First Slide: Title page.

Second Slide:  Look around you.  See that poor person over there?  So pathetic and dreary?  Well, that could be you!  “Yeah right!” you scoff.  “How could I ever end up looking so miserable and disgusting?”  Easily, my friend, easily.  You see, that person over there NEVER followed the rules of ergonomics throughout their life.  Ergonomics is the discipline that involves arranging the environment to fit the person in it.  This particular branch of ergonomics deals with the ways you should sit and work at your computer.  It is clear that when this person was much younger, they did NOT follow these rules for not only are they in pain and discomfort, they are handicapped from doing many things, including using a computer!  Let’s get a look at someone who DID follow these rules, shall we?  

Third Slide: Ahh, here we are.  Notice a big difference, right? This cheerful and joyous person was wise and followed the rules of ergonomics back in the days when they continuously worked on a computer.  Unlike our first subject, even in their old age they are able to work on a computer and they are not in any pain! But just what do you have to do to be following proper ergonomically rules for working at your computer?  Let’s go back in time to when both of our two specimens worked at Wendall’s Computer Shop.  There we can see what they did differently and hopefully we will be able to deduct just what is needed to follow proper ergonomics!

Fourth Slide: Wendall's Computer Shop.

Fifth Slide:  See this person right here?  Believe it or not, this person, happy and young, is the same person that you saw first, the person who didn’t follow proper ergonomically rules.  Let’s get a closer look.  First, notice the way that this person is sitting.  They are all hunched over and their shoulders are far from relaxed.  Their elbows are completely splayed out to their sides and not parallel to their wrists and hands.  Their chair is hard, unadjustable, and very unsupported.  Notice how their feet are uplifted and not flat on the floor.  The keyboard is crooked and the mouse not only doesn’t have a mouse pad, it is very far away.  The top of the monitor is very low and close to their face.  Perhaps worst of all, the wrist is tilted dramatically upwards.  Obviously, some or all of these things are breaking the rules of ergonomics.  We’ll take a visit to the desk of our second person and then we will be able to compare the two ways to sit.

Sixth Slide:  This person looks much more comfortable, don’t you think?  First, as you can see, they are sitting straight up, great posture, with very relaxed shoulders.  The elbows are tucked neatly to the sides allowing the forearms and wrists to be parallel to the floor.  The chair, adjustable and very supportive, even has armrests!  Clearly, this person decided to go to the extra effort to ensure themselves a brighter future.  Also, their feet are completely flat on the floor.  The keyboard is perfectly centered and the mouse, complete with mouse pad, is not hard to reach.  The monitor is the perfect height and not too close to their face.  Also, notice how their wrists are not tilted, they instead make a straight line with the forearms!  Clearly, the positioning of these two people is dramatically different.  Let’s review, now that we’ve compared, what you need to do to be sitting ergonomically correct. 

Seventh Slide:  All right.  First important thing, you should always make sure to be sitting with good posture, not slouched or hunched over, when working a computer.  Your elbows should be tucked in towards your sides and not waving about every-which-way. Also, your chair should be able to support you, especially in the lower back.  Though armrests make it easier to prevent yourself from tilting your wrists, they are not mandatory.  The keyboard should be completely centered, you don’t want to have to be tilting your arms and wrists to the sides more than is absolutely necessary.  Also, your mouse should certainly not be hard to reach.  You must make sure that your feet are always planted firmly on the floor, don’t have them partially touching the ground or not touching at all. The monitor should be located so it is 18-24 inches from your face and the top of it should be right about eye level.  Most importantly, the wrists should be in a straight line with the forearms.  Having tilted wrists is like asking to get CTS, also known as carpal tunnel syndrome.  What exactly is carpal tunnel syndrome and what else can happen to you if you don’t follow these rules of ergonomics?  Let me explain.  First let’s start with how carpal tunnel syndrome is caused.  Basically, if you keep your wrists in a unhealthy position, like when they’re tilted up on a computer keyboard, for long periods of time, carpal tunnel syndrome will affect you.  It’s because of pressure on the median nerve and tendons in the carpal tunnel of your wrist.  If they are pinched, the result is pain.  This diagram will show you a little more about where exactly these things are located.  

Eighth Slide:  CTS is very painful and if you have very severe case or if you don’t have it treated correctly, you may find yourself unable to do things like type on a computer...EVER AGAIN!  Luckily though, there are ways to treat it.  The simple way is by, when you start feeling the pain, immobilizing the wrist with a splint.  You can have inflammatory drugs, prescribed by your doctor, to reduce swelling.  If there is an extreme case, a person can be operated on.  This is all a lot of trouble to go through to mend an easily-avoided injury.  Besides just watching the positioning of you wrist, there are other things you can do to prevent CTS.  One way is by making sure that when you are typing you try to hit the keys softly, not pound them.  The pressure of pounding keys is not good for your wrists.  Also, taking frequent breaks will prevent too much pressure from building up and it will give your poor wrists a break.  Finally, keeping your hands warm will lower your chances of getting CTS.  
    Well, it’s time to go but I hope that you are better educated about ergonomics now that you have seen this slide show.  I also hope that you always remember how important ergonomics is and I hope that you always follow the rules.  Doing this will help to ensure you a happy, pain-free future!