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Are you one of the millions of people worldwide who use iPads, tablets or reading devices such as the Kindle?  If so, you may be or soon will be suffering from a multitude of musculoskeletal pains and strains.  The use of these devices has exploded over the 12-18 months.  It’s commonplace for me to see them used whenever I’m in coffee shops as well as when I’m visiting business clients.  Initially they were used for personal entertainment and convenience compared to a laptop but now businesses large and small are adopting them.  They haven’t replaced the desktop or laptop computer but they

It is becoming more and more apparent that shift work has a negative effect on workers’ performance, injury level, sleep quality and quantity and overall health.  In recent blogs I’ve shared studies and articles that showed the increased work-related injuries in shift work employees, and the negative effects caused by worker fatigue in general.  Another study, Job Stress and Work Schedules in Relation to Obesity was recently released in the Journal of Nursing Admi

Snow has been pretty scarce where I live in MN this winter so I haven’t had much opportunity to push and shovel snow.  We finally got some snow this morning—a little over an inch (I’m a snow lover so yes, I’m excited for even an inch or two of snow!).  I went out to clear the driveway with the shovel with my straight handled snow shovel.  One would think that as an ergonomist I must use the “ergonomic” handled ones, right?  Wrong.  I love my straight handled snow shovel.  [I put “ergonomic” in quotes because there are no standards for companies to use the term on their products.  I often fi

In my previous blog I discussed the indisputable fact that working extended hours causes worker fatigue and lowers performance.  This was regardless of the time of day that was worked.  Another aspect to consider is the effect of shift work on worker performance.  I will define shift work as either the night shift or rotation shifts working normal amount of work hours (8-10 hours/shift).  A recent study of Canadian workers shows some interesting results in regards to work injuries.  The study covered a 10 year period, 1996-2006, and examined the injury rates of workers differentiated by the

In an article I wrote last year, “To Stretch or Not To Stretch”, I concluded that stretching programs for the purpose of reducing injuries were not shown to be or not be effective.  As such, businesses should closely evaluate the costs of devoting time and resources to stretching programs compared to the supposed benefits.  I’d like to follow up that article with research done by Hess and Hecker on Workplace Stretching Programs:  The Rest of the Story.  In their research