Health and Safety

Ensure the mouse is placed as close as possible to the end of the keyboard. It should also be at the same level (height) as the keyboard to avoid reaching (which engages your shoulder muscles).

Cradling the handset between shoulder and ear is ergonomically unsound. It contracts the muscles on one side of the neck and extends those on the other side.

Maintain an imaginary straight line from the inner crook of your elbows to the top of your wrists to the top of your large knuckles. Your elbows should be at a 90 to 110 degree angle (hands may be slightly downward), with your upper arms dropping as they do naturally in an orientation perpendicular to the floor -- do not reach forward -- this may mean pulling your chair in.

When keying, ensure your elbows are near your sides, not on your armrests. If there is not room to do this, have the armrests removed, lower the armrests when keying (if they are adjustable in height), or adjust the armrests farther apart (if they adjust laterally). Your elbows should comfortably rest on your armrests when you are not keying, and your shoulders should be relaxed, not raised.

Your elbows should just graze the desktop when you are writing. The easiest way to tell if your chair is at the right height for this task is to place your chair sideways to your desk, bend your elbow at 90 degrees, relax your shoulders, and ensure your elbow just touches your desk surface.

Your neck has a natural range of motion of 15 degrees in either direction. If your monitor is to one side, please move it so that it is centered -- there should be an imaginary line from the centre of you, through the centre of the keys you are using on the computer (normally, the lettered keys, which means you centre yourself on the space bar), to the centre of the monitor.

Your line of sight should fall straight across to where you read the top line of print (not the menu bars) on your monitor screen. It is also acceptable for the top line of print to fall within 10 or 15 degrees lower than your line of sight. If you wear bifocals, your monitor will need to be a bit lower than this to prevent you from extending your neck. The whole idea is that you do not extend or flex your neck -- keep your head balanced directly atop your spinal column.

Once implemented, it may take a week or two before you notice some improvement or you may even notice improvement right away.

An excellent publication by WorkSafeBC, "Understanding the Risks of Musculoskeletal Injury (MSI)," is available online through www.worksafebc.com . The booklet contains many pointers on achieving a good ergonomic workstation set-up.