Office Ergonomics Part 2

The Basics of the Body

Before getting into how to set up the workstation and what to do to prevent/deal with injuries, we must first understand why issues occur in the first place.

1. Neutral spine: your body has 3 basic curves. If you were to look at the spine from the side, it would look similar to an “S”. This is the ideal position and it allows for ideal length of your muscle tissues and optimal position

2. The weakness and tightness relationship: the most important and sometimes most complicated question that I have to answer with my patient’s is this…is the muscle tight because it is weak, or weak because it is tight? You may be asking yourself why I would ask this question or why it matters, so here is why. Muscles are designed to be at a certain length at rest and be strongest at a different length. If outside of those boundaries, there is dysfunction and eventually injury. But back to the original question…say your shoulder muscles are weak, your other muscles will tighten up to create the stability that is lacking. The opposite is also true. If some muscles are tight, other muscles will be weak because they are no longer needed to provide that stability. I know, complicated question. If you want more of an explanation just let me know!

3. The point: the average set up at a workstation does not encourage a neutral spine or the optimal muscle length/strength causing injury. Thus, we must find a way to maintain proper alignment of the body.

Josiah Thunshelle, PT