Ergonomic Tips (07/02)
Home-brewed ergonomics
by John R. Chait D.C., drchait@comcast.net
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.
Store-bought ergonomic devices may not always provide the most comfortable solution for you. Before you go out and spend big bucks on any ergonomic device, try making it first and test it out to see if it is right for you.
Back rest: Try a small pillow, rolled up towel, or rice or bird seed filled bag. Make sure it is centered in the small of your low back.
Keyboard or mouse Wrist rest: Try a rolled up hand towel, rolled
bubble 
wrap
wrapped with masking tape, or bag filled with rice.
Cold press: Keep a few plastic bags of peas or corn in the freezer at work and at home to use as ice packs on whatever hurts. Keep re-freezing them.
Back-foot tension reliever: Try placing a tennis or racquet ball between your back and the wall. Lean against the wall to apply pressure to sore spots. Hold for thirty seconds and release. You can also use this technique with a golf ball on the bottom of your feet. It feels wonderful.
Foot rest: Try Thick books such as telephone books piled up or a low box about the height of a shoe box, so you'll know the exact height you need. Make sure your knees are not boosted above your hips. There should be a very gradual descending slope between your hips and knees.
Travel pillow: Try a bag filled with rice or bird seed.
Monitor stand: Boost the height of your computer monitor with a small
box
or boards stacked on top of one another.
You may also want to consider reasonably priced ergonomic devices that you can't easily make yourself. For example:
A lumbar support can be purchased at a relatively low cost.
An ergonomic mouse is typically larger and easier to hold. There are also trackball mice and touch pads.
A document holder holds your paper at a comfortable eye level next to your computer. Some types attach to the side of your monitor; others are free-standing.
Consider buying a headset so you don't have to cradle the receiver in your neck and cause vertebral misalignment.
Ergonomic devices can get pricey. A little ingenuity and creativity can go a long way. :
Copyright 2002. This article is from the July 2002 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/
The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,300+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
See http://www.spcug.org for all reviews from the Sarasota PC Monitor, go to the Newsletter Section.