Ergonomics can be defined as the science of designing items that are friendly to users in terms of ease and safety for their use. Although using computers might appear safer than operating other equipment, it carries the potential for causing physical harm: The latter implies that etiquette rules should be applied.
Wrist Injuries: Continuous typing can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that is caused by pressure on the wrist nerve; which causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand arm, or shoulder.
Vision Problems: For instance, developing near blindness as a result of long close-up viewing and straining to see small or low-resolution items sometimes leads to some eye problems.
Back Pain: In a natural state, the human neck is in an extended position. Spending prolonged periods while sitting abnormally positions and staring at a computer screen may cause backache combined with additional headaches which are rather problematic for people who spend most of their days behind such screen devices as above mentioned electronic eye scanners that many employers use nowadays could more or less function
Sitting Complications: High blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and cancer are serious illnesses that may be caused by the extended computer used in a sitting position.
To mitigate these problems, various guidelines for computer workstation setup have been established:
- Place the top of the screen beneath eye level.
- Hold a straight head and neck in alingment with the torso, without slouching.
- The wrist and hand should be in line with the forearm.
Along with appropriate setup, it is also suggested to do miniature or micro-breaks. Change tasks to avoid too much repetitive motion such as typing. The new guidelines recommend that people stand at least for 2-3 minutes every half an hour and have standing desks as part of the work routine.
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