Safety in the Home Office

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 22, 1999 | by Karen Goldberg Goff

"The muscles in your arms and hands are small" says Jonathan Dropkin, an ergonomist at the Irving J. Selikoff Clinical Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in New York City. "They get fatigued easily but also recover quickly. Taking breaks will ease the risk of repetitive-stress injury. That is easiest to do at home, where you have total control over your work organization."

Since working at a computer can be hypnotic, users now can purchase software that will monitor how long they have been working and will prompt them to take breaks. But Hedge is not a fan of so-called ergonomic devices such as wrist rests, support braces and special mouses.

"Overreaching to an ergonomic mouse defeats any benefit of the design," he says. "Wrist rests were very popular a few years ago, but studies haven't shown any substantial benefits. Support braces during computer use don't actually help reduce the risk of injury, although there is some evidence that wearing them in bed at night can help relieve symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome."

It is more important to pay attention to the basics -- including good lighting and a desk that isn't facing the window to avoid glare -- than investing in gadgets, says Hedge. "The key is when you work at home, you need to work in a good posture," he says. "In most homes, I suspect that does not happen. But it is absolutely important. The beauty of working at home is you have control over these things."

MORE INFORMATION

Books

* Ergonomic Living: How to Create a User-Friendly Home and Office by Gordon Inkeles and Iris Schenke (Simon & Schuster, $16, 189 pp). A guide to setting up an ergonomically correct home, including the bedroom, kitchen and office.

* Home Office Design: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Organizing and Furnishing Your Work Space by Neal Zimmerman (John Wiley and Sons, $19.95, 205 pp). Ideas for home offices, including ergonomic and lighting tips from an architect.

* Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injuries: The Comprehensive Guide to Prevention, Treatment and Recovery by Tammy Crouch (North Atlantic Books, $14.95,163 pp). A primer for understanding the disease and exploring treatment options, written by a sign-language interpreter who had surgeries for carpal tunnel syndrome.

* End Your Carpal Tunnel Pain Without Surgery: A Daily Program to Prevent and Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Kate Montgomery (Rutledge Hill Press, $14.95,160 pp). With exercises to help avoid the debilitating effects of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Associations

* American Occupational Therapy Association, 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20824. Phone: (301) 652-AOTA; www.aota.org. This organization has fact sheets on ergonomics and repetitive-stress injuries, tips for stretching and avoiding pain and a screen saver featuring correct desk postures and exercises that you can download from the Website.

* American Chiropractic Association, 1701 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209. Phone: (800) 986-4636; www.amerchiro.org. This group offers pamphlets on how children and adults can maintain a healthy back and spine while sitting at a computer.