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Posture Conditions

Lower back pain? Neck pain? Elbow pain? RSI? Advice for a range of work related posture conditions

Posture People are passionate about creating better places for people to work in. By supplying the best in ergonomic seating and ergonomic office furniture we can improve your working environment. Better ergonomic furniture will mean that common complaints such as backache and RSI are reduced.

What are the common complaints that often come up in the workplace?

Lower back pain

A poor chair, a badly set up desk and sitting at the wrong height can all contribute to lower back pain. Setting up your workstation well, can help reduce the pain. Find the best sitting height for you by putting your feet flat on the floor and raise the chair as high as possible. Then hold your arms out at a comfortable right angle - this is the height your desk should be at. If your desk is a fixed height, you may need to raise the height of your chair (and use a footrest) or if you are tall, you might need to look at raising the height of your desk.

Products that can help with lower back pain

• lumbar supports
• memory foam support cushions
• A good office chair

Neck pain

A contributing factor of neck pain can be if your screen is at the wrong height for you. To work out the best height, a general rule of thumb is that the windows menu should be level with your eyes. Also if you are twisting your neck to read copy placed either side of your keyboard can also aggravate neck pain. An inline copyholder can greatly reduce stress on your neck particularly if you do a lot of typing. For a more detailed look at setting up your workstation, download our advice sheet from the left hand menu.

Products that can help with neck pain

• Monitor risers
• Laptop stands
• Document and copy holders

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

Repetitive Strain Injury is a term that is used to refer to various kinds of injuries to muscles, tendons or nerves. These injuries are caused by repetitive movement of a particular part of the body. In practice for anyone suffering with RSI it can mean a very uncomfortable working life. RSI is often aggravated by using a computer mouse, so swapping to an ergonomic mouse will put less strain on the wrists. In some cases RSI can cause elbow pain, in which case it is worth looking at ways to support the arm and reduce the impact on the elbow joint. The Ergorest, is a cost effective way of providing arm support. In some cases the RSI is significantly bad enough to think about alternative ways of working such as using voice activated software. (http://www.hands-free.co.uk/)

Products that can help with RSI:

• Evoluent vertical mouse
• Airobic mouse
• Ergorest
• Microsoft natural keyboard

Neck and Shoulder Pain

There are lots of different causes of neck and shoulder pain, but here are the basics to check for. Make sure your screen is at the right height. Download our guide to setting up your workstation from the left hand menu if you would like to know how to work out the best height for you. Your arms should be at a comfortable right angle to the desk, and the arms of your chair should support this angle - if your chair has fixed height arms, then it might be worth purchasing an ergonomic office chair with height adjustable armrests.

Products that can help with neck and shoulder pain:

• Monitor risers
• Laptop stands
• Document and copy holders
• Ergonomic office chairs

Please remember if you are suffering with any type of pain, it is always a good idea to go and discuss it with your doctor.