One of the classic definitions of ergonomics is “the science of designing user interaction with equipment and workplaces to fit the user”. Whew! That wording is fairly confusing for most of us, and the alternate “human factors” isn’t all that clear either.
Just a semantic problem? Not really. Here’s why it matters: Just about every object we interact with on a daily basis has been designed to fit the human body in some way. Sometimes this has been done well, and sometimes not. Sometimes the object has been designed well, but it still doesn’t “fit” because it’s designed to fit a hypothetical “average”.
A car seat is a good example of designing for the average person.
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I don’t imagine I need to point out that texting while driving is an ergonomical no-no! Let’s take a better example, and suppose that you are a 6’2” man taking a road trip with a small framed woman of 5’2”. When you change from passenger to driver seat, some of the adjustments are obvious:
- Are your mirrors angled for full visibility?
- Can you reach the floor controls without your knee contacting the dash?
So far, so good! But here are some less obvious human factors to check, both for yourself and for your shorter, smaller driving partner:
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- Is the seat positioned so that you can reach the pedals with a “soft” knee?
- Is your seat all the way back in the car’s seat? (ie., both sides of your back contacting the seat equally)
- Are your elbows at a relaxed angle, or are they closer to 90 degrees?
- Is the back of your head in contact with the headrest? or is your head poking forward?
- Is the top of the headrest higher than your head? (This one is usually a challenge for the taller driver!)
All these are straightforward when you stop to think about them. But most of us are usually in a hurry and our minds are usually on something else! What often happens is that we end up adjusting ourselves to our environment – rather than our environment to us.
It can be useful to stop and examine our habitual patterns from time to time: we spend a lot of time in the car, at the computer, talking on the phone – all without any thought as to whether our position is truly comfortable!
The most comfortable positions are those in which our joints are in neutral. Typically this means each side of the body (right, left, front and back) is equally weighted. Let’s take the ergonomics of an office chair as an example.
- Are your feet flat on the floor?
- Are your knees directly above your ankles?
- Are your knees at a 90 degree angle (approximately) relative to your legs?
- Are your legs at a 90 degree angle (approximately) relative to your torso?
- Are your elbows relaxed and your wrists straight when you’re typing?
- Are your shoulders lined up above your hips? or are you leaning way back or forward?
- Is your head poking forward? (If your neck is sore or tight at the end of the day, the answer is yes!)
- When you look straight ahead, are your eyes looking at the top third of your monitor? (This is assuming you’re not hunched over a laptop or tablet!)
These are not minor issues – they are repetitive stress patterns that have a negative impact on your body, your life, and your happiness. This is why I ask my patients to take pictures of their workstations (phone cameras are great for this). It’s also why I’ll ask a patient to bring in their pillows.
