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The Ergonomic Evolution Weekly is out! paper.li/ergo_evolution… ▸ Top stories today via @SpineHealth @OccHealthSafety @ErgoPlus

New Desk Conversion Product Makes Existing Desks into Standing Desks, A Success Story

Employee complaints from sitting too long were a common refrain for Scott I., Facilities Manager. Standing workstations were becoming a common request at global technology & communication firms whose employees work at a desk all day. Scott was concerned about cost, storage and adaptation but hadn’t seen a good solution that was both budget-conscious and easy to adopt on a large scale.

Adaptive Workstations Cost Companies Too Much

Scott knew there were desks that that could be adjusted up and down so staff could choose whether to sit or stand while they worked – but the cost was prohibitive and he’d also heard that few employees properly adapted to these mechanisms, and used them at regular desk height anyway. Knowing this wouldn’t be acceptable to management Scott looked for a more practical answer and turned to SitStand for a product demonstration.

The SitStand products immediately resolved all of Scott’s worries. They easily lifted the existing desks to create standing workstations, took up little extra space, was easy to adapt to, and the price was right. Scott took this simple solution to his manager and made a purchase order.

Affordable, Compact Desk Attachment Resolves Complaints

Unlike expensive mobile “up and down” mechanisms, the SitStand accessories are easy to transport, and semi-permanently raises existing desks with no damage – meaning offices can maintain their existing look and style. Each device was fitted to suit the needs of the employee, took up no extra space and did not create a need for extra storage. Most importantly, employees quickly adapted to the raised workstations because their existing desk surfaces and organization remained intact. As more employees requested the product to be installed, Scott could easily accommodate them without blowing the budget thereby satisfying the demands of the staff and his Manager’s preference for an economical solution to this common workplace complaint.

Companies Keep Costs Down, Morale Up

Scott cited that the number one benefit of the SitStand product is its effectiveness for users, increasing employee comfort and moral and reducing downtime thereby increasing productivity. Scott was thrilled to implement an effective solution for employees at an acceptable price. “The results were incredible: The people who use the system are happy with it. They stay noticeably longer at their desks, and they don’t complain about discomfort.”

This low-cost, efficient, and easy to implement solution was exactly what the company needed. After reviewing several impractical and pricey options, SitStand emerged as the clear winner: “the choice was easy for us. The office is absolutely fascinated with the simplicity and effectiveness of this system.”

For more information, please visit us at: http://www.sitstandoffice.com/ Or call us at: 1-888-937-5222

Why eye doctors may soon prescribe Tetris

Researchers at McGill University say the video game distributes information between the eyes in a way that trains them to work together and could ultimately help treat lazy eye.

by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore

April 22, 2013 11:44 AM PDT

Study participants with lazy eye were forced to play Tetris for weeks, but reported vast improvements in their condition.

(Credit: McGill University)

For the roughly three percent of the population that suffers from amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” the best current treatment option — covering the stronger eye to force the weaker one into better behavior — works only some of the time in kids and has been totally ineffective in adults.

Now researchers out of McGill University in Montreal say that playing Tetris may ultimately treat the disorder in adults because the puzzle video game trains the eyes to work together as information is distributed across them in a complementary fashion.

“The key to improving vision for adults, who currently have no other treatment options, was to set up conditions that would enable the two eyes to cooperate for the first time in a given task,” Dr. Robert Hess, senior author of the paper published this week in the journal Current Biology, said in a school news release.

Amblyopia is caused by poor processing in the brain that leads to the dominant eye suppressing functioning of the weaker one. By connecting differently shaped blocks as they fall in Tetris, the eyes are forced — perhaps even enjoyably so — into cooperation, alleviating suppression of the weaker eye and retraining the brain to use both equally.

Colorado adults are the least obese in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled a survey today reporting obesity rates in the United States. On average, more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese. Colorado again ranked as the least obese state, with a 20.7% obesity rate among adults.

Colorado’s neighbors were less obese than much of the country, as well. The Western U.S. region had the lowest average obesity prevalence, at 24.3%.

It is tempting to look back to prior years to see weight trends in our state. However, the CDC has made changes to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to include cellular phone users and to improve its method of statistical weighting. This means that any previous years’ percentages are not comparable to this year’s findings. Regardless, the CDC points out that one thing is clear: “State prevalence of obesity remained high across the country in 2011.”

It is also important to realize that these numbers are based on a survey which asked adult respondents to self-identify, meaning that these percentages are merely estimates of the current obesity rate.

Even as the least obese state in the nation, Colorado has a lot of work to do. According to the 2011 Colorado Health Report Card, Colorado ranks 23rd in the nation in the proportion of children who are obese. At this rate, our state will not remain the “leanest” for long.

Finally, a 20.7% obesity rate is still worrisome. The CDC reports that:

Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.
In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.

Source: CDC

Review of the best ergonomic chairs.

I did this review during 3 years of extensive testing of ergonomic chairs for work, my idea is to examine what kind of alternatives are available for reducing backache and the contractures that often occur in sedentary jobs: office chairs more comfortable and economical, ergonomic Varier chairs (ex stokke) expensive, or other options?

Computer Work Seats: the 2 correct postures

correct postures for work at computer
Above you can see both of the correct positions you should have when sitting at a computer. In the first case we can see a standard static position: the pelvis is at 90° and the back is parallel to the monitor and perpendicular to the keyboard. In the second example we can see the dynamic position of an ergonomic seat that shows the more than 100° angle between hips and legs with a pivoting seat and support for the lumbar region and knees. Besides postural problems during office working hours or at a VDU, there are also postural problems caused by rigidity and tension characteristic of occupational or emotional stress.
Articular rigidity becomes combined with a series of uncorrect postures and improvised gymnastics to give temporary relief to the effects of the rigidity we accumulate all year round. These three primary factors (rigidity, misaligned posture and improvised gymnastics), can lead to critical situations for both the back and articulations, leading to the need for rehabilitation specialists or help from a professional masseur (physiotherapy, rehabilitation massage such as Rolfing or gymnastics like Pilates followed by a therapist).
Note for those that wish to gift a posture chair for Christmas: make sure you ask them first if they’ve ever tried one!

How to choose the correct ergonomic chair

To the article on how to choose the ergonomic chair that best suits your needs, in some cases the cheaper brands are not worth it.

Improvised gymnastics

With improvised gymnastics it is intended the whole series of movements that we voluntarily start using and that little by little become part of our habitual movements: finger cracking, neck cracking, suddenly turning backwards, eye rubbing, disharmonic shoulder stretching etc. Looking for immediate relief for contractures stratified through years of sedentary work is one of the main reasons we start doing improvised gymnastics. Even though making these series of movements every day may seem to temporarily resolve stress and tension, in fact we are causing them by stratifying more unnatural movements (here can be found the study of body and movement from which these observations have been taken. Be careful not to confuse instinctive yawning or stretching (when not done following a conscious thought), they’re very positive for the body, giving instant relaxation.

The function of breathing

It may seem incredible but any tension can dissolve with a deep breath. Any external support we offer our body, including ergonomic seats, can be no more that a palliative treatment compared to the effects of physical, emotional or psychic training that all have correct breathing as a basic requirement.

constipation

Problems of constipation can be relieved with a correct ergonomic posture. La position of the spine properly aligned between shoulders and pelvis provides the intestines with the right position for normal fecal flow. Obviously this is the case when the constipation is caused by postural problems and not uncorrect eating habits, stress from hectic lifestyle etc. In these cases no chair will be of help. In my own case however, during the first month of use of my, kneeling chair I noticed an increase in the need to go to the bathroom, especially in the morning.

external supports ( POSTURAL seats and kneeling chairs)

Practically all the projects that you’ll see in the following reviews come from the immense work of the designer Peter Opsvik. Every chair studied for those that work in front of a computer all day have pros (for example the possibility to change position by kneeling), and cons (some chairs need some ‘’running in’’ time to get used to the strange seating method). Here are various solutions of normal chairs and ergonomical office seats.

Office chair with arm rests and and casters

office-chair-red-ugly

cost: 60 – 100 Euro (can be found much cheaper at Ikea or at Euroffice)
size: reasonable

This is a very normal office chair with casters… the most economical solution ( they are sometimes called operative chairs). In order to use this classic typing seat with casters and arms it’s necessary to regulate perfectly the chair hight in order to achieve a 90° angle between legs and back (which should be vertical and slightly leaning back). It’s also useful to have a well toned body, as is standing up often and walking around the office, getting some coffee. The fact is, after ten years or so we will end up giving all the money we didn’t invest in a chair to a physiotherapist who will try to get rid of the pain caused by the bad posture we’ve had for years.
In this case it’s possible to find triangular footrests (here are some economical footrests), often in plastic, that are no more than wedge shaped platforms. They can be combined with this kind of office chairs to slightly alleviate the burden of tension that accumulates in the higher part of the back.

How to choose a traditional office chair

This kind of common office chair has no particular design so you might as well get a cheap one. Some aspects to consider are:

The possibility to regulate in hight (useful to adapt the chair to any workspace without having to use platforms
The possibility to incline the chair downwards in the front part
The possibility to incline downwards the front of the chair is an important adjustment.

Inclining the seat has the scope of enlarging the angle between pelvis and back, an action that counterbalances the tendency many have to “stoop forward” while working at a desk. The position resembles the one used with Stokke type kneeling chairs. It’s also important to remember that too much comfort in an intensively used
working seat can be an impediment.

Note on abdominal breathing

It must be mentioned that if the need for an ergonomical chair derives from the tension caused by working many hours in the same position, it can also be useful being aware of the kind of breathing we use while working. Insufficient abdominal breathing may cause the pelvis to contract upon itself, leading to the conseguent
eccesive curving forward of the shoulders.
Taking a 5 minute break every 2 or 3 hours to breath with your abdomen is also a good way to relax your spinal column (warning… if you smoke it may not work very well).

Surreal Ergonomic Projects For Videogame Racing Simulations

price: unrealistic

videogame-chair
This is a project for a space simulation seat that’s so absurd I’m putting it here
just for fun. Designer’s folly 1 – rest of the world zero.

Kneeling chairs

kneeling-chair-wood

Model: Metal stool with knee rests and stool with knee rest on casters
price: around 80 euro (catalogue Misco e Viking)
Model: ergonomic stool in Cinius wood
price: around 100 euro (catalogue Cinius)
models of artisan made ergonomic chairs (Vispa chair style): 200/250 Euro
Model: kneeling chair
price: importation USA, around 50 euro with good exchange.
size: good for small offices
This is an ergonomic office chair similar to a stool with knee (or leg) support. This kind of stool has casters and allows full movement of feet and ankles… so you can roll and lol around while still sitting! According to my tests, the use of these kneeling stools can reduce the need for interruptions up to 20% compared to a normal chair, but it will however still be necessary to get up and move every so often. While having the benefit of being extremely economical, this kind of stool, although called ergonomic, doesn’t resolve problems tied to backache (often caused by prolonged static positions), and need a phase of ‘training’ because at first they seem pretty uncomfortable. It must also be noted that they are deliberately without arm rests (in a correct position, the arms should lie along the sides of the body, and the shoulders relax when the position of the keyboard is just above the level of the hips). Tha absence of a backrest will be felt after a few of the many hours we pass at the monitor. These models of chairs for desks with kneerests are an economical alternative and very similar to the pointlessly expensive Varier Multi Balans, and even though they’re often called orthopaedic stools, they don’t really have much to do with the concept of orthopaedia.

Ergonomic Aeron Chairs

aeron-office-chair

Model: Aeron office chair
price: from 800 Euro
where to buy: USA shop, ventilated versions (low cost), equivalent versions Hag
size: more bulky than a standard chair
This is an Aeron chair(designer Herman Miller) with backrest and seat in mesh. It’s a kind of office chair with an elastica backrest that allows the back a larger surface without sweating or pressing on the same spots. The Aeron office chair was designed to not havr any rigid parts in contact with the body that could influence posture. The seat is adjustable and can be inclined forwards to increase the angle between back and legs. Having the pelvis with a vertical aperture larger than 90° can be useful to prevent lordosis. However it’s too comfortable an office chair to use for long periods because the mobility of hips and legs is the only way to avoid damage from too much immobility.

Review ergonomic swivel stool Grima Twinny

twinny-ergo-chair

price: 460 euro circa (ebay shop)
size: small
The ergonomic seat Twinny is a strange hybrid that offers an economical alternative to the expensive Varier Wing stool. It offers backrest and kneerest, plus the possibility to regulate in hight (it fits all sizes of desks). Although the casters tend to make you lose balance while using the kneerest, you soon get used to it.
In my opinion, the Grima Twinny ergonomic chair’s main flaw is it’s size, along with the fact that it doesn’t allow complete hip movement. On the positive side, it has a well inclined seat, with the lumbar support that adapts well and sustains. It’s surely a good project, with many interesting characteristics, but the price is high for the type of materials used and the typology of chair (maybe forced by the scarce number of copies in circulation?)

Varier Variable Ergo Stool (ex Stokke)

stokke-variable

Model: Stokke Ergonomic Chair Variable Balans by Varier
price: around 300 Euro (new) available in Stokke ergonomic chair shop
cost Backrest (optional): around 150 Euro.
On offer: Stokke Variable is on offer in the shop Ausilium at 290
Euro (second hand ones can be found slightly cheaper on eBay)

size: more bulky than a normal chair (needs room behind for swinging)
Varier chairs are comfortable and especially versatile. This is an ergonomic Stokke Variable studio seat in wood with kneerest, costs around 300€ and has a 20year old design (Opsvik again). It’s pretty cumbersome for any small office but among the office chairs that help back problems it’s one of the best solutions because it has a tilt back mecchanism (like a granny’s rocking chair). The two runners in vapour pressed wood offer suspensions that make the seat ergonomicalelastic whan you sit on it. The arch at the base doesn’t allow you to remain still, you find yourself rocking all day: this means constant movement of the pelvis and movements of the superior articulations that allow to restore balance whan relaxing. The two knee stools are for alternating the kind of seating (standard, and kneeling as in praying).
With this chair it’s possible to reduce pauses during work of 40%-50% without evident pain or imbalance. A period of adaption of about fifteen days is necessary, during which time you find yourself wondering about life and the sense of things. The lack of a backrest lowers (mysteriously) the cost of the Stokke Variable on the catalogue “office chairs” up to 50% compared to a Stokke Thatsit. It’s also possible to buy the backrest separately to assemble in a further moment.
Although the Stokke Variable is a postural computer chair where you rest on the knees, it’s also possible using it as a “normal” chair opening the legs to avoid the nearest. Changing to the classic seating on an ergonomic chair is a way to move now and then during the hours working or studying, but it’s a habit we should try to get used to because using the ‘’praying position’’ it’s easy to lose the necessity for normal seating.

Note on the size of the Varier Variable

We have tried the Varier in the whole office and Thomas who is 1.85cm tall fits to the limit. The Variable is certainly not suitable for anyone over 1.90cm (he wouldn’t know where to put his feet). For my hight (1.70), the Varier is a perfect ergonomic solution and should be fine for people up to 1.50cm. Shorter personswould have problems because the Varier doesn’t have adjustable knee rests and the distance between the seat and the supports is fixed. In order to use this Stokke as an ergonomic computer chair it’s necessary to own a desk that is hight adjustable, because in a correct posture your arms should lie alongside the bodywithout bringing tension to the shoulders; of all the computer chairs examined, the Variable Varier is the one with the best value for money. This Stokke chair is the only one I have found cheap imitations for. The Stokke patent and the wood vapour bending tecnique used for the lower runners make all Stokke products difficult to copy.

Imitation Stokke Varier Balans ergo chairs

available prior to importation from America the YogaChair, very similar to the Stokke Varier both in size and weight. Seeing as the ergonomic YogaChair is a non ufficial replica, it costs a lot less: 99 dollars (to which have to be added the shipment costs of 50/80€ and the customs clearance of another 50/100euro). We contacted the YogaChair firm about importation to Europe of their office chairs but they don’t ship to Europe (probably for patent problems), but only to Switzerland.

Ergonomic Chair Stokke Varier Thatsit

stokke-thatsit

Model: Ergonomic Chair Stokke Thatsit Varier
size: fairly bulky
price: and where to find it:

around 880 Euro (nuova italia) here is the cheapest shop I could find in Italy for the Stokke-Varier Thatsit

400/550€ (used Stokke ebay auction + shipment)

This is the ergonomic chair Thatsit Balans by Varier, which is basically the evolution of the ergonomic seat Oposit (a Stokke Variable with backrest) and it includes the lumber support (or kidney friend) which just happens to be my favourite of all the seats for correct posture. After having tried so many, I think that the Variable model by Stokke is the best computer seat for intensive work (practically it’s the only real ergonomic computer chair and has three strong points:

rocking chair’s curved runners

knee stool

backrest

practically 4 different kinds of seating, constant movement, relax for shoulders. Around 15 days are needed for this chair too, after which the pauses at work will reduce to around 60%-70%. Unfortunately it’s not easy to find at a reasonable price. At the end of the trials in the office, Stokke Thatsit was considered by everyone the best postural ergonomic chair with backrest in circulation, besides being an ergonomic chair with certification VDU (certification for visual display unit). This model of ergonomic chair offers the most complete help to posture offering both alignment of the pelvis and the lumbar support to keep the spine straight. Backrest and knee rests are padded and comfortable (I find them ideal for intensive computer work). After various months of testing the Stokke Thatsit Varier I noticed with pleasure that when I’m on a normal seat I still keep the correct acquired position. This was my first ergonomic chair and I must say that it did my back good, especially in the periods of intense use. Note on the stature needed for optimal chair use The Thatsit has adjustable knee rests and also the lumbar support can be moved back and forward. This allows an ergonomically correct seating to people of every hight (Andrea is 1,92 and he was fine with it). I’m using a Stokke Thatsit since 2006 (that I preferred to the Variable for the presence of the backrest, and every so often I use different measurements for the knees according to how straight I want my back to be, I’m 1,70) and I still think it’s one of the best kind of chairs for bad backs.

Note on studies about spinal deformity

Due of note is the fact that Stokke in 1996 during the International Congress of Spinal Deformity presented a study on the prevention of scoliosis throught the use of ergonomic chairs with special seats that has resulted in decisive improvements in over 50% of the cases examined (here you can download the complete study with referral to the congress ).

Note for trasport: this model of Stokke has been carried in my small ultility car (I have a city car) the only removable parts are the kneerests. In order to understand the size and the kind of seating offered, here is a list of the authorized Stokke shops where it’s possible to try them. This is the old model of Stokke Oposit ergonomic chair that I have.

Balt Chair for spinal alignment

balt-spine-align-office-chair-277x420

price: around 400 euro (imported, qui le economic and ventilated versions)
size: cumbersome
This is a Balt Spine Align chair, it has an ergonomic BIFMA certification (that is given by producers and not medical or orthopaedic institutions) and we considered it in the review because it is actually an office chair. This Balt model office chair offers a particular support for the neck, has hight adjustment and little more. (it doesn’t have the variable inclination that the model Aeron has). Balt Spine Align takes it’s name from a central groove (visible in this photo) on the backrest, that leaves space for the backbone and should avoid nerve compression on the vertebra. What’s more, the Balt offers an unreachable dentist chair feeling. Considering the cost for the quality offered (quite comfortable but static large seat), I would say it’s not worth it.

Stokke Gravity Varier Balancing Chair of my dreams

stokke-gravity-sboro

varier-gravity-positions

Model: Stokke Gravity Balans Chair
price: obscene e prohibitive (over 1300 euro: shop Stokke)
size: huge (it’s seriously very big and cumbersome once assembled)
Here we have a Stokke Gravity, the most expensive and versatile ergonomic chair on the Stokke catalogue. Besides being over the top it allows you to tip it right back, it needs a lot of space and for a graphic or web designer it’s not humanly possible buying it without taking out a mortgage. This is the chair that the review is intitled to, because when I have the money and an office as big as a NASA hangar, I will definitely buy it for myself. The reclined position of the Stokke Gravity is more comfortable than any sofa in circulation and recalls the kind of seating offered by the Chaise Lounge by Le Corbusier. Note for transport: the Stokke Gravity is assembled, so it’s easy to take it apart to fit in a medium size car boot.

Ergo Hag Capisco Chair Review

hag-capisco-8106-314x420

Model: Ergo Hag Capisco Chair
price: 1100/1400 euro
400-600 euro imported (at the moment the official site HAG UK has disabled
price visualization for Europe)
size: bigger than a standard chair
I do understand that the Capisco designers aren’t guilty for the choice of the chair name (it means ‘understand’ in Italian), but it can bring about some funny misunderstandings. In the same price range of the della Stokke Gravity there is the Ergonomic chair Hag, model Capisco. Decidedly less bulky than the Gravity, the Capisco has an approach to ergonomics totally opposite to the Stokke Variable chairs. This Hag chair model allows various types of posture, some quite creative with the chair back to front and the backrest used to rest on leaning forward.
The fact of not having a unique sitting method makes the Hag chair a dynamic posture seat and adaptable to our every need. (watch the video on the ufficial HAG site ). I must precise that not always comfort is equivalent to a correct posture, because too much comfort always brings the risk of static positions, or even worse, static positions stratifying over time. In the Hag chair, the angle of the hips between back and seat is enlarged to about 100° having the legs pass in two grooves similar to that of a motorbiker (and in fact Opsvik was inspired by the posture of jockeys during a horse race). The inclination of the horizontal support can be increased at will and it’s almost possible to reach the the same angulation as a Stokke chair.
The Hag Capisco chair has also got a neck support and an interesting version of the supports for shoulders and arms that can be used when the chair is used back to front or sideways. The movement of trunk and lateral abdominals is guaranteed using leverage with the feet while leaning on the footring supports on casters that make the chair spin on it’s vertical axis. The HAG chairs have hight regulation, so allowing their use with all standard office desks and work tables.

Pendulum and Actulum Review

actulum

Model: ergo Varier Actulum reception chair
price: about 650 euro
size: standard
The ergonomic chair Actulum has the single merit of having limited rocking, that allows hip mobility and the dynamic position we have already described in the “how to choose an ergonomic chair” section. TheActulum’s construction form makes it ideal for reception work (hotels, client assistance and help desks) bacause it allows you to stand up very easily like a normal chair but it’s also comfortable for many hours of seated work. During the review, we noted that it needed a small period of adaptation compared to the ergonomic Varier chairs with curved runners . Unfortunately it’s not adjustable, so in this case too you’ll have to make sure the work top hight is variable or at least not too high. For particularly high help desks or assistance booths the solution could be the extremely expensive Hag Capisco, that costs more than double than the Actulum and has hight adjustment. Seeing as the shape is not so strange or different to traditional chairs, the Actulum seats are also suitable as dinner table or living room chairs.

Model stroller ergo Stokke Xplory

Xplory

price: about 750 euro
positive points: higher than normal stroller, more secure, resistant materials and adjustable by age
negative: above average price.
I received an eccellent review of the Stokke strollers from Francesco, who spent a few months looking for a secure solution for his future child while he was waiting to become a father. Living in the city, he was worried about the frequent crossing of roads that often put normal low strollers at risk. Francesco tried the Stokke Xplory Stroller and was pleased at the hight that positions the baby higher than a car bumper and also a little farther away from the pollution of car exhausts (he is a little paranoic about air pollution, but we are too and appreciate his idea). PS. I know that it has nothing to do with office chairs! But the children are in an ergonomic position (never as much as having them walk though), and so I published the review anyway!

The concept of ergonomics

Starting with the definition of ergonomics it is the science that deals with the interactions between the elements of a system and the function for which they are designed for the purpose of improving user well-being and overall system performance. (def. I.E.A. from wikipedia)

Exercises for reducing eye strain

Eye strain can be caused by focusing for long periods on objects within arm’s reach, for example when working at a computer screen. Symptoms include blurred vision, dry and irritated eyes, headaches and fatigue. However, a few simple exercises can reduce this problem, whether you are wearing glasses, contact lenses or have perfect vision.

A simple technique is to take micro-pauses. Every 20 minutes look away and focus on an object 5 meters away for about 20 seconds. This allows the eyes to relax.

Taking long blinks will also help to relax the eye. Sometimes you may need to rest the eyes for 2 – 3 minutes every half hour. Close your eyes or cover them with a soft fabric to prevent light from entering.

One technique is called “palming”. Rub your hands together until they are warm, then cup them and place them over the eyes, so you do not touch them. Sit like this for 2 – 3 minutes.

Besides these techniques for relaxing the eye, there are also exercises that help you focus at different distances. A simple exercise is to move the eyes in small circles. Circle a finger in front of your face, then close your eyes and continue the exercise without moving any muscles in the face.

One exercise is called near-far focusing. Hold a finger 15-20 centimeters from the face. Focus on the finger for 2-3 seconds, and then look on an object 3 meters away. Repeat back and forth 10-15 times.

Scanning is a technique where you move an object, for example a pencil, back and forth in front of your face and follow it with your eyes. You can also scan around the edges of objects in a room in a fluid manner for 2 minutes.

If your eye strain does not go away, you should go to your optician and examine your eyes. Glasses or contact lenses with the wrong power can strain your eye muscles. If your problem relate to dry eyes, you may want to try contact lenses with moisturizing agents.

Article Provided by:

Johannes with Lensshopper.com

www.Lensshopper.com

Back to work programs fall short due to many factors.

Back to Work

According to a recent survey, two-thirds of respondents do not have any formal, non-occupational return-to-work program, but some companies are find they can reduce costs and employee turnover by linking RTW programs with short-term disability.

By Carol Patton

Last year, Jason Denis’ employer placed him at the corporate office of a telecommunications company. As a disability absence manager at Excel Managed Care & Disability Services Inc. in Sacramento, Calif., his job was to develop and manage a new return-to-work program for employees on short-term disability at the company’s headquarters.

This approach was something new. Traditionally, companies focused on helping employees who were injured at work get back to work early.

But nothing like this had ever been done for employees with non-occupational injuries.

Some employers are now developing RTW programs for all of their disabled workers, not just those who were injured between 9 and 5. By making various accommodations to employees’ schedules or work areas, or temporarily changing their job tasks, employers are realizing numerous benefits.

Employee absences decrease. Company savings increase, sometimes climbing into the six-figure range, not to mention employee satisfaction. Disabled employees are grateful for the opportunity to be productive and earn a full paycheck.

Denis says leaders at the telecommunications company were key to driving the design and rollout of the new program, which included educating HR and line supervisors on how to integrate it into the company’s daily operations. The company’s HR department mainly tracks absence and leave metrics, and exchanges data with its disability carrier to identify opportunities to expand or enhance the program for its 3,500 employees.

The program Denis was sent to introduce, called Workplace Possibilities, was developed two years ago by The Standard, a national provider of group-disability-and-assets management. The Standard partners with Excel to place trained staff on-site as Workplace Possibilities consultants.

“The beauty of having an on-site consultant is that HR spends a very limited amount of time [and] resources on the day-to-day management of the program,” Denis says. “HR wasn’t aware of the dissatisfaction of employees. They had employees who were in need, reaching out to them … I [heard] a lot of horror stories . . . .”

Early into the program, although ergonomic evaluations were conducted on employees, none of the recommendations were implemented. Some workers were in physical pain, he says, adding that this breakdown in communications reflected poorly on HR.

“There was a lack of follow-through with the coordination of the [equipment] purchase, delivery and installation,” he says, adding that he has since conducted more than 100 ergonomic evaluations.

“By default,” he adds, “someone from facilities [management] ended up being the person trying to evaluate the needs of the people. [This person] wasn’t trained and didn’t have the skill set to make proper recommendations.”

Since then, many things have changed. HR developed specific company goals, ensuring that the new program matches the organization’s strategy and values as well as employee needs.

It posted communications on the company’s intranet, informing managers and supervisors of the program, directing them toward the program’s website page for further information. Employees were also offered self-help tools and ergonomic tips, such as how to properly adjust their desk chairs.

Without implementing a formal program, says Denis, too many things can go wrong.

Ultimately, he adds, HR must be a key player in its evolution.

Effective Strategies

According to the Mercer Absence and Disability Management Survey, which polled 470 employers in 2010, two-thirds of respondents do not have any formal, non-occupational RTW program.

Michael Klachefsky, national practice leader for Workplace Possibilities at The Standard in Portland, Ore., believes some employers are not aware of the benefits — including cost savings — of such a program or don’t realize the difference between direct costs (such as the amount employees are paid to stay home while recuperating) and indirect costs (such as how much overtime is spent as a result of workplace absence).

To make matters worse, the longer employees stay out of work, the greater the chance they won’t return, he says, citing the results of multiple studies.

Regardless of diagnosis, he says, the chances employees will return to their jobs after three months is an estimated 75 percent; after one year, it’s roughly 50 percent and, after two years, it’s practically zero.

Still, creating a RTW program for employees on STD takes effort and resources. For example, Klachefsky says, someone must be designated as the program’s manager.

Other suggestions:

* Bring employees back to work as fast as possible. “If the employee and supervisor can agree to modified duties, then talk to the doctor about a plan,” he says.

* Train supervisors on how to develop transitional work assignments or modified duties.

* Communicate the program’s goals, impact and how it works to the entire workforce. Avoid poorly-worded statements such as, “We’re going to investigate your injury … .” He says those words prompted a local union to publish this response in its newsletter: “It’s now a crime to be sick.”

* Involve unions early in the program’s design. “If they see this program as a benefit takeaway, they will resist,” he says.

* Collect, track and analyze data. Develop a baseline of information, such as how many days of STD employees took before and after the program started, so you can justify the program’s expense to senior management.

* Develop policies about the maximum duration employees can be assigned light duty. “You don’t want light duties to turn into a permanent job,” Klachefsky says.

He says Mercer surveys have found that, although the cost of healthcare for employers ranges between 13 percent to 15 percent of payroll, 9 percent of payroll is being spent on absences that can be mitigated and reduced.

“For employers who are willing to invest in RTW for STD, the return-on-investment is, for every $1 they spend, they will save $2 to $10,” he says. “The ROI for direct costs is [between] 1 percent and 2 percent. The ROI for direct and indirect costs could be as high as 9.4 percent.”

Forced Choice

In most cases, employers no longer have the option of separating RTW programs from STD. Once they’re made aware of an employee’s disability — whether the injury occurred on or off work — they are now legally obligated to assess the employee’s ability and make possible reasonable accommodations to return the individual to work, says Julie Norville, senior vice president and national absence-management-practice leader at Aon Hewitt in Atlanta.

This past spring, she says, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released administrative guidelines that clarified what employers must do under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008. Before these clarifications were issued, the guidelines were very confusing and, as a result, were not observed, Norville and others say.

The current guidelines now broaden the ADA’s original definition of a disability to include an impairment that “substantially limits” one or more major life activity.

“Under the law, once you’re made aware of a disability, regardless of benefit type like workers’ comp or STD, you still have to address possible reasonable accommodations for that employee,” Norville says, adding that employers who are unaware of these guidelines could wind up in court.

To be ADAAA-compliant, many decisions need to be made. How can HR reasonably accommodate employees? How can HR determine if the accommodation is reasonable or not? How long should the RTW program be?

“The good news is, if you only have a workers’ compensation program, you have some place to start from,” she says. “You’re simply crossing the aisle into non-occupational disability, making sure you’re accommodating everybody and looking at everybody through the same lens.”

Joint Effort

Over the past decade, the University of California at San Francisco has been fairly assertive helping employees on STD return to work, especially because the length of their disability tends to be shorter when working, says Larry Hickey, manager of employment and benefits at UCSF, which supports about 18,000 employees.

Hickey suspects some of the reasons may be that employees experience less financial stress because they’re earning a full paycheck or feel less isolated because they’re socializing with their peers or friends in the workplace, he says. Either way, everyone wins.

Last year, he says, 284 employees filed STD claims. Among the program’s key steps is a meeting between employees, their supervisors and a disability-manager analyst to address accommodations, which range from modified work schedules and voice-activated computer systems to sit-stand workstations. While there’s no hard data, Hickey suspects the program has saved the school at least six figures.

Perhaps even more important, the majority of employees on STD want to return to work. He says accommodations, which usually cost less than $500, are only limited by the imagination of people involved in the program.

“[Employees] become very anxious when their ability to do their job is impacted and supervisors become very fearful — ‘How am I gonna get this work done?’ ” he says. “So having this [program] is very helpful and helps you be compliant with a relatively complicated rule.”

Last fall, Tiburon Associates in Alexandria, Va., merged its RTW and STD programs for its 500 employees. Between 3 percent and 5 percent of its workforce are on STD, says Rebecca Storts, HR manager at Tiburon, which places its employees with government contractors.

“It’s not easy to go out and just find another employee,” she says, adding that the company’s STD carrier is Aflac.

“We provide a skilled workforce,” she says, “and are maintaining much more of that skill set when we actually get that employee back to work.”

She says HR designed simple forms for physicians to clearly state the employee’s capabilities, then asked supervisors to brainstorm potential positions for employees on STD.

Because many employees are assigned to work in production-based environments, she says, those on STD can still perform important tasks such as sitting on a stool with a stopwatch to evaluate areas for improvement.

An Aflac representative also conducts employee seminars that explain how the program works and what they need to do.

However, once on STD, employees don’t always communicate their health status, so HR has assigned one staff member who stays in touch.

She periodically contacts them, asks about their prognosis and restrictions, when their next doctor’s appointment is and how long they will be off work, and requests they provide HR with a doctor’s note identifying their disability.

When a position becomes available, she sends an interim offer letter, describing their new job responsibilities and employer expectations.

Employees sign off, also acknowledging awareness of their restrictions and an assurance that they won’t exceed their physical ability.

A form letter with a checklist of activities is also sent to their doctor, asking the physician to check off everything they can and can’t do.

When employees return to work, the company’s safety director meets with their supervisors to review their restrictions and options if they still can’t perform the job’s tasks. In such cases, employees are requested to return to their physicians for a new list of restrictions.

Although the company is still gathering program data, Storts believes it has saved in the five-figure range since the program was implemented last year.

“You have to show employees that you’re invested in them and that this is how, in return, they invest in you,” she says. “It’s really been a great learning opportunity when we merged these programs together.”

The HÅG Seating Philosophy

HÅG of Norway has been manufacturing high quality Ergonomic Office Chairs for many years. Older products such as the Credo range have been replaced with updated models like the Futu chair and its H04 and H05 series.

HÅG Futu Task Chair

Ergonomics, design, quality and innovation go hand in hand with HÅG, the company has always made quality products and this is amply demonstrated by their excellent range of ergonomic office seating.

HÅG’s philosophy is a simple one and really centers around the words ”balance and freedom of movement.” The HÅG view is one of Dynamic Ergonomics and the belief that ”the best sitting position is the next one,” in other words it is perfectly normal for chair users to be continually moving their body in their chair.

When you sit in a HÅG ergonomic chair which is properly adjusted to your body size and weight you will find that as you move, the chair follows your movement to keep you balanced and supported . It really is a different seating experience and once you become attuned to it you won’t want to go back to a conventional office chair.

Visually, HÅG’s ergonomic seating range has a striking appearance, the clever use of shape, color and texture all combine to make their office seating completely distinctive and functional.

HÅG recognizes that not everyone likes the same things, some prefer a classical looking chair, others prefer soft round shapes for their seating, however everybody needs to find a seating solution they are happy with and offers the user excellent ergonomic design and comfort. For this reason HÅG produces many office chair ranges to suit our differing personalities however they are all carefully designed with the chair user in mind and universally true ergonomic office chairs.

You will find that all HÅG seating is easy to use and functional regardless of whether it is an entry level H04 model right up to a high end H09 Excellence chair.

There are lots of little things that make a HÅG special, for example when you buy one of their ergonomic office seats it is provided with its own little instruction book on how to set up and adjust your new HÅG chair.

And to make sure that the chair’s instructions never get lost, each HÅG chair includes a built-in filing slot on the underside of the seat pan to store it securely and keep it close at hand. So, if you ever need to adjust a feature on your chair in the future this little aide de memoir is always at hand as a useful little reference.

Another nice little feature is each of the adjustment levers on a HÅG ergonomic seat include a color coded button to make it easier for you to identify the function of the particular lever.

It’s not difficult to see why HÅG chairs are so ergonomically functional and carefully thought out. Their chairs are designed by some of the world’s leading designers.

People like Stag Ahlstrom responsible for the interior design work on Armanda International Airport or Soren Yran designer of the HÅG Scio as well as extensive interiors work in both Norway and the USA. Peter Opsvik designer of HÅG’s brilliant H04 range as well as the Balans kneeling chair.

You won’t find HÅG taking an existing seating product and just giving it a quick make over. Instead they employ these top designers to go back to first principles to come up with an ergonomic seat of true top quality, originality of design and function built to meet your seating requirements without compromise.

Ergonomic Evolution is a true believer of this philosophy and incorporates it into the ergonomic consulting we provide. The emphasis on variation, movement, and natural body posture is the defining backbone to what we do ergonomically. HAG has been an innovator for quite some time providing real thought out ergonomic seating that actually functions to the users benefit but also with style. The old days of chair designers providing seating with an emphasis on knowing purchasing behaviors rather than real ergonomic functionality are quickly showing that the masses are looking for function and ergonomic quality rather than a good marketing campaign or immediate gratification when seated.

As a HAG chair provider, We stand behind this product 100%. Once you “get the HAG chair” philosophy, you may never what to sit in another chair again.

http://www.ergonomicevolution.com/ergonomic_chairs_seating.html

The History of the Ergonomic Chair

Starting as a basic-enough solution to the backaches and sore necks that workers suffered from prolonged computer use, ergonomic chairs have turned into modern art. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “ergonomics” refers to the science of equipment design to maximize musculoskeletal comfort and support, especially in the workplace. With funky chair backs, arms and design-centric features, ergonomic chairs have become healthy alternatives for the office.

Term
- Polish biologist Wojciech Jastrzebowski created the term “ergonomics” in 1857. Derived from the Greek words “ergon” (work) and “nomos” (natural laws), he used the word in an article he wrote which, translated from Polish, is “The Outline of Ergonomics, i.e. Science of Work, Based on the Truths Taken from the Natural Science.” The term “ergonomics” entered the language and stuck.
Earliest Ergonomics
- According to NewErgonomicChairs.com, a site that provides information for interested buyers, workplaces and musculoskeletal injury associations have been happening for centuries. Bernardino Ramazinni (1633-1714), a medical practitioner, complained of work-related injuries in a 1700s supplement called “De Morbis Artificum” (Diseases of Workers).
Factories to Offices
- Developed in the 1950s, the science behind ergonomics applied primarily to factory workers who sustained injuries, like arthritis, from repetitive labor.
  
  However, with the approach of computers and the office workplace in the 1980s, furniture designers needed to think of new office designs for people continually at work on computers.
  
  Office workers began complaining of aches and pains caused from prolonged sitting. Companies had to recognize these injuries as workplace injuries and pay medical support to employees who suffered backaches, neck cramps, arthritis from typing from an incorrect angle, and other ailments.
First Chair: Wildfred Dauphin
- Office workers in the 1980s complained of aches and pains from sitting.
  
  In 1968, Wilfred Dauphin, a German, was hired by a British company to research the impact of the computer on office furniture requirements. Because the British firm could not implement his full idea, he and his wife founded their own company out of their garage. Dauphin created the first ergonomic chair–a basic chair that allowed sitters to adjust the back and seat height. The market for these comfortable, adjustable chairs arose in Germany and spread around Europe and into the United States.
Features
- The first ergonomic chairs featured adjustable seats and wheels.
  
  In the 1980s and 1990s, ergonomic chairs met the basic requirements for producing healthier ways to sit and type. Chairs included wheels, a lever to adjust height, lower back support, and the correct heights for viewing and typing with straight wrists. Chairs were simple in design and aesthetic but met the general ergonomic guidelines.
  
  By 2010 chairs had become works of modern art. Space Age looking chairs feature rounded back support, mesh netting fabric for comfort and posture, tall and ribbed backs, and dental-looking chairs that exactly fit the curvature of the spine.
Types
- As of 2010, furniture designers had developed chairs for the modern worker who is glued to her computer not only for work but also in her off hours, browsing the Web, writing blogs, and posting photos.
  
  Chair types include kneeling chairs (where the worker sits with their thighs at an angle of about 60 degrees to 70 degrees from the original 90 degrees); ball chairs, where the worker sits in an egglike chair to talk on the phone or work on a laptop with a relaxed back; and the bubble chair, patented by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio in 1968, that looks similar to the ball chair but hangs from a chain on the ceiling. Although bubble chairs are not ideal for the office, they are comfortable and stylish additions to lounges, libraries and other communal spaces.
Modern Requirements
- The backs of modern chairs curve with the spine, not against it.
  
  According to the website of UbuntuToronto, an ergonomic product company, an interested shopper looking to buy needs to look for a truly ergonomic chair’s standard features. When seated, the back of the chair should curve with the spine. Your feet should rest level on the floor or footrest, and your shoulders should relax with the elbows close to the body. Ergonomic chairs also typically have wheels for easy swiveling and relocating without the user having to constantly stand up and sit down, which strains back muscles.
By Noelle Carver, eHow Contributor

Ergonomic Evolution is your source for the most progressive ergonomic consulting and equipment. We do not address the”rules” we address the user and the task as a completely independent situation with its own rules. Contact us today to find out how we can address your ergonomic issues and get you and your business on the path of working healthy, safely, efficiently, and naturally.

Sitting for hours can shave years off life

More employers are providing adjustable stand/sit workstations and treadmill desks, above, which run at low walking speeds.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Women, men who sat for long periods of time more likely to die in study than those who didn’t
In other surveys, extended periods of sitting increased risks of illness
Recent research shows exercise can’t undo damage to health from extended sitting
Researchers say public health guidelines should address both physical activity and inactivity

RELATED TOPICS

(CNN) — Sitting too much will probably shorten your life.

That might sound ridiculous — or obvious — depending on your perspective, but the findings don’t come from a fringe study. They come from the American Cancer Society, whose researchers studied 123,216 people’s health outcomes during a 14-year period.

In particular, the American Cancer Society study finds that women who sit for more than six hours a day were about 40% more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat fewer than three hours per day. Men were about 20% more likely to die.

That large study focused on the numbers of people who died. Other studies have focused on specific conditions affecting the most Americans, things such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression. In those studies, too, extended periods of sitting increased risks of illness.

And earlier this year the evidence against many hours of sitting expanded further: The American Journal of Epidemiology published a study finding that those who work a sedentary job have almost twice the risk of a specific type of colon cancer.

What’s particularly interesting about recent research is the revelation that sitting for extended periods of time does significant damage to human health that cannot be undone by exercising. Sitting for several hours each day is bad for you, like smoking is bad for you, regardless of whether you do healthful activities, too.

The American Cancer Society points out that public health guidelines make little or no reference to reducing time spent sitting, instead focusing on increasing the activity level.

For example, in 1995, the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jointly issued national guidelines called Physical Activity and Public Health, which were updated in 2007. The government’s recommendation was specific: “Moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 min(utes) on five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 20 min(utes) on three days each week.”

With what we now know, public health guidelines should address both physical activity and physical inactivity, according to public health researchers.

It’s a shift in thinking that is rippling through places of work, schools and homes as the very fundamentals — chair at desk — seem to cause harm when used for the lengths of time now considered normal.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends mixing noncomputer-related tasks into the workday, so that you’re moving and using different muscle groups.

In fact, occupational sitting time is where the epidemiology of physical activity first began, writes one researcher in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Jeremy Morris found in the 1950s that London’s double-decker bus drivers were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than the bus conductors, and that government clerks were more likely to die than mail carriers. In both cases, the more sedentary job carried greater health risks than the more active job, even though they were in a similar line of work.

In the decades that followed, researchers and policy makers focused on the health benefits of getting exercise. But according to the latest research, even when people do significant and regular exercise, they still increase their risks of serious illness from hours of physical inactivity.

These findings are also consistent with lifestyles in so-called “Blue Zones,” places such as Okinawa, Japan, and Sardinia, Italy, where people live much longer on average than the rest of the developed world. In addition to plant-based diets and strong communities, near-constant moderate physical activity is the norm in these areas.

Work environments are installing adjustable desks that allow for switching between sitting and standing positions.

More Americans are adapting modern work environments to suit these physiological needs better by installing standing and adjustable desks that allow for switching between sitting and standing positions, and treadmill desks, which operate at low walking speeds.

One such place, the Georgia Poison Center in Atlanta, first installed adjustable desks to allow employees — who sit for most of the day answering phone calls — to stand up when they choose. Gaylord Lopez, the center’s director, considered the change a success and now has treadmill desks in the office, too.

At the call center, Lopez notes, “You’ve got to stay by your phone, you’ve got to stay by your computer, so the proverbial walk to the bathroom or walk to the break room was all they were getting. … That’s just not enough. And when you’re here 10 to 12 hours a day, I figured there’s got to be other things we could do in this environment.

“If I can keep someone healthy, I’m going to have a work force that’s productive, that’s not going to cost me any more money in terms of overtime,” Lopez says. “Hopefully, they’ll be happy; they’ll want to keep on working for us.”

In the November issue of the journal Diabetes, Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a leading researcher in the field, points out that sitting has a biological function rooted in evolutionary need — it’s almost as energy efficient as lying down, but while seated, a person can be vigilant of his or her surroundings.

“Sitting is not bad for you in moderation, but in excess it is addictive and harmful,” Levine writes. “Of concern is that for most people in the developed world, chair-living is the norm.”

Ergonomic Evolution has the training and solutions to get you moving throughout the day.

A little left handed humor (or right handed superstition)

78% of the world is right handed, mostly due to superstitions and cultural beliefs. Going against ones nature is the norm ,(unfortunately). Left handed humor

Here is a good article about left handed beliefs – Enjoy! http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/superstitions.html

A Taxonomy of Office Chairs

From Thonet to Pinanfarina, the evolution of deskside seatingOf all the far-reaching implications of the information age, technical innovations in office chair design define an era that could be named the desk-bound age. Here to put the contemporary mesh panels and lumbar supports in context, “A Taxonomy of Office Chairs” surveys the evolution of the workplace staple, beginning with the start of the Industrial Revolution. Amassed by design consultant Jonathan Olivares, the book details over 130 office chairs, classified by their distinguishing features. Chapters include “Headrest,” “Seat-Stem Joinery” and other thrilling topics, breaking down the design into components to show its chronological progression with over 400 technical drawings and a catalog of color photos.To better define the broad topic Olivares created one stipulation—the chair’s design must have introduced at least one novel featuret. Funded by Knoll, Olivares researched his subject by meeting with designers, manufacturers and furniture experts and archivists, who lent not only technical information, but also insight on the cultural impact the office chair has had on work itself.But his meticulousness didn’t end there. Olivares collected, inspected, compared and contrasted over 2,000 chairs, using scientific methodology. Toward the end of his search he was able to take advantage of Google Patents, which—though still in its infancy—helped him locate two chairs from the 1800s that “only exist in their patent applications.”Other standouts include chairs by Charles and Ray Eames, the Bouroullec brothers, Richard Sapper, Mario Bellini (who claims the three greatest moments in office chair history are the Industrial Revolution, his 1984 Persona chair and 2005 Headline chair), Frank Lloyd Wright and many more highly-revered designers and architects.

“A Taxonomy of Office Chairs” is available online from Phaidon and Amazon.

For Immediate Release: Ergonomic Evolution acquires The Chasen Group

(Erie, Colorado – March 2, 2011) – The Chasen Group, an ergonomic consulting practice owned by Craig Chasen, has been acquired by Erie-based Ergonomic Evolution.

An ergonomic staple for the past 10 years, The Chasen Group set the standard that companies in Colorado have come to expect of an ergonomic consulting provider. Craig is highly regarded as a local ergonomic leader who has performed over 5000 work site evaluations and has authored a book about his experiences and expertise.

After 10 plus years of running The Chasen Group, Craig found a new venture and needed to transition his business to another consultant that would embody his high level of ergonomic expertise while providing the same level of service and integrity to his client base. After meeting with many qualified candidates, Craig selected Ergonomic Evolution and its owner, Nick McElhiney.

McElhiney started Ergonomic Evolution in 2009 and the two found they had similar approaches and philosophies to their practices. “I am personally humbled and excited that Craig felt that Ergonomic Evolution would be the best suitor to follow in his legendary footsteps,” McElhiney said. Chasen added, “Ergonomic Evolution prides itself on cutting-edge ergonomic knowledge and cost-effective solutions for the ever-changing workplace and I am completely confident Nick will continue to provide outstanding service to my former clients.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ergonomic Evolution is based in Erie, Colorado and serves the entire Front Range.
The company provides work site ergonomic evaluations and offers ergonomic products and equipment. The company’s approach is proactive, solution oriented, and customized for each client, resulting in reduced operational costs, improved productivity, increased employee retention and ultimately a healthier workplace environment. For more information or to schedule a no-obligation meeting, please contact Ergonomic Evolution at 303-931-3022 or www.ergonomicevolution.com.

Ergonomic Concerns, The workplace still needs to be addressed.

Forget vacation time and flex time. Could new technology or office furniture be the next sought-after workplace perk? If you’ve got a pain in your neck, it may not be from chatty co-workers or continual demands from the boss.

According to Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples Inc., office furniture and technology can play a big role in how employees feel and perform during the day. Results show 86 percent of workers suffer discomfort from office furniture and equipment.

Are higher-ups aware of this crush of shaky desks, unsupportive chair cushions and hastily placed workstations?

The Staples Advantage survey shows there’s room for improvement.

Seventy-seven percent of companies don’t evaluate ergonomics and 70 percent of respondents say their workspace isn’t ergonomically tuned for them. Meanwhile, the survey found that in a more comfortable workspace:

Nearly 1 in 2 office workers would be more productive
More than 1 in 3 say they would be a more pleasant person to work with
35 percent would be less stressed
36 percent would sleep better at night

One good chair can make all the difference, say the experts at Staples.

Chairs should be the correct size, designed for specific tasks and adjusted appropriately, said John Michael, vice president and general manager for the furniture and design business of Staples Advantage. “With an ergonomic chair – one that alleviates back pressure and promotes good posture – employees feel more energetic and ready to tackle the day.”

By Susan Shalhoub

Special to the Worcester Business Journal

Here at Ergonomic Evolution we fully endorse the new school way of thinking of ergonomics in today’s workplace. The goal of getting the individual setup for in their optimal position and then training and encouraging them to vary that position throughout the day is key. The body is not designed to be stationary and the future of ergonomics is all about natural movement and variation. Our motto, the best position is the next position.

Contact Ergonomic Evolution today and see for yourself how this common sense approach to ergonomic correction and prevention can make a huge impact in all areas of your life.

Don’t just sit there… evolve!

The Importance of Micro Breaks and Stretching, Wise Words from Personal Trainer

Here’s something you probably never expected a personal trainer to say:

If you get up from your desk and walk around a little every 20 minutes or so, it’ll help your body more than a 45-minute session at the gym.

“From a cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome perspective, your results will be significantly better,” says personal trainer Jamie Atlas of Bonza Bodies.

“You might feel that you’re justifying your deskbound position by going to the gym. But your body will benefit more if you get up and move around. Even doing things like standing when you’re trying to plan meetings, or going across the room to talk to someone, can help keep the body awake.”

Walking through an office, Atlas often can correctly predict physical ailments just by looking at how someone sits at the desk. And sometimes, a desk jockey’s attempt at good posture only contributes to the problem.

“We’re taught to sit up straight, but most people sit forward in their chairs, leaning into the screen,” says personal trainer Rick Olderman, author of “Fixing You: Shoulder and Elbow Pain” and two other independently published books.

The result, Olderman says, is shoulder and lower-back pain. One solution: Set the chair at a lower height to let your knees be even with your hips, and scoot back in the seat until your spine contacts the chair’s backrest.

“There’s a myriad of problems caused just by working at a desk,” Olderman says.

“Over time, that leads to carpal-tunnel problems, migraines and neck aches.”

Most desk jockeys unconsciously succumb to one or more of three positions that facilitate injuries that range from lower-back problems to carpal-tunnel problems.

The first is what Atlas terms The Sloucher — sitting slumped, hips forward, the middle of the back leaning on the back of the chair.

The second is what Atlas calls the Facebook Lean, which anyone who saw “The Social Network” can identify

Seated Neck Tilt (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

as the form demonstrated by actor Jesse Eisenberg — hunched over the keyboard, head leaning toward the computer monitor, shoulders aiming to unite with earlobes.The third is the Designer Lean, named for graphic designers who tilt slightly toward their dominant hand as it rests on the computer mouse. Their torso is motionless, except for the subtle, sporadic motion of hand on mouse.

Each of these invests the user with unique problems.

The Sloucher has tight hip flexors that pull the lower back forward into a swayback, even when the Sloucher stands. It contributes to lower-back pain and poor digestion.

The Facebook Lean puts enormous stress on the erector muscles of the upper back and neck — the same muscles that help support the head. In this position, Atlas explains, chest muscles tighten, shoulders round forward, forearms rotate internally and wrists tilt, all contributing to carpal- tunnel problems, along with neck pain.

“Imagine: For every inch forward the head sits from the spine, that adds about 10 pounds to the load the neck muscles must carry,” he says.

“Over an extended period of time, the neck muscles become exhausted and irritated, which leaves you tired, with headaches.”

Graphic designers and artists are especially prone to the Designer Lean, which shortens muscles on one side of the lumbar spine and lengthens muscles on the other. The position encourages someone to sit off-center, making it

Supported Side Tilt (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

difficult for muscles to right themselves when the user stands up. The result: mid-back pain.What’s the antidote? Stretches that are specific to the problematic positions, Atlas says. He suggests three that are specifically designed for desk jockeys.

Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com

Desk Cleaner

What it stretches: latissimus dorsi, rear deltoids, pec minor, lumbar, thoracic and cervical erectors. Especially helpful for the Sloucher.

Why to do it: When we sit at a desk, our hands are usually in front of our bodies, with our elbows near our sides. If we are not sitting completely straight (and even if we are) gravity still pulls us down, shortening the latissimus muscles and drawing our arms down and forward (which in turn shortens our chest muscles). This stretch helps loosen these muscles and provides a general re-energizing boost that can help you sit taller and feel better throughout the day.

How to do it: Sitting at your desk, place your palms together and rotate your body to the right. Place one elbow on the desk, then tilt back as if to point the other elbow to the ceiling. Let your head drop toward the desk as you twist. Breathe regularly, relaxing your neck as you rotate the upper body to the right.

As you rotate, you should feel a gentle stretch in your right low back, your right pec minor (just inside your armpit) and the right side of your neck.

Perform this stretch at moderate intensity, keeping your muscles relaxed and your breath steady. Complete 20 seconds of stretch (about four deep, relaxing breaths) then repeat on the left side. Complete two sets on each side.

Seated Neck Tilt

What it works: trapezius, scalenes, sternocleidomastoid (front and side neck muscles). Especially helpful for those who overuse the Facebook Position.

Why to do it: Sitting at a desk for prolonged periods can take its toll on the neck muscles. While your head is in a forward-tilted position, the muscles at the back of the neck must activate to prevent the head from falling farther forward. The muscles at the front and side will typically shorten over time (as they are resting in a shortened position).

To prevent these front neck muscles from learning to stay short, we must remind them what it feels like to be long and flexible. This stretch is a simple and easy way to gently remind the neck muscles of the tall, relaxed posture we would like to have.

How to do it: Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your spine erect and relaxed. Tilt your head to the left as if listening to your shoulder. Keeping your chin tall and your chest high, take your left hand and reach up and behind, resting it just behind your right temple. Gently apply pressure but do not pull.

Allow the gentle pressure of your hand to stretch the muscles on the right side and slightly to the front of your neck. Breathe deeply into the stretch, allowing each inhale to stretch your neck slightly further. Continue for five to six breaths or 20-30 seconds.

Slowly release the neck. Take a deep breath and continue on the other side. Complete this stretch every three to four hours to keep your neck (and posture) tall and relaxed.

Supported side tilt

What it stretches: latissimus dorsi, intercostal rib muscles, pec minor and major, lumbar, thoracic and cervical erectors. Especially helpful for anyone suffering from the Designer Lean.

Why to do it: Our bodies grow tight and restricted when, for long stretches of time, all we ask of them is the slight motion that moves a mouse around. Our muscles need signals that tell them they need to lengthen in a range greater than just elbow support to a mouse. This specific stretch taps into both the muscles that allow us to reach for something overhead, and also the muscles that open up our chests to allow us to take the deeper breaths that make our bodies more relaxed.

How to do it: Take your left hand and grasp the opposite (right-side) elbow, reaching across your body. Keeping your feet at shoulder width and your posture tall, stretch the right hand overhead as if reaching for something directly above your left shoulder. Slowly tilt the body to the left.

You should feel a gentle but deep stretch all the way from the back of the shoulder, through the ribs and slightly in the right side of your lower back. Rest and repeat on the other side, completing three sets of 20 seconds on both sides.

(If you’re left-handed, start this stretch with your right hand grasping your left elbow.)

You and Your Computer – Five Stages in the Evolution of Ergonomics

Most people sit more than they walk, and have the neck and back pain to prove it. Some people have found a way of combining working at a computer with walking, and are receiving the mental and physical benefits that go along with increased physical activity.

Before I explain how that works, let’s take a journey back in time, way back to the time of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Hunter-gatherers had the fitness level of today’s Olympic decathletes, and they walked, on average, ten miles a day. Yet we are told that we are getting an adequate amount of exercise by walking 30 minutes three times a week. Since we and our hunter-gatherer ancestors have virtually the same genetic make-up, is it reasonable to assume that we have evolved to function at our best when we move around a lot more than 90 minutes a week?

Answers from chiropractic, anthropology, education, and obesity research lead us to believe that the answer is a resounding “yes!”

One critical piece of information to bear in mind is that the sole purpose of half your spinal cord is to carry messages to your brain about your body’s movement and position in space. These signals go directly to the cerebellum, the part of your brain that manages coordination and balance. But it turns out that the cerebellum is responsible for much, much more. It is the coordination center for your mood and emotions, learning ability and intelligence, and the function of your internal organs. Without adequate movement stimulation, your brain and the rest of your body simply cannot function at their best.

Going back in time again, we come to the development of agriculture. While this created a leisure class, most people were still physically active all day long. Even with the Industrial Revolution very few people had the luxury of being sedentary. But then along came the Information Age. To succeed in this era, children sit for six hours a day in school (not to mention the additional hours spent sitting while watching TV or playing video games). At the end of 16 years or more of schooling/sitting, if you’re lucky you get to go to work in an office and park yourself in front of a computer. Before you know it, you are sitting most of the time.

All this sitting created the field of ergonomics. I like to think of ergonomics as the study of how to fit a round peg into a square hole. We’re not supposed to be sitting all day long, but by golly we have to earn a living, so we’d better make it work. Here, then, are the Five Stages in the Evolution of Ergonomics:

Stage One-Proper Sitting: Ignoring the importance of movement, researchers figured out the best angles for placing your hands on the keyboard, for positioning your buttocks on the chair, your feet on the floor, and the direction of your gaze. All well and good, but you’re still static, and not getting adequate movement stimulation from your spinal cord to your brain.

Stage Two-Kneeling: Sitting on a flat-bottomed chair was replaced with kneeling on a tilted chair. The idea was to support normal spinal curves, and as important as that is, we are still stuck with the problem of lack of movement stimulation to the brain–probably even more so than when sitting in a regular chair, because one’s legs were tucked behind the knee pad, and it was a lot easier to wheel the chair around than get up and walk to the file cabinet.

Stage Three-Bouncing: Eventually we awoke to the fact that all this sitting was indeed limiting the continuous and vital flood of movement stimulation, and we started sitting on balls. Research done in the classroom has shown that children, especially those with behavior problems, are better able to cope with the demands of school work while sitting at their desks on a ball, so bouncing is clearly a step in the right direction.

Stage Four-Standing: Standing was the next logical step, and some people have purchased computer desks that raise and lower so that they can alternate sitting and standing throughout the work day. I myself am typing this article while standing at my computer. This allows me to move freely about to look something up in a file, refresh my water glass, do some stretches while waiting for a web page to load, or even put on some music and dance while I’m typing.

Stage Five-Walking: If standing is better, why not walk? Researchers at the Mayo Clinic’s NEAT Lab (NEAT stands for “non-exercise activity thermogenesis”) began by studying obesity. It turns out (no surprise here) that obesity is linked to the degree of movement a person does each day outside of “exercise.” The lab’s motto is “Get up!” To facilitate an increase in NEAT, they have devised computer stations built around treadmills, a conference room without chairs, and a marked path around the lab for one-on-one meetings. A friend recently purchased a treadmill and built a stand for his monitor and keyboard around the treadmill. Now, by setting the treadmill at an easy pace of one mile per hour, he finds that he is walking three or four extra miles a day, all while he’s working.

It is clear from these five stages that by availing yourself of the latest innovations in ergonomics you can keep your paycheck while approximating the activity level (and related mental and physical benefits) of your hunter-gatherer ancestors. As they say at the NEAT Lab, “Get up!”

Author: Dr. Connie Amundson, D.C.

Contact Ergonomic Evolution today and see for yourself how this common sense approach to ergonomic correction and prevention can make a huge impact in all areas of your life.

Don’t just sit there… evolve!

Standing tall at the office

Standing tall at the office
By Heather McWilliams – Boulder County Business Report

October 29, 2010 —

ERIE — For workers tethered to a desk by a phone, keyboard, computer and other modern office equipment, sitting down on the job can be a real pain. A pain in the neck, in the back or in any other joint caused by improper position or equipment use. For many the solution can be simple: stand up.

“Our bodies are not made to be static, especially in a seated position,” said Nick McElhiney, owner of Erie-based Ergonomic Evolution LLC. As a certified ergonomic assessment specialist, McElhiney evaluates how humans interact with their work station and suggests changes to prevent or reverse injuries caused by everyday tasks such as talking on the phone or typing on a keyboard.

“In a nut shell, I teach people how to sit at a desk,” McElhiney said, and more and more frequently he teaches people not to just sit but to stand.

“Old school ergonomics was about getting people in this perfect position and then keeping them there,” McElhiney said. Now ergonomists teach people that sitting puts more pressure on the back and creates an unnatural spinal alignment. Unrelieved sitting or improper sitting pushes the hips and neck forward creating pressure where none is meant to be, and recent research shows that varying position or standing can improve such problems.

“When we’re standing we don’t need as much support because our bodies go into a naturally supportive state,” McElhiney said. Standing also improves blood flow and burns calories, with some studies showing a decrease in heart disease for workers who stand for part of the day, McElhiney said.

He estimates between time at an office desk, behind the wheel and on the couch in front of the television, modern workers spend one-third of their lives sitting down. Standing work stations can help alleviate injuries associated with working from a chair.

Standing work stations provide desk space, including room for a computer monitor, a keyboard and mouse platform and space for other typical desk items such as a phone or stapler. Adjustable to a person’s height, the stations allow people to work just as they would when seated only standing up.

“Most people would choose it if they could,” McElhiney said, but he warns standing all day at a work station can create its own set of problems and an ideal desk would adjust to a seated position as well. With sit-stand desks running at $1,500, McElhiney said cost makes a complete sit-stand system financially impractical for many. McElhiney offers an attachment converting a standard seated desk to a sit-stand model for a third of that cost, about $500.

“They do have some limitations, but it’s a low-cost fix that does improve ergonomic fit,” McElhiney said. Even standing a few times an hour to stretch, vary your position and refocus can go a long way to preventing repetitive use injuries, he said.

Ergonomics encompasses a huge range of study looking at interactions between humans and their environment, said Michael Rodriguez, treasurer for the local chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society and a senior human factors engineer at InfoPrint Solutions Co. in Boulder.

“A lot of it started during World War II when the military was having problems with certain types of aircraft pilots crashing,” Rodriguez said. crashes which only occurred with certain model planes. A careful study concluded the flap and landing gear controls felt similar to pilots, causing accidental landing gear retraction or flap movement when landing and taking off. Redesigning the controls so the flap lever was flat and the landing gear control round and rubber solved the problem.

Ergonomic injuries — sometimes known as musculoskeletal injuries — often stem from repetitive motions, poor position, improper equipment use or improperly fitted equipment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. While most office injuries aren’t life threatening like accidentally retracted landing gear, they do cause thousands of work absences each year, according to Bureau figures.

They are also a leading cause of workman compensation claims, said ergonomist and physical therapist for Boulder Community Hospital, Martha Spaulding. She estimates 75 percent or more of ergonomic injuries could be resolved using proper fit and variable positions, increasing productivity and saving employers money in the long run. Spaulding evaluates work sites at the hospital to stop problems before they start.

“It’s harder to go back once you’ve created a real chronic kind of problem,” Spaulding said. “It’s cheaper to fix it ahead of time.”

For employers who bring in an ergonomist to prevent or reverse ergonomic injuries there’s a psychological benefit for employees, too, McElhiney said.

“When an employer provides some care for an employee they feel valued and cared for. If they’re healthy, they do better work.”

Why your desk job is slowly killing you

Even if you exercise, the more hours a day you sit, the greater your risk of early death

By Maria Masters, Men’s Health

Mens Health

Do you lead an active lifestyle or a sedentary one? The question is simple, but the answer may not be as obvious as you think. Let’s say, for example, you’re a busy guy who works 60 hours a week at a desk job but who still manages to find time for five 45-minute bouts of exercise. Most experts would label you as active. (Put your body to the test: 10 standards to assess your fitness level.) But Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., has another name for you: couch potato. Perhaps “exercising couch potato” would be more accurate, but Hamilton, a physiologist and professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, would still classify you as sedentary. “People tend to view physical activity on a single continuum,” he says. “On the far side, you have a person who exercises a lot; on the other, a person who doesn’t exercise at all. However, they’re not necessarily polar opposites.”

Hamilton’s take, which is supported by a growing body of research, is that the amount of time you exercise and the amount of time you spend on your butt are completely separate factors for heart-disease risk. New evidence suggests, in fact, that the more hours a day you sit, the greater your likelihood of dying an earlier death regardless of how much you exercise or how lean you are. That’s right: Even a sculpted six-pack can’t protect you from your chair.

But it’s not just your heart that’s at risk from too much sitting; your hips, spine, and shoulders could also suffer. In fact, it’s not a leap to say that a chair-potato lifestyle can ruin you from head to toe.

Statistically speaking, we’re working out as much as we were 30 years ago. It’s just that we’re leading more sedentary lives overall. A 2006 University of Minnesota study found that from 1980 to 2000, the percentage of people who reported exercising regularly remained the same—but the amount of time people spent sitting rose by 8 percent.

Now consider how much we sit today compared with, say, 160 years ago. In a clever study, Dutch researchers created a sort of historical theme park and recruited actors to play 1850s Australian settlers for a week. The men did everything from chop wood to forage for food, and the scientists compared their activity levels with those of modern office workers. The result: The actors did the equivalent of walking 3 to 8 miles more a day than the deskbound men. That kind of activity is perhaps even more needed in today’s fast-food nation than it was in the 1800s, but not just because it boosts calorie burn. (Tied to the treadmill? Try these seven ways to burn more fat on the belt.)

A 2010 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that when healthy men limited their number of footsteps by 85 percent for 2 weeks, they experienced a 17 percent decrease in insulin sensitivity, raising their diabetes risk. “We’ve done a lot to keep people alive longer, but that doesn’t mean we’re healthier,” says Hamilton.

Today’s death rate is about 43 percent lower than it was in 1960, but back then, less than 1 percent of Americans had diabetes and only 13 percent were obese. Compare that with now, when 6 percent are diagnosed with diabetes and 35 percent are obese.
The definition of an active life
Make no mistake: “Regularly exercising is not the same as being active,” says Peter Katzmarzyk, Ph.D., Hamilton’s colleague at Pennington, the nation’s leading obesity research center. Katzmarzyk is referring to the difference between official exercise activity, such as running, biking, or lifting weights, and so-called nonexercise activity, like walking to your car, mowing the lawn, or simply standing. “A person may hit the gym every day, but if he’s sitting a good deal of the rest of the time, he’s probably not leading an overall active life,” says Katzmarzyk.

You might dismiss this as scientific semantics, but energy expenditure statistics support Katzmarzyk’s notion. In a 2007 report, University of Missouri scientists said that people with the highest levels of nonexercise activity (but little to no actual “exercise”) burned significantly more calories a week than those who ran 35 miles a week but accumulated only a moderate amount of nonexercise activity.

“It can be as simple as standing more,” Katzmarzyk says. For instance, a “standing” worker—say, a sales clerk at a Banana Republic store—burns about 1,500 calories while on the job; a person behind a desk might expend roughly 1,000 calories. That goes a long way in explaining why people gain 16 pounds, on average, within 8 months of starting sedentary office work, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Work your entire body in 15 minutes with these three moves for fast muscle.

Why sitting too much is never a good thing
But calories aren’t the only problem. In 2009, Katzmarzyk studied the lifestyle habits of more than 17,000 men and women and found that the people who sat for almost the entire day were 54 percent more likely to end up clutching their chests than those who sat for almost none of the time. That’s no surprise, of course, except that it didn’t matter how much the sitters weighed or how often they exercised. “The evidence that sitting is associated with heart disease is very strong,” says Katzmarzyk. “We see it in people who smoke and people who don’t. We see it in people who are regular exercisers and those who aren’t. Sitting is an independent risk factor.”

This isn’t actually a new discovery. In a British study published in 1953, scientists examined two groups of workers: bus drivers and trolley conductors. At first glance, the two occupations appeared to be pretty similar. But while the bus drivers were more likely to sit down for their entire day, the trolley conductors were running up and down the stairs and aisles of the double-decker trolleys. As it turned out, the bus drivers were nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease as the conductors were.

A more recent interpretation of that study, published in 2004, found that none of the participants ever exercised. But the two groups did sit for different amounts of time. The analysis revealed that even after the scientists accounted for differences in waist size—an indicator of belly fat—the bus drivers were still more likely to die before the conductors did. So the bus drivers were at higher risk not simply because their sedentary jobs made them resemble Ralph Kramden, but also because all that sitting truly was making them unhealthy.

Hamilton came to call this area of science “inactivity physiology” while he was conducting studies to determine how exercise affects an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Found in humans as well as mice, LPL’s main responsibility is to break down fat in the bloodstream to use as energy. If a mouse (or a man) doesn’t have this enzyme, or if the enzyme doesn’t work in their leg muscles, the fat is stored instead of burned as fuel.

Hamilton discovered that when the rodents were forced to lie down for most of their waking hours, LPL activity in their leg muscles plummeted. But when they simply stood around most of the time, the gene was 10 times more active. That’s when he added an exercise session to the lab-rat routine and found that exercise had no effect on LPL. He believes the finding also applies to people.

“Humans sit too much, so you have to treat the problem specifically,” says Hamilton. “The cure for too much sitting isn’t more exercise. Exercise is good, of course, but the average person could never do enough to counteract the effect of hours and hours of chair time.”

If you’re chair-bound, perform these seven easy office stretches every 20 minutes.

“We know there’s a gene in the body that causes heart disease, but it doesn’t respond to exercise no matter how often or how hard you work out,” he says. “And yet the activity of the gene becomes worse from sitting—or rather, the complete and utter lack of contractile activity in your muscles. So the more nonexercise activity you do, the more total time you spend on your feet and out of your chair. That’s the real cure.”

“Your body adapts to what you do most often,” says Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., a Men’s Health advisor and physical therapist in Indianapolis, Indiana. “So if you sit in a chair all day, you’ll essentially become better adapted to sitting in a chair.” The trouble is, that makes you less adept at standing, walking, running, and jumping, all of which a truly healthy human should be able to do with proficiency. “Older folks have a harder time moving around than younger people do,” says Hartman. “That’s not simply because of age; it’s because what you do consistently from day to day manifests itself over time, for both good and bad.”

Inactivity affects more than the heart
Do you sit all day at a desk? You’re courting muscle stiffness, poor balance and mobility, and lower-back, neck, and hip pain. But to understand why, you’ll need a quick primer on fascia, a tough connective tissue that covers all your muscles. While fascia is pliable, it tends to “set” in the position your muscles are in most often. So if you sit most of the time, your fascia adapts to that specific position.

Now think about where your hips and thighs are in relation to your torso while you’re sitting. They’re bent, which causes the muscles on the front of your thighs, known as hip flexors, to contract slightly, or shorten. The more you sit, the more the fascia will keep your hip flexors shortened. “If you’ve ever seen a guy walk with a forward lean, it’s often because of shortened hip flexors,” says Hartman. “The muscles don’t stretch as they naturally should. As a result, he’s not walking tall and straight because his fascia has adapted more to sitting than standing.”

This same effect can be seen in other areas of your body. For instance, if you spend a lot of time with your shoulders and upper back slumped over a keyboard, this eventually becomes your normal posture. “That’s not just an issue in terms of how you look; it frequently leads to chronic neck and shoulder pain,” says Hartman. Also, people who frequently cross their legs a certain way can experience hip imbalances. “This makes your entire lower body less stable, which decreases your agility and athletic performance and increases your risk for injuries,” Hartman says. Add all this up, and a person who sits a lot is less efficient not only at exercising, but also at simply moving from, say, the couch to the refrigerator.

There’s yet another problem with all that sitting. “If you spend too much time in a chair, your glute muscles will actually ‘forget’ how to fire,” says Hartman. This phenomenon is aptly nicknamed “gluteal amnesia.” A basic-anatomy reminder: Your glutes, or butt muscles, are your body’s largest muscle group. So if they aren’t functioning properly, you won’t be able to squat or deadlift as much weight, and you won’t burn as much fat. After all, muscles burn calories. And that makes your glutes a powerful furnace for fat—a furnace that’s probably been switched off if you spend most of the day on your duff.

It gets worse. Weak glutes as well as tight hip flexors cause your pelvis to tilt forward. This puts stress on your lumbar spine, resulting in lower-back pain. It also pushes your belly out, which gives you a protruding gut even if you don’t have an ounce of fat. “The changes to your muscles and posture from sitting are so small that you won’t notice them at first. But as you reach your 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond, they’ll gradually become worse,” says Hartman, “and a lot harder to fix.”

So what’s a desk jockey to do? Hamilton’s advice: Think in terms of two spectrums of activity. One represents the activities you do that are considered regular exercise. But another denotes the amount of time you spend sitting versus the time you spend on your feet. “Then every day, make the small choices that will help move you in the right direction on that sitting-versus-standing spectrum,” says Hamilton. “Stand while you’re talking on the phone. It all adds up, and it all matters.”

Of course, there’s a problem with all of this: It kills all our lame excuses for not exercising (no time for the gym, fungus on the shower-room floor, a rerun of The Office you haven’t seen). Now we have to redefine “workout” to include every waking moment of our days. But there’s a big payoff: more of those days to enjoy in the future. So get up off your chair and start nonexercising.

If you sit for most of the day either at your desk or at home, consider also the other times you are sitting, for instance driving to and from work, while you are eating your meals. If you add all that time up over a course of a lifetime you would be sitting pretty close to a 1/3 of your life. A good way to combat the negative effects of sitting is to get an ergonomic workstation evaluation. This will prepare you in your current setup and future setups so that you will be in the best position throughout the day. Another solution is to get a dynamic ergonomic chair, this type of chair places you in a taller sitting position that encourages the forward hip roll posture and foot controlled movement. This increases blood flow while sitting and puts your body in a more natural position. Ergonomic Evolution is your source for both workstation evaluations and dynamic ergonomic chairs. Ergonomic Evolution is prepared to assist you in combating the effects of sitting all day and the toll it puts on your bodies. Contact us today to find out how easy and beneficial when ergonomics becomes a part of your life.

Don’t just sit there…. Evolve!

Sitting down on the job can be bad for your health

Friday, September 17, 2010

Sitting down on the job can be bad for your health

Denver Business Journal – by Paula Moore

One of the newest strategies for helping office employees stay healthy at work is one of the oldest urges felt by human beings — movement.

Me DBJ 2010 — Kathleen Lavine | Business Journal Nick McElhiney, a consultant at Ergonomic Evolution, evaluates a workstation.

Office-space experts now encourage people to get up out of their chairs frequently and move, including stretching in the work space and taking a short walk outside.

Some experts even suggest workers use a sit-stand approach in their offices and cubicles — splitting their time there between sitting and standing.

To accommodate that way of working, more employees now use work surfaces that can be raised and lowered depending on a person’s position, as well as adjustable stands and arms for moving computer monitors.

“Your body is not designed to be static,” said Nick McElhiney, mechanical engineer, ergonomics consultant and owner of Ergonomic Evolution LLC in Erie. “The old way of thinking was if a worker didn’t move, he couldn’t hurt himself. But [the truth is that] you hurt yourself by not moving. … Sit-stand is the future.”

Movement is one of the major ways to keep the blood circulating, and good circulation can prevent repetitive-motion ailments caused by prolonged computer keyboard and mouse use such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and tendinitis in the wrists, ergonomics experts say. Drinking plenty of water at work also improves circulation by supplying oxygen to the blood.

Repetitive-motion problems now make up roughly half of all occupational ailments, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bureau also says ergonomic disorders overall, including CTS and lower-back problems, are the fastest-growing category of Occupational Safety and Health Administration ailments, and account for an estimated $100 billion a year in medical and workers’ compensation costs.

“Sitting all the time is not good,” said Kathey Pear, owner of office-furniture seller Citron WorkSpaces LLC in Louisville. “A recent study shows standing also takes off pounds; it takes more energy to stand than sit.”

Be seated

But when office workers do sit, it’s important that they have the right kind of chair for their body and know how to use it properly. Ergonomics experts say a chair’s height should correspond to a person’s standing knee height. When seated, the individual’s feet should be flat on the floor, and there should be two or three fingers’ distance between the back of the legs and the front of the chair.

A chair that’s too large for its user may not have that distance between leg and seat, and can cut off circulation to the lower leg.

Many chair armrests adjust up and down, as well as in and out, and they should fit the person using the chair. Armrests that can’t be adjusted should be removed, experts say.

Chairs whose seats tilt down in front — so-called “waterfall” chairs — can help reduce pressure behind the knees, and help support the lower back. “Forward-tilting chairs provide forward hip roll and natural lumbar support,” said McElhiney, who formerly designed robotics.

The foot of the issue

Another circulation enhancer is a footrest, used while sitting, with rounded nubs on the surface to keep blood flowing in the feet.

“You can rub your feet on the nubs for circulation, and stimulation of the feet is also good for the nerves that run along the spine up to the back of the neck,” said Steve Balog, Chicago-based national sales manager at Caddo Solutions. Based in Denver, Caddo is a Native American-owned provider of office products from computer supplies to furniture.

Use of multiple flat-screen computer monitors is another new trend among office workers. Instead of having several files open on one monitor, having a few files open on two or three monitors at the same time allows users to take less time navigating the files, according to ergonomics experts. “You can improve productivity 30 percent,” McElhiney added.

More and more, office-space design and equipment have to do with adaptability — whether supporting employees’ need to move around in their work space or use their computers more efficiently. Work spaces that better fit the people using them help them be more productive.

“You’ve got to have ease of adjustment, making ergonomics work for you,” Balog said. “There’s no one-size-fits-all.”

Work space tips

Here are some of the latest suggestions from workplace experts about how to make your office work area healthier, safer and more efficient:

• Move: Don’t sit in your chair all day; split your time between sitting and standing. Get up and move around regularly to keep the blood circulating and to avoid repetitive-motion problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis.

• Drink plenty of water: Water oxygenates the blood, which improves circulation, and flushes toxins that build up in the body while sitting.

• Get a good chair: When you sit, have a good chair and know how to adjust it to fit your body. A really good office chair costs around $400.

• Footrest: Using a footrest while sitting can help improve posture and prevent back problems. Footrests can range from around $15 to $60 — and be heated to keep feet warm in winter.

• Reachability: Make sure items in your work area — phone, stapler, pens, etc. — are easy to reach, so you don’t strain muscles getting them.

• Multiple computer monitors: Having two, or even more, flat-screen monitors makes navigating open computer files easier. Have a few files open on each screen, rather than several files open on just one screen.

• Cord/cable management: Organizing the “spaghetti” of cords and cables in your work area, including those for computer, mouse, phone, etc., with clips, ties and wraps can prevent worker injury and equipment damage. Cord protectors, for example, cover and protect cords — and if on the floor, can prevent people from tripping over cords.

Sources: Caddo Solutions, Ergonomic Evolution LLC, CableOrganizer.com

Contact Ergonomic Evolution for Ergonomic Workstation Evaluations, Ergonomic Equipment with Training, Business Worksite Consulting, Group Training / Education Seminars and more!

www.ergonomicevolution.com l 303.931.3022

Kneeling Ergonomic Chair – A progressive spin on ergonomic seating.

Do you get back and neck pain because of the uncomfortable chair your using within the office each day? You can replace a hard and uncomfortable office chair with a kneeling ergonomic chair. It’s a terrific alternative to the conventional chair and takes pressure off your backbone by transferring your weight to your shins. They are ergonomically created and permit the hips as well as thighs to remain at a 160 degree angle.

Make it a point to grasp how a kneeling chair can help with your posture and back. A kneeling ergonomic chair aligns the neck, shoulders and back to the office desk in front of you. Instead of leaning forward like you would on a standard chair, a kneeling chair permits you to slide your hips forward in the direction of the office desk. This kneeling pose produces a more normal S shape rather than a curved and slouching position. Some people find this S position more comfy and produce less stiffness by the end of the day. If you find yourself slouching at the end of the day this is an indicator that your body is tired and needs a break. You may not have the stamina to hold yourself in the natural forward hip roll position for an entire day. Recognize what you body is telling you and make the appropriate change from active sitting to passive sitting (resting your back in a traditional chair)

Leaning forward in a kneeling position will activate more muscle tissues in your own body to carry your weight instead of placing all weight on your buttocks with a traditional chair. Though the majority of your weight would nonetheless be in your seat, some weight will be spread to your shins for improved support lowering the pressure on your lower back. The tilting position created by the kneeling ergonomic chair decreases pressure on your lower backside and eases compression to your spinal cord. It additionally forces you to utilize more abdominal muscle taking quite a lot of pressure out of your overall skeletal frame.

You may wonder why on earth you would need or desire a kneeling ergonomic chair. You have to understand that having one presents plenty of benefits to your well being and your spine. Back ache is an ordinary nuisance for lots of office employees who spend quite a lot of time on their desktops and office desks.(Estimated by the Mayo Clinic that 80 to 85% of office workers will have back pain to some degree in their lifetime.) You may do away with constant back problems with a kneeling chair.(The main reason for this is our bodies are simply getting used to be in this position while sitting), It’s a good replacement to traditional office chairs because kneeling chairs are extra spine-friendly and also affordable. A particular person with chronic back issues might in fact shell out more cash buying regular medical checkup or physical therapy. A kneeling chair that is ergonomically designed to assist with your back will save you more cash in the long run. Proper usage is also key so that you do not use the chair to the point of body and back fatigue.

Kneeling chairs have proved to be better for even the smallest desk tasks that entail sitting. The exact same goes for long term office work that requires a lot of forward reaching similar to working on a computer or writing. It’s important to know that a kneeling chair isn’t supposed to totally replace a standard sitting chair. It’s only supposed to aid standard chairs to give your back a much needed rest from holding a steady upright position and shouldn’t be utilized for the entire day at the office.

Ergonomic Evolution is your source for all types of ergonomic chairs including a variety of kneeling chairs. Contact us today to find out what ergonomic chair is right for you. Don’t just site there…evolve!

ROI‐Based Analysis of Employee Wellness Programs

ROI‐Based Analysis of Employee Wellness Programs The Problems…The Cost…The Solution

Organizations of all sizes and from all industries are investigating ways to save money in the form of health care, disability, sick time, recruitment and retention costs. This document looks at the problem facing employers, the cost attributed to that problem, and the critical components a wellness program must incorporate in order to provide a long‐term, high ROI solution to that problem.

Click on the link below to read the complete white paper.

US Corporate Wellness White Paper

Ergonomic Evolution is a supporter of any wellness program that is designed to improve employee well being and lower health care costs. This white paper only addresses the health of the employee which is a great start, however wellness does also include the enviroment in whch we work and ergonomics addresses that very issue. Wellness programs and Ergonomic programs go hand in hand and together can elevate an employees health and improve business at the same time. A true “Win – Win”

Please leave a comment and share your thoughts. Thanks.

Sitting takes toll on body, scientists find

tp-sitting-girl-physiology — Scientists in Ottawa are monitoring how blood pressure and oxygen consumption change as children sit and watch TV. (CBC)

The bodies of even the most physically active take a physiological hit from sitting for hours, say scientists who warn about health effects of an increasingly sedentary society and prescribe some standing advice. Canadian researchers are part of a pioneer field of study looking at the effects that sitting has on the body.

At a lab in Ottawa, scientists are observing children as they watch TV, monitoring their pressure and oxygen consumption. The scientists want to see how sedentary time, such as sitting all day at school and then channel surfing at night, harms children’s health.

After two to seven hours of uninterrupted sitting, there is evidence “that is enough to increase [subjects’] blood sugar, to decrease their good cholesterol and to have a real impact on their health,” said Travis Saunders, a researcher in exercise physiology at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa. Conventionally, sitting and lying down were seen as simply the opposite of moving. But our cells and muscles actually respond to the strains of prolonged sitting, said Mark Tremblay, director of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at CHEO. “There are certain physiologic mechanisms that come into play way down at the sedentary side that don’t factor in on the exercise side and vice versa,” Tremblay said. “So there appears to be different mechanisms at play.”

There are likely important physiological activities that go on while we sit that need to be studied separately from exercise physiology, he said. Early evidence suggests spending long periods sitting affects the entire body, from the way it metabolizes fat and sugars to how the brain functions, and raises osteoporosis risk through lower bone density.

It is possible to mitigate the damage with simple steps such as standing up regularly. The body “responds to very small interruptions in that sitting,” Tremblay said. “And this is where the promise might be.” Since our muscles don’t know the difference between contracting from lifting a barbell or books off a desk, adding exercise during the workday could help, researchers say. People are trying walking treadmill desks, standing workstations, walking meetings and sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs, and using computer prompts to remind themselves to build those interruptions into the workday. Children’s author Gillian Chan of Dundas, Ont., has a specially designed treadmill built into her desk so she can walk while she writes. “The first week I found it quite tiring, but after that, I found it almost energizing,” Chan said. “I felt much more alert.” Even someone who walks briskly or jogs for 30 minutes each day has 15.5 waking hours of sedentary time, researchers say, and this down time is expected to increase for most people. Read more:

Sedentary health effects — preliminary research A 2003 study showed each two-hour-per-day increase in TV viewing time was associated with a 23 per cent increase in obesity after taking other lifestyle factors like diet into account. Each two-hour-per-day increase in sitting at work was linked with a 5 per cent increased risk of obesity. Women who spent seven hours or more per day sitting had an increased risk of endometrial cancer compared to those who sit less than three hours per day. In 2008, Spanish researchers found the odds of having a mental disorder were 31 per cent higher for subjects who spent more than 42 hours a week watching TV than for those who watched fewer than 10.5 hours a week.

Source: CBC

Don’t just sit there…. Evolve!

Knowing what causes your back pain can help you solve it.

Back pain can make it hard to do your job. Understanding what causes workplace back pain can help you avoid it.
Whether it’s dull and annoying or screaming for attention, back pain can make it hard to concentrate on your job.

Many occupations — such as nursing, construction and factory work — may place significant demands on your back. Even routine office work can worsen back pain if you fall into risky habits.
But you often can avoid back pain and injuries by understanding what causes them and focusing on prevention.
What causes back injuries?
Doctors aren’t sure about all of the causes of back pain. In fact, most back problems are probably the result of a combination of factors. Some factors, such as family history, aren’t preventable. You can control other factors, such as weight, fitness and flexibility, by changing your lifestyle. Still other factors are work related, and you may or may not be able to modify these to prevent injury.
Four work-related factors are associated with increased risk of back pain and injury:
•   Force. Exerting too much force on your back may cause injury. If your job is physical in nature, you might face injury if you frequently lift or move heavy objects.
•   Repetition. Repetition refers to the number of times you perform a certain movement. Overly repetitious tasks can lead to muscle fatigue or injury, particularly if they involve stretching to the limit of your range of motion or awkward body positioning.
•   Posture. Posture refers to your position when sitting, standing or performing a task. If, for instance, you spend most of your time in front of a computer, you may experience occasional aches and pains from sitting still for extended periods. On average, your body can tolerate being in one position for about 20 minutes before you feel the need to adjust.
•   Stress. Pressures at work or at home can increase your stress level and lead to muscle tension and tightness, which may in turn lead to back pain.
How to avoid injuries
Your best bet in preventing back pain and injury is to be as fit as you can be and take steps to make your work and your working environment as safe as possible.
Be fit
Even if you move around a lot on your job or your job requires physical exertion, you still need to exercise. Regular activity is your best bet in maintaining a healthy back. First of all, you’ll keep your weight in check, and carrying around a healthy weight for your body’s frame minimizes stress on your back. You can do specific strengthening and stretching exercises that target your back muscles. These exercises are called “core strengthening” because they work both your abdominal and back muscles. Strong and flexible muscles will help keep your back in shape.

Pay attention to posture
Poor posture stresses your back. When you slouch or stand with a swaybacked position, you exaggerate your back’s natural curves. Such posture can lead to muscle fatigue and injury. In contrast, good posture relaxes your muscles and requires minimal effort to balance your body.
• Standing posture. If you stand for long periods, occasionally rest one foot on a stool or small box. While you stand, hold reading material at eye level. Don’t bend forward to do desk work or handwork.
• Sitting posture. To promote comfort and good posture while sitting, choose a chair that supports your back. Adjust the chair so that your feet stay flat on the floor. If the chair doesn’t support your lower back’s curve, place a rolled towel or small pillow behind your lower back. Remove bulky objects, such as a wallet, from your back pockets when sitting because they can disrupt balance in your lower back.
Lift properly
There’s a right way and a wrong way to lift and carry a load. Some key tips for lifting the right way include letting your legs do the work, keeping objects close to your body and recruiting help if a load is too heavy.
Adjust your work space
Look at the setup of your office or work area. Think about how you could modify repetitive job tasks to reduce physical demands. Remember that you’re trying to decrease force and repetition and maintain healthy, safe postures. For instance, you might use lifting devices or adjustable equipment to help you lift loads. If you’re on the phone most of the day, try a headset. Avoid cradling the phone between your shoulder and ear to free up your hands for yet another task. If you work at a computer, make sure that your monitor and chair are positioned properly.

Adopt healthy work habits
Pay attention to your surroundings and comfort on the job. Take these steps to prevent back pain:
•   Plan your moves. Reorganize your work to eliminate high-risk, repetitive movements. Avoid unnecessary bending, twisting and reaching. Limit the time you spend carrying heavy briefcases, purses and bags. If you’re carrying something heavy, know exactly where you intend to put it and whether that space is free from clutter.
•   Listen to your body. If you must sit or stand for a prolonged period, change your position often. Take a 30-second timeout every 15 minutes or so to stretch, move or relax. Try standing up when you answer the phone, to stretch and change positions. If your back hurts, stop activities that aggravate it.
•   Minimize hazards. Falls can seriously injure your back. Think twice before wearing high heels. Low-heeled shoes with nonslip soles are a better bet. Remove anything from your work space that might cause you to trip.
•   Work on coordination and balance. Just walking regularly for activity can help you maintain your coordination and balance. You can also perform balance exercises to keep you steady on your feet.
Address mental health concerns
Being under stress causes your muscles to tense, making you more prone to injury. And the more stress you feel, the lower your tolerance for pain. Try to minimize your sources of stress both on the job and at home. Develop coping mechanisms for times when you feel especially stressed. For instance, perform deep-breathing exercises, take a walk around the block or talk about your frustrations with a trusted friend.
In addition, both depression and substance abuse increase the risk that low back pain will persist. Talk to your doctor if you think you may be affected by either of these issues. Effective treatments are available.

Ergonomic Evolution is the perfect source for consulting and evaluations. We are fully able to assess and correct most ergonomic issues that are specific to you, your environment, and your tasks. Ergonomic corrections can benefit your well being, quality of life and the costs associated with them. Contact us today to find out more and start the path to working pain free.

Businesses reward employees for healthy changes.

By STEVE LOHR – New York Times

Published: March 26, 2010

FOR all the debate lately, one basic fact about America’s health care crisis is rarely mentioned. Namely, the one thing that could really reform health care is you, collectively speaking: People living healthier lives.

The statistical evidence has been clear for years, but it bears repeating. Studies show that 50 percent to 70 percent of the nation’s health care costs are preventable. Much of that expense goes to treat a few chronic conditions that are closely linked to behavior, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Bad genes and bad luck matter, of course. But behavior — exercise and choice of diet — matters most.

So why not pay people to live healthier lives? In fact, a fledgling “pay for prevention” industry is beginning to emerge, offering employers ways to reward workers with cash or reduced insurance premiums for exercising more and eating wisely. Among the industry’s early entries are RedBrick Health, Tangerine Wellness and Virgin HealthMiles.

And some big companies, like Safeway and General Electric, are experimenting on their own with financial incentives to prod employees to adopt healthy habits or to drop bad ones. (At G.E., smokers pay an extra $625 a year.)

While just under way, the drive to align financial incentives with healthy behavior seems promising, experts say. “If this were the Olympics, it would be a demonstration sport — not there yet, but clearly coming,” said Dr. David J. Brailer, chairman of Health Evolution Partners, a private equity fund, which has not invested in a health-incentive management company to date.

And some early research in behavioral economics suggests that financial incentives can be used to essentially kick-start healthy habits that then become self-sustaining, according to Gary B. Charness, an economist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

That certainly seems to be how things worked out for Mona Ellender, 55, a database administrator who lives in Metairie, La. At the end of 2008, her employer, Ochsner Health System, which operates seven hospitals and 35 clinics in southeastern Louisiana, adopted a health incentive program designed and managed by Virgin HealthMiles, part of the Virgin Group.

The Virgin formula focuses mainly on promoting physical activity, which can be measured using pedometers, accelerometers or heart-rate monitors. Online tools are important. Personal activity data is uploaded from the activity-tracking devices into an individual’s account on the Web. A general Web site includes health and dietary tips. Contests and online chat are part of the mix.

Yet what first got her attention, Ms. Ellender concedes, was the money. Under the program, her premium payments for health insurance for her and her husband drop by more than $100 a month if she attains her activity goals.

But soon, Ms. Ellender says, the main appeal became the improvements she was observing in her energy, appearance and weight. She says she walks a lot more than she used to, including 30 minutes during her lunch break and often after work. She attends an aerobics class most every day, she says. And she tracks her progress online daily. In 15 months, Ms. Ellender’s cholesterol level has fallen sharply. She has lost 40 pounds and intends to lose 14 more.

“It’s made a big difference in my life,” she says.

Her employer is pleased as well. After rising steadily for years, health insurance claims fell 5 percent last year for Ochsner, says Susan Piglia, director of corporate programs.

It is the long-term trends — not a year or two — that matter most in health. But the health-incentive management companies do seem to be off to a good start. The employee participation rates in their programs — all are voluntary — are typically in the 50 to 80 percent range, far higher than for traditional wellness programs, which do not include financial incentives.

Virgin HealthMiles, RedBrick Health and Tangerine Wellness use somewhat different approaches. Still, there are some common lessons from their few years of experience.

In modifying health behavior, they say, rewards trump punishment. A person who does poorly in a program, for example, loses a chance to save money, but there are no penalty payments, only encouragement to convert to healthy habits. “The carrot definitely works better than the stick,” says Aaron Day, chief executive of Tangerine Wellness.

(Some companies are offering cash carrots to smokers. Edelman, a big public relations firm, pays more than $500 to smokers who quit.)

Markets thrive on good information and good incentives. The market for personal health, it seems, lacks both. RedBrick Health was founded in 2006, with an eye toward having incentives focused on health instead of just cost savings.

Kyle Rolfing, the chief executive, was previously a founder of Definity Health, a pioneer in developing consumer-driven spending plans like health reimbursement accounts and health spending accounts, known as H.R.A.’s and H.S.A.’s. (Definity was sold to UnitedHealth in 2004.) The rationale behind the high-deductible plans has been that if people spend more of their own money, they will be more price-conscious consumers of health care.

The problem with H.R.A.’s and H.S.A.’s alone, Mr. Rolfing says, is that people do opt for less costly care but not better health. “The real goal is to get accountability about health and wellness at the individual level,” he says. “So the incentive — the return on investment — should be at the individual level as well.”

PERSONAL health decisions also suffer from an information gap. The gratification for eating rich desserts is immediate, while the health consequences, if any, are well into the future. But online tracking and affordable digital devices, like pedometers, to collect timely data are beginning to close the information gap. At the least, users can constantly check measures of activity and calorie counts that are clearly linked to health.

“We’re trying to create the good-driver discount for health,” explains Sean Forbes, president of Virgin HealthMiles. “One reason that’s been so difficult is there’s never been a way to really measure things before, but that is changing because of technology.”

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Ergonomic Evolution can provide your business the insight and tools to setup and maintain a wellness program for your employees that promotes healthy habits and continued improvement. Simple exercise / weight loss incentives which are easily measurable not only improve general well being but can have additional positive effects such as improved employee moral and retention.

Ergonomic Evolution’s motto for wellness programs – “Improve Your Work Environment, Improve Your Employees Health, will Improve Your Business. “

Contact Ergonomic Evolution today to find out how easy it is to start up and maintain a wellness program with an ergonomic environmental improvements.

Baby’s First Cubicle: The Most Depressing Toy Ever?

It’s all about expectation management, you see. If you make your kid think he can be president, he will grow up disappointed. Tell him he’s headed for a life as an office drone and at least he’ll be mentally prepared.

For a mere $2,500, daddy’s little office drone gets all of this:

Furniture features:

* Flat desk area
* Left and Right built-in mouse pads
* Bench seat that fits two children and offers storage inside for supplies
* Two locking cabinet doors
* Computer wiring stores safely inside ventilated cabinet.
* Locking castors keep unit from rolling during use.

Computer equipment features:

* Think Centre PC
* Internal DVD-ROM
* 1GB RAM (minimum)
* 160GB Hard Drive (minimum)
* 10/100 Ethernet
* Microsoft® Windows
* Sound Card and 2 External Speakers
* Surge protector
* 19″ Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor
* Custom Little Tikes Learning keyboard and Tiny Mouse (colors are subject to change without notice)

Computer Warranty: 1-year parts and labor.
Pre-loaded educational software:

* Millie’s Math House®
* Sammy’s Science House®
* Bailey’s Book House®
* Trudy’s Time and Place®
* Thinkin’ Things®

Boy, I really missed out on these 21st century toys when I was a kid! What is not included is an Ergonomic Work-site Evaluation.

Just looking at the photo its easy to see that this “toy” is an ergonomic nightmare. This will easily jump start any potential ergonomic risks that normally occurs in adults while working in a cubicle. Parents should consider the long term effects that items like this will have on their children. From acquiring bad habits in using it to the awkward and unnatural postures the “kiddie cubicle” put the child in.

Ergonomic Evolution does not promote or endorse this product for a number of reasons, (most of which are obvious). To find out why, please feel free to comment or contact us directly. We are happy to give our insight on this or any other questionable “ergonomic” products out there.

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Don’t just sit there… evolve!

Sitting down on the job can be bad for your health

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ROI‐Based Analysis of Employee Wellness Programs The Problems…The Cost…The Solution

By STEVE LOHR – New York Times

Published: March 26, 2010