Don't Get Sore At Your Computer! It's hard to imagine getting along without computers today. Many of us spend hours at the keyboard-both at home and at work-writing letters, reports, memos, keeping records, etc. With a computer, we can do most of our work sitting in one place, with little need to go to the file cabinet, the pencil sharpener, or the mailbox anymore. As a result, many people stay fixed in front of their VDT monitor for hours at a time-which is not a normal, healthy way for the body to operate. Muscles, tendons and joints put up with it...

Motion Injuries - General Safety Taking the time to think about everyday tasks and their affects on our bodies is a good way to prevent injuries. The following scenarios will demonstrate how inadequate planning leads to pain and disability, affecting on- and off-the-job activities. At the breakfast table you rush to clean everything up before going to work. You stretch awkwardly across the table to lift your infant baby out of the highchair. Half standing, you start to lift your baby, but then stop, reacting to a sharp pain in your back. Instead of using your leg muscles to lift, you used...

Repetitive Motion And Other Body Part Injuries Pay attention to pain in hands, wrists or other body parts Use the right tool for the task to avoid unnecessary stress on body parts Never use your hand to hammer or pound things into place Take frequent breaks to stretch fatigued muscles Change hand and body positions often, especially if your body is in an awkward position Maintain a healthy body Use good posture and correct technique If available, use the correct size tool for your body Seek medical help if you experience numbness or tingling of a body part ...

Preventing Repetitive Motion Injuries Computers are as common in the workplace as telephones. We use them for everything: creating letters and forms, writing reports, editing, electronic mail and surfing the Net. Computers require our hands and arms to be used more than ever. Repeating the same motion over and over again at high speeds with little rest, and applying force to muscles, joints, or tendons while in an awkward angle may be putting more stress on those body parts than is necessary and can increase the chance of developing repetitive motion injuries (RMIs). An ergonomically designed, adjustable workstation is one of the...