to properly support your feet so as to prevent the onset of a host of physical problems.

Depending on some of the other characteristics of your seating situation (more on that in a minute), it may be necessary in order to prevent the development of physical problems, some of which may include varicose veins, blood clots, and strains of the Achilles tendon or other muscles or tendons in the legs, ankles or feet.

When is an ergonomic foot rest necessary?

You'll need to have it any situation when your seat needs to be at a height that keeps you from having your feet flat on the floor.

Drafting chairs, which are intended to be used at a higher level than most chairs, have built in foot rings which address this problem. However, in other situations, it may still be necessary to have your office chair higher than you would otherwise prefer. For example, you may need to have your seat high in order to have a direct line of sight to your computer monitor, or else you would be forced to strain your neck while looking at the monitor.

Conversely, it could simply be a matter of preference. In any case, your feet will need support, whether it's from the floor, or from an ergonomic foot ring.

What to look for in an ergonomic foot rest

The first thing to look for is the appropriate width. It should be wide enough to allow you to sit naturally, without having to hold your feet closer together than you normally would.

Quality foot rests also provide good traction. This is important because if your feet are constantly sliding off of the foot rest, you're not really getting the benefits that it is supposed to be providing. Your feet should stay in place even if the soles of your shoes or boots are wet, as this situation is sometimes difficult to avoid.

Another important thing to be aware of is how it will combine with the base of your chair. This usually isn't a major issue, but in some cases, you may have a chair with a base that is especially wide, and depending on your body type and preferred sitting position, some may not fit in the spot you need them to because of the shape of your chair's base. This issue can often be avoided by choosing an ergonomic office chair with a dedicated accessory, which is usually available as an option from the manufacturer. These ergonomic foot rest will be guaranteed to provide optimal support in tandem with the chair in question, and these can be especially good options because of the added benefits provided by this combination.

Read our Ergonomic Chair Reviews and determine the Best Ergonomic Chair, perfect for everyone.

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Eliminating The Menace Of Injuries Via Ergonomics

Long tiring hours in front of the office desk everyday could translate into back pain and more probably fatigue. Say to say even if yesterdays pain is still present we can't help but to attend another office day. If you desire changes in your office setting then that's where ergonomic would come in. An employee ho feels discomforted most likely cannot function well. His or her unproductive would be a big loss to the company. The ideal design for an office desk and desk should promote proper posture, which allows you to have maximum comfort.

Occupational health is the main reason for the development of ergonomic desk and chairs. Now people of the entire world know how valuable it is health wise. We can't deny the fact that computers would always be involved regardless of your occupation. Certified ergonomic equipment guarantees to resolve fatigue and any physical problem brought by work. Serious types of condition await people who practices sedentary lifestyle and the trend continues to grow yearly. More corporate offices are convinced with terrific result of ergonomic designed office equipments.

Attributes of an Ergonomic desk

The position of the monitor from the desk must be leveled to the eyes. In case the positioning of the neck is out-of-place neck pain and injuries is not far from happening. The design of an ergonomic desk centers to eliminate the pressure felt by the eye due to proper distance and height.

Height Matters

One common mistake of office workers is they sit in the manner by which their feet don't touch ground. By doing this you are disrupting the normal flow of blood, you might end up feeling cramps and pain in the process. Even in a sitting position your feet is not by any way spared from the pressure. The knee position must achieve proper angle to avoid strain and numbness.

Placing the desk

Placement of a desk is important if your line of work is in the office. Often times you could see workers position their chairs and desk in an awkward manner. In t hat way they are susceptible to various injuries.

Ergonomic inspired accessories

With the sudden success of ergonomic furniture's manufacturers have decided to expand their products through accessories. Despite the growing popularity of ergonomic science, people are still unaware of what they are. Injuries do not only happen in an office set up. Prolonged use of your cellular prone could provide pressure in your hands and fingers. Writing is another activity that could provide any one with unwanted strain and pain,

We work so hard to support our families, but in the process you often sacrifice our body to possible harm. You are grateful that such science existed to eliminate the risk of underlying injuries. People should be aware that ergonomics is no hoax and they are for real. In reality we all thought that working in the office is more advantageous compared to field work, however you saddened by the fact that behind close doors your health is in danger.

Ralph J. Greene enjoys writing for Uniformhaven.com which sells nurse scrubs and landau 8219 as well as a host of additional products.

Original article