If you’re reading this, you’re probably stuck at a desk job, probably typing away your time in front of the monitor, 9 to 5, five days a week. Sooner or later, the lethargy kicks in. You feel the stiffness of your neck, the dryness of your eyes and the stinging pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. Most of us have to stick it out till the end of the day.

So what do we do?

The answer is simple.

Take mini breaks and perform short 5 minute easy exercises at intervals throughout the day.

Anyway, below is a list of exercises that anyone can perform even if she’s wearing a pair of high heels or mini skirt. Choose 1 exercise for each category and exercise every 45 minutes.

Eyes

• Close your face with hand. Open your eyes and look into the darkness for 10 seconds. Now close your eyes and lower your hands. Stay at this position for 10 seconds. Repeat it all over twice.



• Focus on a word from a document for 10 seconds.



Then focus at an object into the distance for another 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Move your eye in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction, imagine moving along the edges of a big clock (12 – 1- 2), while keeping your head still all the while. Change directions after 10 rounds.

Neck

• Tilt your right ear as if to touch your right shoulder. Feel the stretch on the left side of your neck. Change sides after 10 repetitions.



• Turn your head to look right and keep it there for 10 seconds. Change directions and keep it there for 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Rotate your head in a clockwise position for 10 rounds. Now move it anticlockwise for another 10 rounds. Repeat twice.

Shoulder

• Move your shoulders up towards your ears and sink your head as far as it may go. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Hold a water bottle in your left hand, extending your left arm to the left while keeping the wrist facing up.



Push the water bottle up and slowly lower it to the original position. Repeat 10 times. Do the same for the left.



• Rotate your shoulders clockwise/anticlockwise 10 rounds. Change directions and do 10 more rounds. Repeat twice.

Arm

• Hold the water bottle in one hand.



Curl it for 10 times. Do the same for the other arm. Repeat twice.



• Hold the water bottle at the back of your head with your left hand.



Straighten your arms towards the top slowly. Do this for 10 reps and do the same for your right hand.



• Move your right forearm clockwise or anticlockwise, as if spinning a wheel, for 10 rounds. Change directions and do 10 more rounds. Do the same for the left forearm.









• Stand up, make sure there is ample space in around you and swing your arms back and forth for 10 cycles. Rest awhile. Repeat twice.

Wrist

• Put your hands straight in front of you and pull your fingers back from the top with the other hand. Hold for 10 seconds.



Now hold your fingers back from the bottom for another 10 seconds before changing hands.



• Put your hands straight out in front of you and rotate your wrists one direction for 10 rounds. Reverse your direction for another 10 rounds. Rest awhile. Repeat twice.

Fingers

• Stretch your fingers as far as they can go. Hold for 10 seconds.



Then bend them at the knuckles and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Push all fingers onto the table as hard as you can for 10 seconds. Rest and repeat again twice.



• Shake your hands vigorously in front of you, as if to get rid of a spider crawling on your hand, for 10 seconds. Rest awhile. Repeat twice.



• Put your hands straight out in front of you. Pull each finger back one by one, pausing for 2 seconds at each finger.

Back

• Interlace your fingers behind your back. Then turn your elbows gently inward, while straightening your arms. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Space out in front of you. Bend your head down to as far as you can go and try to hug your knees. Feel a mild tension at the back. Hold for 10 seconds. Slowly come back up. Repeat twice.



• Put your hands behind your lower back and push forward while bending your shoulders back to arch your spine. Hold for 10 seconds. Rest. Repeat twice.

Waist

• Sit in an upright position. Slowly lower your right hand till it touches the floor. Feel the tension at the waist. Feel it. Hold for 10 seconds. Change sides. Repeat twice.



• Hold on to the back of your chair with your left hand and turn your waist to as far right as you can go. Pull with your left hand to go further. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat the same for the other side. Do this twice.

Upper Leg

• Put water bottle in between the knees. Squeeze and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat twice.



• Lift the left leg off the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. Do the same for the right. Repeat twice.



• Extend your left leg as straight as you can. Hold for 10 seconds. Do the same for your right. Repeat twice.



• Stand up.



Slowly move your butt down, hovering just above the seat almost touching it, and then stand up again. Repeat 10 times.



• Walk up 1 floor worth of stairs. If your office is on the 31st floor, stop at the 30th floor in the mornings, after lunch, etc, and walk.



• Put your right feet on top of your left hip and push down your right knee to as far as you can go. Hold for 10 seconds. Change positions. Repeat twice.

Lower Leg

• Push up your feet from the tip of your toes and hold for 10 seconds. Rest awhile. Repeat twice.



• Try to kick your butt from the back with one leg for 10 times. Do the same for the other leg. Repeat twice.

Personally, I use an open source free software called Workrave, an excellent program that reminds me to take micro breaks and short breaks at intervals throughout the day. Download Workrave and mix up some of the exercises with the ones listed here.

Do share your suggestions and ideas in the comments below.

I have been using the PC since I was 13. There were days when I grew uncomfortable using the PC within 2 hours of using it. Do you have these kind of days? Anyways, I found out about ergonomics when I was in university. We were taught how to sit right, type right and walk right. Since then, I became more conscious about my workplace. I positioned everything to their optimum ergonomic arrangement. Well, the only problem I have now is learning how to use the mouse with my left hand. Why? So that I can reduce the usage and risk of wrist pains. Anyways, here are the 6 most ergonomically affected body parts that you and I should take care of.

Neck



Bad

• phone cradled between neck and shoulder.
• look down for extended periods without breaks.
• tense the muscles as we work.

Good

• when sitting at your desk, sit straight. This allows prevents stress and strain by distributing the body weight.
• if you work at a computer, make sure the monitor is at eye level, so you can avoid looking down for extended periods of time. Learn how you can also reduce eyestrain in 6 steps.
• if you spend a great deal of time on the phone, consider a headset or speaker phone.
• Before the headset or speaker phone arrives, try switching the phone from one hand to the other as you talk.

Shoulders



Bad

• a head that is constantly leaning to the front
• slumping shoulders

Good

• the best elbow and shoulder position while keyboarding is when they form a 90 degree angle while at the sides from the shoulders.
• it is important that the shoulders remain relaxed in a lowered position during keyboarding.
• Exercise your shoulders by raising your forearms and pointing your hands to the ceiling while focusing on squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold and repeat for 5 seconds 5 times.
• ‘wake up’ your shoulder and arms. Drop your hands to your sides then shake your relaxed hands, arms, and shoulders gently for 5 seconds 5 times.
• If you are reading this, you must have a monitor. Make sure the upper portion is at eye level because the eyes are at their most comfortable position straight ahead but slightly downward. Makes it easiest to balance your head above your shoulders with the least muscular effort.

Wrist



Bad

• moving the mouse with your wrist
• continuous mouse usage for more than 1 hour
• clicking mouse buttons with the amount of strength that can flatten a roll of toilet paper
• gripping the mouse like as if you wanna kill it for taking your cheese

Good

• move the mouse by moving your elbow instead of keeping your forearm still and using your wrist.
• limit how much you use your mouse or trackball. For me, I take a ’song break’ by listening to my favourite song of the moment for each completed article.
• use common keyboard shortcuts like ‘Ctrl+C’ to copy text and ‘Ctrl+V’ to paste text, to reduce the amount of time you spend using a mouse.
• use a mouse with a scroll wheel to reduce repetitive arm motions.
• clicking lightly help save your hands and wrists.
• let go of your mouse during short periods when you’re not using it.

Back



Bad

• back slumped forward.
• prolonged sitting in office chairs.
• lower back pain.
• fatigue.

Good

• stomach in, chest out. Don’t hunch.
• keep head erect
• make sure your lower back is supported. If the chair doesn’t give you support, consider using a small pillow between your lower back and your chair
• What I do is drink a lot of water so that I have no choice but to take walks to the toilet.

Pelvis, Hip, Knees



Bad

• when standing, the pelvis, hip and knees will move into extension to keep the body position close to the center of gravity and minimize muscle tension. Standing too long affects all 3 joints.

Good

• temporary relieve involves placing one pelvis, hip and knee into flexion, and regularly alternating legs.
• try and support body parts that move away from the body’s center of gravity with made-for-support devices like leg rests, arm rests and wrist pads.

Ankles



Bad

• overweight
• out of range body mass index. Read and calculate your current health condition.
• bent ankles

Good

• eat right.
• exercise.
• sit with both feet touching the ground as much as possible.

Eye strain is having blurred vision and irritated eyes. It is caused by looking at a screen for long periods without focusing periodically at distance objects. During my 1 year at Renesas IT department, I had to face the computer screen for long hours for I was a programmer / database admin. Sadly, my company could not afford to provide everyone the best in eye care and so being the new guy there, I was given a curved, bulky monitor to use.

Luckily for my eyes, the gents washroom had a beautiful view. It was facing the landing strip of the state’s international airport. I enjoyed the sight of planes landing and taking off during my days in the company. Thanks to that, I never experienced eyestrain before. Anyways, I did some research and came up with several pointers that we should know about eyestrain.

To reduce eyestrain :

Take a break



Try to find a place where you can get a good view of nature, flora and fauna. It maybe the smoking room overlooking the parking lot or the window at the department across that overlooks the sea. Marvel at the building architectures in front of you. Take a 5 minute walk, or lean back and close your eyes for a moment and think of palm trees, sea breeze on the skin, sunset and being fed grapes by Jessica Alba / Patrick Dempsey. Just focus on something else other than the computer screen.

Keep it moist



Blink more to keep your eyes lubricated. Use artificial eye drops if needed. I wore contact lens to office all the time and kept a small bottle of moisturizer to maintain hydration in my eyes.

Monitor



Stretch out both arms. That is the ideal length of the monitor from the eyes. If you have a tendency to bend forward to read, increase the font size.

Internet Explorer



1. Select View.
2. Point to Text Size.


Firefox



1. Select View.
2. Select Text Size.
3. Point to Increase.




If you have to hunch to read, adjust it higher. If it is not adjustable, stack hardcover books to increase the height. If you have to look higher than eye-level to read, get a new table.

Keyboard



My keyboard is directly in front of my monitor. It helps when I need to find a key fast. I know of computer tables where there is a slider made for the keyboard. It is not ergonomic friendly and it will strain your neck and eyes. Put it on top of the table, as near to the monitor as possible.

Papers



Keep reference materials as close to the monitor as possible. A document holder that holds it at eye-level with the monitor is best.

Brightness and glare



Watch out for direct glare. Direct glare involves a light source shining directly into the eyes like ceiling lights, task lights, or bright windows. Reflection from the monitor is also considered strenuous. The best is to have the glares at the east or west side of the workstation. Blinds and shades should do the trick. Adjust the contrast and brightness on the monitor to a level that’s comfortable while making sure that the letters on the screen are easy to read.

These few simple adjustments could help save your eyes. =)

Eyestrain Basics
Things you should know about eyestrain

Eyestrain And Your Computer Screen
Minimize computer-related eyestrain

The universe says that prevention is better than cure. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disorder in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist causing symptoms like tingling, pain, coldness, and sometimes weakness in parts of the hand. It is the most famous of a class of disorders called repetitive strain injuries. It happens a lot to computer users, especially the ones in the IT field. If you’ve ever experienced a tingling or numbness sensation you’ve had for months in your hand and wrist, don’t ignore it. The injury could worsen.

During 1998, an estimated three of every 10,000 workers lost time from work because of carpal tunnel syndrome. Half of these workers missed more than 10 days of work. The average lifetime cost of carpal tunnel syndrome, including medical bills and lost time from work, is estimated to be about $30,000 for each injured worker.

Below are several useful tips on carpal tunnel prevention.

Proper sitting posture at the computer



Emerging research suggests that a monitor position lower and farther away may be better. The chair and keyboard are set so that the thighs and forearms are level and that the wrists are straight and level, not bent far down or way back. If the table is too high to permit this, it may be better to put the keyboard on your lap.

Keyboard – hands posture

WRONG : Don’t strain your hands by bending it.


RIGHT : Keep it straight. You will last longer typing this way.


While you are actually typing your wrists should not rest on anything, and should not be bent up, down, or to the side. Your arms should move your hands around instead of resting your wrists and stretching to hit keys with the fingers. NOTE : palm rests give you a place to rest your hands only when pausing from typing, NOT while you are typing. When you stop typing for a while, rest your hands on your lap or at the sides instead of leaving them on the keyboard.

Mouse ergonomics



Place the pointing device close to the keyboard. Maximize the movement speed of your mouse cursor so that you move less. Learn as many shortcut keys as possible. I use Wordpress, Windows XP and Firefox shortcuts to write and publish my articles everyday. Almost all operating systems such as Windows and Apple OSX have accessibility options that reduce mouse usage.

Keep your hands and arms warm

Cold muscles & tendons are at much greater risk for overuse injuries, and many offices are over-air-conditioned.

Exercise and stretch

The Clench Spread (hold for 10 seconds / repeat 3 times)





The Push Pull (hold for 10 seconds / repeat 3 times)





The Wrist Twist (hold for 10 seconds / repeat 3 times)

Many carpal tunnel syndrome patients do regain the ability to work and regain substantial freedom from pain, although they may find that they remain vulnerable to re-injury and flare-ups. DON’T GIVE UP. Recovery may take much longer than you think you can bear. DON’T GIVE UP.

Don’t aim for lighter weights but for stronger arms!

Carpal Tunnel Fact Sheet
All the information that you need