Sitting most of the day is equivalent to the heart attack risk of smoking

The Wall Street Journal reports on the need to rapidly recognize the symptoms of a heart attack.  The worst thing you can do is lie down and rest. You may never wake up.

Below is a chart on prevention and survival from the Mayo Clinic.

Honeywell ergonomic program

This article from Ergoweb describes Keith Osborne's work to design an ergonomic program at one of Honeywell's Colorado based plants.  His approach is similar to other institutions around the country including the one used at the University of Minnesota.  His program incorporates an ergonomic show room where people can view chairs and try out ergonomic equipment.  This improves the customer experience and eliminates the need people to make trips to various vendors or the vendors to drop off products. 

Incoporating additional options such as virtual ergonomic evaluations also allows reduces response time to branch offices in large corporations.  People can also self evaluate their workstation using a handy guide from the U of Minnesota.

http://www.dehs.umn.edu/ergo_office_weChecklist.htm

Effects of sleep deprivation

NIOSH research on sleep deprivation has shown that 30% of workers are sleep deprived.  Sleep deprivation due to shift work was linked to adverse reproductive outcomes in Nurses. 

Police officers working night shifts had greater risks of injury and metabolic syndrome than did day shift workers. Metabolic syndrome comprises a group of risk factors associated with coronary arteryt disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

For other jobs such as trucking manufacturing and white collar workers reduced sleep was linked to depression, injury and reduced ability of the natural killer cells to defend against cancer and viruses.

In this less than five minute video clip, a news anchor goes through 30 plus hours of sleep deprivation.  The footage is from News 2 in Charleston , NC.

 Driver impairment is a significant problem associated with sleep impairment noted in this video with Dr. Christopher Nolte on the Dr. Bob talk show.



.  

Lifting guidelines

The applications manual for the NIOSH lifting equation information is found at this site as a free downloadable pdf.   The equation considers the weight of the object, the travel distance for the object, the distance the object is away from the body, the vertical lift distance, lift frequency and other factors.

The Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation has a nice weight lifting chart visually depicting areas and zones for acceptable lifts.  It considers factors for weight, lift position, reach distance and degree of twist.

Curative care has a simple picture guideline for a box lift. 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/airtransport/case-studies/removal-of-hydrant-pot-lids.htm

Power of placebo effect

There has been an interesting confluence of research and ideas.  Malcolm Gladwell noted in Outliers of that individuals in one close knit community lived longer than other communities because of very good support systems and not because of other traditional lifestyle changes or risk factors. 

An article by from Susan Parry of MinnPost describes the powerful effect of placebos.  Sham acupuncture works as well as actual acupuncture.  Sugar pills work as well as drugs for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.  The individuals were specifically told they were taking placebos and were told of research about the positive effect of placebos. 

60 minutes recently reported that placebos worked as well as antidepressant drugs presumably without the long list of side effects which appear to be similar to those the drug purports to cure. 

I recall reading other articles that people felt better after taking a drug and being told it was expensive.  They did not feel as well when told the drug was inexpensive.

Alternative Medicine can have serious side effects and many of the compounds have not been tested for safey or efficacy according to an article in USA Today.  

I am not a pharmacist or doctor and obviously some drugs are much more effective than placebos.  For example: over the counter pain relievers work well to reduce fevers. 

Photo - N. Carlson

Bottom line:

While conducting an ergonomic evaluation it is important to engage with the person and not treat the problems as an issue that can be solved only by proper body mechanics.  Use the power of caring to assist with improving the condition of the person.  Use the opportunity to learn about the person and do a better job of helping them.  The placebo effect is another tool to increase the odds that the intervention will be a success.

Exercise while computing

There have been many advocates of treadmill computer workstations.  The drawbacks to these stations are a large footprint, the need for a seperate workstation to sit and the cost.  In this video, I combined an electric sit stand workstation with a New Balance Mini Stepper.  This particular sit stand workstation goes much higher than the standard workstation allowing a 5 foot 9 inch person to work at the workstation at the proper posture while using a mini stepper.  Incorporating this design with a sit stand workstation should mitigate many of the health problems noted in this blog post.

Ergonomic risks of iPads and tablets

Stephen Adams from the UK telegraph reports that experts are concerned about possible repetitive strain injuries from using an ipad or tablet computer.   I've summarized the main points from the article below.

HP tablet - Photo N. Carlson

The tablet computer suffers from several problems.  If it is held in the hand for an extended period fatigue will happen because of the pinch grip.  The hand and fingers used to point and swipe can also be affected. 

Often the tablet will be placed in the lap.  Viewing the screen from this position requires the neck to be tilted down, the shoulders to roll forward and the back to come out of alignment.  The edge of the laptop will compress the force into a small area and should not be supported by a thumb.

The tablet is in a better position but the screen is still too low for optimal viewing - photo N. Carson

The tablet works best when properly aligned and using the attached keyboard assessory.  Alternatively the sessions on the tablet can be limited with frequent breaks.

The tablet computer problems are somewhat similar to the problems that occurred when laptop computers became popular.  In addition, the built in keyboard is not very efficient at typing.  Game play on the tablet will carry similar risks to users as game play on other hand held devices. 

Doctors are increasing prescribing exercise

According to Catherine Paddock of Medical News Today, doctors are perscribing more exercise as part of recommendations to patients.  A recent CDC report notes a near doubling of an exercise perscription  for those 85 and older from 2000 to 2010.   A comprehensive CDC report on exercise and health is available here.

Those with diabetes and individuals age 45-74 years old were most frequently perscribed exercise.  The information was gleaned from a survey of households by the US Census Bureau. 

The U of Minnesota will be providing a series of stretching exercise videos "Gopher Stretches" that can be done in your home or office.  They will be posted on this website during the next few months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIykv9BGYRI

Get up and talk to coworkers

BBC News reports that office workers "Forget to stand."  According to as study by Dr. Myanna Duncan from Loughborough University people sit for an average of five hours and 41 minutes per day.  This has negative consquences for weight control.  It also has health consequences as noted in a previous blog post.

Before computers and email, office workers spent more time physically interacting with their coworkers as shown in this scene from the movie Brazil. 

All Seating U chair video

This recent addition has been one of our most popular chairs at our showroom.  The chair has a synchrotilt mechanism.  The lumbar adjustment on the back is a good feature. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K22qkEyJIKg&context=C342e145ADOEgsToPDskKWa-iCD3Y95mg6TXoGsE30