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As part of my blog, I would like to pass along trial offers from our vendors who provide excellent equipment solutions.  Often, you can’t beat getting your hands on a device to evaluate its effectiveness for yourself or your ergonomics program.

So, this offer just came to my attention from Kinesis.  They make one of the most versatile and innovative keyboards I know.  It does cost more than the usual collection you find in most supply stores, but there isn’t a more adjustable and well thought out keying solution.

I will admit to defaulting to less expensive options to honor my client’s budget concerns.  However, in the long term, these high quality keyboards prove themselves a worthy investment.  Further, the Kinesis Freestyle2 not only seems to work better for almost anyone, they are my go-to option when all else fails.

If you have your own in house ergonomics program, it is well worth your while to have at least one of these around for fitting purposes.

You are also certainly welcome to visit us at our showroom here in Anchorage for a fitting and demonstration.

Here is the message from Russ Hitt, a very knowledgeable sales consultant at Kinesis:

Hope things are well today in Alaska!

I just want to remind you about the Freestyle2 keyboard Demo Program which provides a free trial sample of the Freestyle2 keyboard and accessories to your corporate clients that qualify (and also qualifying ergo consultants).

We understand a picture or description doesn’t always ensure the correct product is being recommended to an employee and, in many cases, the user really needs to try it out first.

In order to qualify there are two simple eligibility requirements:

• The organization has an active office ergonomic program

• A key person with the organization that is involved in office ergonomics participate in a short (20-25 minute) Online Training Webinar to determine which Freestyle2 keyboard item(s) would be appropriate

If this is ever of interest please either reply to me or you can have them submit this form at our website.  If I hear from anyone in Alaska I’ll be sure to let you know.

Thank you,

Russ Hitt | Kinesis Corporation

800.454.6374 x529 | kinesis-ergo.com

Having recently spoken at the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, I was reminded of some thoughts I had upon return from a trip a few years back.  They seem just as relevant today as then:

Thinking of safety, I have just returned from a trip to London.  It was astounding how potentially dangerous it is when our “programmed behaviors” are no longer appropriate for the environment.  I did not drive, but just walking was a bit harrowing as I continually needed to remind myself to look in the “wrong” direction when stepping off curbs or crossing streets.  Just walking past others in the stores or sidewalks often resulted in a dance as we both jigged to the same side.  Even all of the room light switches worked in the opposite way that was intuitive for me.

I bet that we are not even aware of the many behaviors we do on autopilot.  Much of behavioral safely is creating good habits.  Once they are in place, they tend to “just happen”, which can be good.   However, even good behaviors that we have learned to be safe, like always looking into the direction of traffic when entering a roadway can betray us when the environment changes.  Safety is not only about building good habits, but also creating a process to constantly learn/unlearn behaviors as the environment changes.

Interesting to ponder, as our work and office technology continue to evolve.

For video, click on link:  Standing Posture!

Of course, just standing is not the magic bullet to fix all seating ills.  And while changing posture regularly is good, we want to switch from one good posture to the next good posture.

So, what is good standing posture?

Well, when seated our lower backs tend toward flexion – being too flat.  When standing, we have the opposite challenge – our lower backs are too curved in extension.   That is one reason it feels so good to change from one posture to the other.  Alternating parts of our bodies are loaded and rested.

When I teach on seated posture, the goal is often making seated posture more like standing.  For standing, the goal is to create body angles closer to sitting.  True neutral is almost exactly half way in between!

How do we accomplish that?  To reduce the arch in our lower back when standing we need to find a way to tip the top of the pelvis back.  Note what happens to your pelvic tilt when you place one foot on a support about 6 inches high while standing.  As you have a slightly more closed angle between the thigh and the torso, it becomes easier to tip the pelvis back and maintain a more neutral lower back.  When the lower back is neutral and upright, it becomes easier to keep the whole spinal column neutral.

Therapists and ergonomists have been recommending using such a foot support for generations.  Just check out the foot rail at the next bar you visit…

However, this solution also has its downsides.  First, since we all have a preferred leg to raise, we tend to stand asymmetrically more on one side than the other, creating imbalances.  Further, I have often observed myself and others tending to lock the knee of the “straight” leg.  NEVER lock your knees while standing.  Locked knees are a recipe for disaster for the long term health of the knee joint.  If standing with both knees locked, the hips are also immobilized and the lower back is thrown into extension.

A better solution for standing requires more body awareness and core control.  The trick is to stand balanced with your feet fully engaged (use your toes too!) about hip width apart, knees very slightly bent so there are constant micro adjustments that keep synovial fluid and blood flowing, and then leaning to tip the pelvis back while keeping the ears, shoulders, hips and feet aligned.  One of the benefits of an “anti-fatigue mat” is that the instability created by standing on the soft surface helps make this technique easier and feel more natural.

The mats are available in a wide variety of sizes.  I recommend one that is big enough to cover the immediate area of standing, but not so large that it isn’t easy to pick up and set aside when not wanted.  I like the 16×28 standing mats by Working Concepts .  They are available localy in Anchorage at Alaska Safety.

This maneuver will require conscious control at first.  As your body re-learns how to stand, it will become “second nature”.  You may even find you feel more energized.

Special note:  what follows is the overview of the presentation I did at the 2014 Governor’s Safety and Health Conference.   Let me know that you saw this post, and I will offer a version of the class (updated for worker’s perspective, and re-named – Keyboard Warrior Survival Training) at your Anchorage facility free of charge!  This offer is time limited.

After doing office ergonomics for two decades across Alaska, we are still seeing a lot of “low hanging fruit”.  I had thought all the easy interventions would have been completed a long time ago.   But even now, in workplaces that have had robust and long term ergo programs, we are seeing simple no/low cost, easy to implement, modifications that remain undone. Some of these include:

• Training workers on how to use their current equipment, particularly how to adjust their chair and keyboard tray (and why they might want to adjust it).  I get way too many blank looks when I ask someone if they know how to adjust their chair, and exclamations of, “I didn’t know it could do that!” when I show them.
• Adjusting the pointer speed and select the “snap to” in the mouse driver to reduce required hand movement.
• Moving monitors, especially when dealing with dual (or more) monitors, for most neutral neck and torso postures (with tips on how to best work with your style of use).
• Creative standing/LIPA (low intensity physical activity) options.

While I am a big fan of alternating between sitting and standing, many solutions do not deliver as advertised.  I have crunched the info from our extensive database of evaluations to illustrate the needed range between sitting and standing – and show how most trays and monitor arms underperform.  Specifications for effective sit/stand solutions are provided.  Further, while changing posture is good, it is better to change between good postures.  There is not enough information and training on good standing postures.  There was a reason that at one time seated work was prized over standing work.  Yet, there are manifold benefits to standing.  These are unpacked and the basics of standing work covered.

Standing work is often presented as a solution to the issues raised by Metabolic Syndrome. (Standing needs a little help to qualify).  After a quick review of what Metabolic Syndrome is (causes, effects, prevention), real world issues on addressing this are explored.  We are entering a time when new creativity needs to be brought to workplace and job task design, to integrate not only good working postures but also regular mobility and more low intensity physical activity (versus sedentary or high intensity).

And where are we going in the future?  Touch screens still need to find their functional niche.  As devices for input, they are quite lacking (tactile feedback issue, visual/hand use conflict, reach-lift verses head tilt).  Each new generational shift of office work technology is coming faster than the previous one.  From typewriters, to CRT displays, to flat screens, to touch screens, to ????   There was a time when office furniture could be replaced several times within a tech generation.  But now, the furniture purchased will not only be used with the current technology, but also with the next and the one after that.  We need to stop building for just the current generation of tech (there are sadly humorous illustrations of this – typing returns and extra deep computer corners, to quickly name two), but begin to anticipate the next.

I will expand on some of the themes introduced above in my following Ergo-Tuesday posts…

Q: I am writing since I know you are an expert in the good for you back furniture field. I wanted to know if you had any suggestions for living room furniture that may be good for backs. If you could point me in the right direction I would be grateful!!! (DT, Dallas TX)

A: I don’t have any hard recommendations, but I do have some suggestions beyond the obvious need for the overall fit to be good (seat depth matching thigh length, matching lumbar support contour height and shape, shoulder contact pattern supportive but with good head posture and without inward shoulder rotation).

First, avoid seating with soft deep cushions, or cushions that easily break down over time becoming soft and saggy. There are two postural reasons: soft cushions tend to be too low and also create the “sitting in a bucket” effect. Both issues promote a “C” spine posture with extra stress on knees and hips due to the low height.

Here is where quality really counts (especially the quality that you can’t see). We bought a decent, good quality, sofa set about 15 years ago. It had wonderfully firm cushions with a good fit. However, within about 5 years the cushions softened up and now I no longer sit on it (Deb seems to do OK with extra pillows). We still like the look of it in our space, but…

I almost exclusively use my Ekornes Stressless Recliner. Ekornes seems to do a good job on the quality (I have not noticed any cushion degradation in the 10+ years I have been using it). They are available as singles or sofas, in a very wide variety of styles, shapes and sizes, so it is important to take your time and find the right fit for you. Unfortunately, the model that fits me best has been discontinued, but you can take a look at what they are doing now at: http://www.ekornes.com/us/stressless-recliners/stressless-chelsea-stressless-mayfair-stressless-kensington/mayfair#tab_stressless_sizeguide .

Note the construction style: the best ones have a layer of fairy dense foam supported by a substructure that won’t sag over time (in fact, this kind of reminds me of our office chairs).

Another approach is to find a sofa with a good seat structure which uses an assortment of free pillows that can be individually arranged to get the desired fit for the back. This provides a customizable and flexible solution, if you like the look. It also makes it very easy to turn the seat into a narrow bed by simply removing the back support pillows. But you will need to constantly rearrange the pillows to make sure your upper torso is well supported when relaxing.

When you are shopping around, I highly recommend that once you have made a tentative selection, take your favorite e-reader (or whatever you like doing for entertainment when seated in your living room) and camp out in the showroom. Pay close attention to what your body is telling you as you sit longer.

An interesting factoid: standing and walking stresses your back in the opposite way that sitting does. As a result, a bad seat will feel great … for a short while after being on your feet. Give it at least 20 minutes to hear what your body has to say, and longer than an hour might be prudent before making a larger investment in a whole set. Do this, even if they offer a free return policy (which is nice), since most of us would hesitate to send it back once it is in place.

For those who truly value function, and can live with a more office-y look in their home, a fully adjustable high back office chair can make a very effective custom fit recliner. Just this past week, I fit a client for such a chair for home use since she could not find anything in the home furnishings market that worked as well. We customized a chair and footstool that provided just the right back support and leg elevation that met her needs.
Chris Krebs
chris@ergoAK.com

PS- I would gladly weigh in on the fit if you email or text me some profile pictures of you standing and then sitting in the furniture you think is in the running (my blog readers are included in this invitation).