Ergonomics and Blog of the Week: Ergonomics in the News
This week’s featured blog is Ergonomics in the News from Usernomics, a company that specializes in “making products and the workplace more efficient and usable.” As you can see from this picture of my blogspace, I am sitting at a desk that has practically no ergonomically correct aspects.
Ergonomics in the News has information on all things related to ergonomics - “The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.” As we all get busier, we find ourselves working anywhere and everywhere which means a lot of strain on our bodies with pain that may necessitate serious painkillers like COX-2 inhibitors with potential side effects.
From a recent post pointing to a Macworld article about ergonomic problems associated with laptops:
For example, you can’t position a laptop’s display and keyboard separately to reduce your risk of neck or wrist injury. Trackpads and other integrated pointing devices compound the problem by requiring that designers position the keyboard away from the laptop’s edge, making the keys hard to reach without using the laptop’s built-in wrist rest. And if you’re not careful, the sharp edge on the front of newer PowerBooks can put even more pressure on the nerves, blood vessels, and tendons in your wrists.
Beyond these fundamental design flaws, the simple fact that laptops are portable can exacerbate their ergonomic hazards. Thanks to improved batteries and ubiquitous Wi-Fi connectivity, road warriors often end up working in places that make the average cubicle seem like ergonomic heaven.
I’ll need to keep up on ergonomc news more carefully as I set-up our home in London.
Technorati Tags: ergonomics, genetics, health
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3 opinions for Ergonomics and Blog of the Week: Ergonomics in the News
Deb
Jan 11, 2006 at 1:57 pm
I have a gel wrist rest for the keyboard, and a gel wrist rest mouse pad, and I love them. They’ve made extended computer use a pleasure rather than an impossibility. I loathe the integrated mouse pad on laptops, and go to the hassle of using a USB mouse with mine. heh.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Jan 11, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Deb I try using all those accessories but can never get used to them. I also hate touchpads, etc. built into laptops.
Deb
Jan 13, 2006 at 11:18 am
I got used to them out of necessity. My wrists and hands got to the point where it was painful to spend time typing or mousing. My husband dislikes the gel things I have, and tried getting one that’s squishy and filled with little beads. I hate it. LOL. guess which one is in front of the keyboard ;)
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