Ergonomics What? How Your Office Design Affects Your Health

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If you are thinking about implementing a home office space into your home, it’s important to know why you are doing it.

Designing a home office is a different process for everyone. A lot more goes into the design of it than most people think!

In fact, some people wouldn’t even consider the design of the office to be an important aspect. In reality, it’s important for both your mental and physical health.

When it comes to the design of your workspace at home, ergonomics is an important thing to consider. It’s vital to create an environment that provides a place not just of comfort, but also of productivity to keep your work life healthy and balanced.

There are a few big reasons why having a well-designed home office is key. We’ll help you prevent each one of these issues.

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

One of the most common reasons workers take sabbaticals is that they become affected by musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. MSDs are disorders that affect the tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and ligaments. 

These disorders can result from unsafe work conditions that cause physical limitations and bad work habits.

The repetition of these habits, if not fixed, can result in a much higher risk of acquiring MSDs.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel is a condition that affects your hands by putting excess stress on what’s called the “median nerve” of your wrist. When the median nerve is overworked, it limits finger and hand movement.

If your job involves extended amounts of time using a keyboard, this is a syndrome you should definitely take pre-emptive measures to avoid carpal tunnel. For the keyboard warriors, typing all day long can take a toll on your wrist and hand tendons and muscles.

Prevention

One way your home office design prevents carpal tunnel syndrome is through the equipment you purchase. Invest in modifying work equipment to help alleviate some of the stresses that cause this syndrome.

A good example of pre-emptive equipment would be an ergonomic wrist pad for both keyboards and mouses. These cushioned-pads come in various sizes and are relatively inexpensive to implement.

Ergonomic pads alleviate some of the stress on your wrists and hands by allowing you to rest your wrists on the pad rather than keeping your them suspended above the keyboard or mouse.

There are plenty of great options for ergonomic wrist and mouse pads to keep your ligaments healthy.

Tendonitis

Tendonitis is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome/ While carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by stressed nerve damage, however, tendonitis is caused by stress or high pressure on tendons.

Actions that require rigorous, heavy lifting can cause the tendons to gradually deteriorate and cause slight bone movement.

Vigorous or violent movements, unnatural motions, or poor body mechanics and techniques also lead to tendonitis. Conditions such as Achilles tendonitis and tennis elbow are common forms of tendonitis.

So, if your job requires you to perform constant, heavy lifting and physical lifting, it’s worth your while to investigate some prevention methods.

Prevention

The simplest way to prevent tendonitis is to warm-up before you perform physical activities. Warmups cause the chances of you tearing or damaging tendons to be noticeably minimized. Plus, it’s free!

If you are working in your home office or even your office building, set aside some time to stretch and warm up your muscles before taking on lengthy tasks.

This quick task can seriously reduce your chances of tendon damage.

Researching proper ergonomics and methods of prevention can reduce the number of work-related injuries and increase your employee’s productivity.

If you are in your home office, take the time to prevent these pain-inducing conditions using the techniques mentioned. Your body will thank you later.

With the right home office design, you’ll be equipped for a healthy space. Get your personalized design quote with our experts today!

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