Ergonomically Yours

Archive for February, 2010

Chiropractic Care and Back Pain

Which is worse – neck pain or back pain?

I hear this question often in my San Diego chiropractic office.  Of course the answer is easy – if you have back pain, back pain is definitely worse than neck pain.  If you have neck pain, neck pain is definitely worse than back pain.

Another common question that I hear regarding low back pain is why sitting makes it hurt more than standing.

This is a good question, which can be answered through physics.  I remember seeing a diagram in one of my office ergonomic books that exposed the different stress levels on the spinal disks with various body positions.

The diagram had drawings of a person standing, lying down, sitting and then sitting while hunched forward with very poor posture.  The disk pressure differences with these different postures was given as follows:

Standing upright 100%
Lying down          24%
Sitting upright     140%
Sitting hunched   190%

The explanation of the much higher disk pressures while sitting is explained by examining the structural changes that occur when we change from a standing to a seated position.

Our spines are supposed to have curves when viewed from the side.  The neck should have a nice sweeping forward curve, the mid-back should carry a backward curve and the low back should have a sweeping forward curve.  When these curves are present, the weight of your body is carried evenly across several different structures of the spine.  These curves help provide stability for your spine.

Once we assume a seated position, the natural forward curve in our low backs reverses which increases the pressure on the disks and either increases back pain or causes back pain.  If we stay in that seated position but flex our bodies forward at the waist (think bad posture – slumping over your keyboard or desk) the pressure in the disks elevates causing more damage and more pain.

Limiting the time that you sit will help your back pain in most instances.  This is advice that I hand out to my San Diego chiropractic patients everyday of the week.  I hope that it helps you as well.

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Here’s To Your Health

Yours Ergonomically,

Dr. Jones

Economic Mouse Pad
San Diego Chiropractic
Pain Relief San Diego Chiropractic

(619) 280-0554

Setting up your office space correctly definitely requires some expert input. That being said, many aspects of setting up your office space are based on common sense.

We all have specific items at work that we handle more frequently than others. In my work environment for instance, I use the mouse and keyboard more than any other object on my desk. At this point I will inject a shameless plug for my Ergo Nav. Since I use my mouse most frequently, I have it perched right at the end of my chairs’ armrest. My Ergo Nav positions my mouse close enough to my body to avoid any reaching for the mouse at all. From an ergonomic standpoint, this positioning is ideal.

My keyboard is also within my immediate reach as are my writing instruments such as pens and pencils. All of the items that I have discussed so far are within my immediate reach area, which is also known as the “usual work space”.

Most people only have a handful of objects that truly belong in their “usual work space”. The actual dimensions of this space vary with the size of the worker, therefore, you have to keep the principals of good ergonomics in mind when determining the actual size of your “usual work space”. As far as placement of mice, keyboards, pens, phones etc., within your “usual work space” you have to position these items in a way that avoids or limits hunching of the shoulders, flaring out of the elbows or forward flexion of the shoulders.

The area beyond the “usual work space” is considered the “occasional work space” and should contain objects that are only occasionally used. In my circumstances, the “occasional work space” contains my cpu, monitor, printer and my phone. Most of the time I have an assistant to answer my phone and I may only make a handful of calls each day. My monitor only requires that I turn it on and off once a day – the same being the case with my printer and the computer itself. My desk space is limited so the items that I have covered are the only items in my space. Staplers, files and paper are needed infrequently enough to not deserve the chance to clutter my work area.

Here’s To Your Health

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Yours Ergonomically,
Steve Jones

Ergonomic Office Supplies

San Diego Chiropractor

(619) 280-0554