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New Mexico’s Legal & Financial Weekly
August 21, 2020
Vol. 10.100 No. 34
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Screen Time is Not the Problem Your Kitchen Is By Autumn Gray
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ven the medical experts say that now is no time to be overly critical of the amount of time we’re spending in front of a computer screen. Still stuck at home for the most part due to the pandemic, technology has become a lifeline to, well, some semblance of life. This is especially Prepaid copy provided by: true for older people who are at greater risk for Covid-19. Thanks to Prime Time Publishing llc. 2020 computers, we’re all able to work from home, visit family and friends through Zoom, shop online, take classes, or help a child or grandchild with remote school. The computer is in many ways helping us cope mentally and emotionally, but it may also be increasing our risk for physical injury. The potential problem with our digital compensation for “normal” activities lies in how and where we’re spending the screen they’re also experiencing some of these sorts of issues, too,” she said. time. Creating an ergonomic space, whether for work, hobbies or online visits Kevin Costello, a certified professional ergonomist and president of with grandchildren, doesn’t have to cost a lot. New York-based U.S. Ergonomics, said, “The companies we’re working with, everyone went home and took their laptops. … So now they’re “We’re trying to get people to use what they have available in the house lifting them up and working high on kitchen counters, or balancing them as much as possible - using pillows, boxes, stacks of books and things around the house to raise monitors, improve the support of a chair and on their knees with their feet up on couches or worse.” get foot support,” Costello said. The common denominator is that our bodies are scrunched, twisted, and bent for hours each day, and the unnatural positions are wreaking U.S. Ergonomics, which has specialized in product and workplace ergonomics for 30 years, has regional experts nationwide. However, havoc on our musculoskeletal systems. the company has shifted away from face-to-face visits to conducting “If it’s too high, it hurts the hands and wrists, and too low, the back and webinars and remote assessments of home work stations to avoid close shoulders… An external keyboard and mouse are essential,” Costello contact amid Covid-19 concerns. To help guide these, the company asked participants to send pictures of areas in the home where they use said. the computer. “There was a guy in a hammock, and one man was at a Playschool table with kids in his lap. … A woman was in a bathtub - with “Office ergonomics comes down to simple geometry – setting the her clothes on of course. (Bathtub work has become a fairly common body up in a balanced way to minimize stress and strain, and having tactic used to escape children during office hours). good, supportive seating,” Costello said. “The other key is movement. Changing position and stretching is also important for circulation and “So, it’s not just the setup that’s a challenge right now, but other distractions from home,” Costello said. blood flow.” To accommodate a varied, and perhaps unpredictable, home When these precautions are not taken, cumulative trauma injuries may occur. These include carpal tunnel, tendonitis in the arms and hands, environment, it may be useful to have two or three places to work that ligament and joint inflammation, and even disc or nerve compression in are adjustable, using props on hand. Get in the habit of making any necessary adjustments before sitting down, Costello advises. It’s also the neck and back. essential to take breaks, stretch and stay hydrated. “These are long-term injuries, so you may not see it in the first six months that we’ve been in this (pandemic) situation,” said Katherine Mendoza, environmental health and safety manager for the National Whether you’re suddenly working from home, are retired and spending Safety Council and senior program manager for the Campbell Institute, extra time on the computer, or if you have children or grandchildren doing more schoolwork on-screen, now is an ideal time to assess the a division of the NSC. workstation(s) in your home for you and your family members. With While it’s too early for data to have been collected on the scope of the pandemic showing no signs of abating, the school year underway injuries people are sustaining as a result of working from home, there and colder months about to limit outdoor activities, the likelihood is is anecdotal evidence it’s becoming a problem. Mendoza said her that computer use in your home will only increase. organizations are getting reports of discomfort from staff and members suddenly working from home for the first time. Many don’t have a home “I think now is when we need to take the initiative to make the changes because later is when we’ll see the repercussions of not taking action office much less an ergonomic space, she said. today,” Mendoza said. “I would certainly suspect that as other people are asked to stay home,