The office chair goes to school

"With our newfound obsession with design -- in our homes and offices, stores and restaurants, even our cars -- it's surprising the classroom has been so utterly ignored. Take a look around on your next school open house. What you see may shock you."

I wondered how an ergonomically engineered, modern-day office chair might enhance the classroom experience of an educator like Finlayson, who is known for his high energy and unconventional approach (he is my son's teacher). Since Toronto's Teknion was offering a trial of its sleek new Contessa chair, I asked Finlayson whether he would like to give it a whirl.

"This chair is a celebrity," he said when I visited his classroom recently. "When it arrived, word got out and all these people came up to see it. The custodian was in here studying it."

Her goal: to keep people at work

"By the job description, it sounds like Jane Hughes, RN, could be a school nurse. She administers first aid, provides education and tries to keep people from being absent."

But Hughes doesn't work with children; instead she works full time as an occupational health nurse at Assurant Employee Benefits in Kansas City, Mo.

Hughes now oversees the health and well-being of 1,300 Assurant employees in her building and 1,000 other employees who work outside the building. She shares responsibilities for employee health with exercise physiologist Amy Johnson and spends approximately 50 percent of her time in direct contact with employees.

Now she has a wide variety of other responsibilities, which include overseeing benefits that are paid for 13 weeks up to the point of short-term disability, and worker's compensation and ergonomics issues. Hughes recently met with the manager of company support services to review and revise a company ergonomics brochure. In addition, any piece of specialty equipment for an employee goes through her first.

"These can be anything from a different computer mouse to a sit-stand work station, or a keyboard for a person with multiple sclerosis or carpal tunnel syndrome," she said.

Repetitive Stress Injuries and Ergonomics in the workplace

Repetitive Stress Injuries and Ergonomics in the workplace : Health Care Articles ExpressNewsline.com- ExpressNewsline.com: "Reports of Repetitive Stress Injuries (or R.S.I.'s) have increased more than four hundred percent in the last seven years. More and more people are finding themselves victim to the recurring discomfort of nerve and musculosketal disorders. Most physicians agree, computer users are the main source of increase. It's not owning a computer that is unhealthy of course, but rather, the way in which you're using your computer.

What causes Repetitive Stress Injury?

R.S.I.'s are most commonly caused by repeated physical movements, such as working in a single position for long periods of time.

What are the symptoms of R.S.I.?

Feelings of pain, throbbing, aching, tingling, numbness, burning and stiffness are all indicators of possible Repetitive Stress Injury, even if they don't occur while you are working. The presence of symptoms does not always mean you suffer from R.S.I., but should be taken as a warning sign to visit a health professional and adjust your work atmosphere accordingly. "

Anthro Laptop Cart

"If you have been in the professional video/audio industry for any amount of time, you are probably aware of Anthro, the company responsible for some of the most functional desks and workstations around. Anthro has taken their design and retooled it for the consumer. The result is the Anthro Adjustable Laptop Cart that is perfect for those working around the house.

I have used the Anthro Fit Console Unit for years for my video editing and motion graphics work. The curved design means all of my monitors, graphics tablet, record decks, and computers are within easy reach when I am working long hours. The adjustable keyboard shelf allows me to work from a comfy chair, or when my legs need to stretch, I can work standing up."

ErgoClick Mouse: A hands-on review

Usernomics has been able to conduct a hands-on review of the ErgoClick mouse. If you have an RSI-type of problem, this is the mouse for you.

The ErgoClick is a very simple mouse that is well-designed and contoured to comfortably rest your left hand on without the need to grip. You can adjust the pressure of the clicking force with a wheel located on the side of the mouse. We selected the lightest touch and found that it was very easy to learn and use. All mouse functions are configurable but we found the default configuration quite usable.

The idea is to use your left hand for clicking while using your existing mouse in your right hand for moving the cursor. In addition, there is a button that you can hold down with your left thumb for scrolling. Equally important, the ErgoClick mouse can be rotated and oriented to accommodate individual comfort levels. Note that your existing mouse retains full functionality at all times. So you completely eliminate the need to use your right hand except for moving the cursor around the page.

From a pain management viewpoint, I can’t think of a better solution than removing the need to use your right hand for any type of pressure actions. While an hour or so is recommended for getting used to the left hand operation, we found it very easy to use right out of the box.

If you have any kind of problem with your right hand, this is the solution for you. In fact, even the left hand operation of the ErgoClick mouse is so unobtrusive that it would be beneficial for people who also have problems to their left hand.

On the lighter side

Seniors at increased risk for injuries

"As Americans live longer, it seems we are also living better, meaning, we are healthier and more likely to stay active. But it turns out there is a hidden danger in that. There is information in a new government report that could save your life."

That means alerting seniors about the most common danger zones for accidents including their bathrooms, ladders and step stools and in their kitchens.

The numbers are startling. Injuries requiring emergency room visits by seniors are up 73 percent in a decade, to 1.4 million. There were nearly 16,000 deaths from accidents at home in 2003.

New Computer Mouse Maneuverable with Nose, Tongue and Even Eyes

"A group of computer science students in Korea have developed a program where people can manipulate a mouse by moving their noses and tongues and even by blinking their eyes. The program may offer physically-disabled people easier access to computers.

The program recognizes the movements of a person's head, allowing a cursor to move to where this man's nose is pointing. People who cannot move their necks can use their tongues, while the blink of an eye activates the double click function. And just like that, Internet sites pop up on the screen.

This is made possible by a new computer program developed by a group of students at Hansei University in Korea. 'The technology works by distinguishing the characteristics of a face and tongue among the visual images picked up by a web camera.' Anyone with a cheap web cam can use the program.

That's because, the students say, many disabled people in Korea may not be able to afford it if it was too expensive. 'We wanted to let disabled people use computers more easily than by having to manipulate sticks or other tools.'"

RSI Day kicks off Ontario ergonomics campaign

Why International RSI Awareness Day? Repetitive strain injuries are a serious occupational health concern across the world. Held on the last day of February, it is the only "non-repetitive" day on the calendar (as officially RSI day is observed on February 29th).

Work shouldn't hurt, but it won't hurt to get involved — so do.

OSHA Withdraws Final Rule for National Consensus Standards

"A letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has scuttled OSHA's plan to bypass time-consuming rulemaking procedures in the agency's effort to update OSHA standards.

OSHA wants to delete references in its standards to national consensus standards that the agency believes are out of date. But the Chamber of Commerce believes employers may still be relying on these consensus standards, some of which are decades old.

Although the Chamber of Commerce stated in its letter that its concerns should not be seen as 'significant adverse comments' that would derail the expedited rulemaking process, OSHA disagreed.

The agency stated it would announce in the Feb. 18 Federal Register its plans to withdraw the proposed direct final rule that revokes references to outdated national consensus standards and industry standards."

The human factor - What is an ergonomic product?

Ergonomic hand tools, ergonomic chairs, ergonomic phones, ergonomic celery — you hear it everywhere, but what does ergonomic really mean?

There are no regulations or guidelines on what can be called an ergonomic product. In fact, any product could be called ergonomic, whether it has beneficial features or not. For a while, advertisers and marketers were calling any “new and improved" product an ergonomic product. Lately there has been a shift in strategy because the ergonomic label began to be recognized as nothing more than a marketing gimmick.

When I teach a course in ergonomics, I often have people compare an ergonomic product with its non-ergonomic counterpart. They compare ergo-whisks with non-ergo whisks, drills, needle-nosed pliers, shovels, rotary cutters and sports drink bottles. Consistently, they come up with a list of features that makes one product more desirable than the other.

USB Powered Thermal Wrist Protector

"If you spend eight hours a day slaving in front of a computer like we do, then your wrist probably sounds like a cement mixer by now. eTailer ComputerGeeks.com is selling a USB Powered Thermal Wrist protector that might just help your pain and offset that repetitive stress injury for a while. The neoprene band secures to your wrist with Velcro straps, and uses the Far Infrared Ray generated by a non-metallic Petatech wire to create soothing heat to relax the muscles, to the same effect as an electric blanket."

Worms, slugs inspire robotic devices

"Drawing on an understanding of how slugs, leeches and earthworms traverse their environments and grasp objects, a team of Case Western Reserve University biologists and engineers has developed two flexible robotic devices that could make invasive medical procedures such as colonoscopies safer for patients and easier for doctors to administer.

The researchers from Case's departments of biology, mechanical and aerospace engineering and electrical engineering and computer science have obtained a patent for a new endoscopic device and a provisional patent for a gripping device that may have industrial as well as medical uses."

Ergonomic implications ...

'Mighty mice' to fight weak bones

"US scientists have made a 'mighty mouse' whose big muscles could help find a way to prevent bones weakening.

It has 70% more muscle mass than normal mice as it lacks the myostatin gene that ensures muscles do not overgrow.

Six years ago, a German boy was born with a myostatin mutation and had muscles twice the normal size.

A Medical College of Georgia team says bones may respond to the stress placed on them by extra muscle by forming more bone - helping to fight osteoporosis."

Wal-Mart Deal Shows A Shift On Policing Workplace

"When news came out a few days ago of the Bush administration's deal giving Wal-Mart advance warning before inspecting for labor law violations, I thought of a visit to The Courant by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

It was Aug. 8, 2002, a summer when Chao was floating all sorts of ideas about ways to make her department more friendly to business."

She actually suggested that companies should receive advance warning of safety and health inspections. After all, she reasoned, most employers mean well, so why shouldn't the government help them to help workers?

We saw it when they instantly gutted ergonomics standards that had been in the works for a dozen years. We saw it with overtime rules. We saw it again last week with the Wal-Mart agreement. So when we see a cultural change in worker safety, it's worth a very skeptical look.

Office work is a pain in the neck

"Office workers risk health problems as communications technology makes them slaves to their desks.

So says research from cordless communications outfit, GN Netcom, which found that a third of workers are tied to their desks for more than seven hours a day."

Two thirds of those quizzed blamed health problems on being chained to their desk, with half claiming they suffer from stress and four in ten complaining of neck and shoulder ache.

The research also found that email now takes up almost as much time as telephone calls for the majority of the UK's office workers.

Six in ten people spend more than an hour per day on emails with a third spending up to three hours a day ploughing through their inbox.