Ergonomics for Tablets and Lap Top Computers

Ergonomics for Tablets and Lap Top Computers

Today everyone is on their tablets and lap top computers. Time spent looking down at your lap top or tablet puts excessive stress on your neck and upper back. 

These ideas may help you avoid pain and injury.

• Avoid working in bed or on the couch. Purchase a laptop desk that will enable you to work more ergonomically and avoid excessive stress that can take its toll on your neck and upper back muscles. Use multiple pillows to prop yourself up to support your neck and upper back.  You can put a pillow under your knees which will take the stress off your lower back.

• It is important to avoid the discomfort of sitting at a traditional work stations that can accompany poor ergonomics.  Use a small stool or anything such as a box to put your feet up, bringing your knees higher than you hips. 

• If you have a home office and are using a lap top consider a docking station. You can then add a key board, mouse and computer monitor like a standard desktop computer. These are integrated into the laptop in a design that typically trades adjustability for compactness. Adding key board, mouse and computer monitor allows adjustability, which is a major factor in user comfort. The mouse maximizes comfort for your arm, hand and fingers, using your whole hand and arm when moving the pointing device.

• Relax your wrists, hands, fingers and arms by taking short breaks.  The keyboard should be at elbow height.

• Adjust your monitor at or slightly below eye level to position the top of the screen. The monitor allows the neck to be positioned in a less flexed position.

• Connect an external keyboard to the tablet if you have to type a lot. Limit your typing directly on the touch screen.

• When reading, use a cook book holder to prop the tablet at a comfortable position. This reduces neck pain.

If you experience neck, upper back, wrist or hand pain from the uses of tablets and lap tops computers, please give our office a call and ask for a free consultation to see if Dr. Steven Perry, Chiropractor in Tarzana can help.  Call us at (818)881-2225 and say goodbye to your pain.

We service Reseda, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Encino, Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys.  Our hours are great and we can usually get you in within 1 day.  Give our office and call to see if we can help.