2003-02-19 9:28 p.m.
Urban Ergonomics
One of my co-workers threw out his back unplugging a machine. So, lucky us, we got to go to an ergonomics class. (One of the HR women had been prowling around with a camera earlier in the week, taking pictures of bad lifting position, so people should have been suspicious sooner.)
"This is a neutral posture," announced the instructor, who'd made a special trip in from the workers' comp insurance company to grace us with her presence and who'd just sat down in a chair in the front of the room. "Put your hands like this and feel where your sit bones are." And twenty people promptly shoved their hands under their asses.
"What you do at home can affect your back health as much as what you do at work. Such as gardening. Does anyone here garden? I know my back just aches after a day gardening. How about work around the house? Or repairing your car? Or lifting your children? All of those can hurt your back as much as anything you do at work."
Twenty childless, public-transit-riding urban apartment dwellers gazed at her, uncomprehending. A couple she had lost back at the concept of "time spent doing things other than work."
But hey, at least there were free cookies.
Later on, a coworker commented, "Now, carrying three loads of laundry up the stairs -- that's an example that would have made sense." A few others I'd use if I were teaching the class:
- Flagging down a bus. As the psychotic MUNI driver barrels past you, and you wave
frantically to try to get him to stop, be sure you turn your entire body, including
your feet; don't just pivot at the waist.
- Hoisting a beer from a standing position is ergonomically unsound.
Sit in a neutral position and lift the beer close to your chest. To be certain you're correctly
positioned, ask that hottie at the other end of the bar to come over and check your
sit bones.
- When beating your fists against the wall to tell your neighbor to stop making that
godawful racket at 2 AM, use both arms. Pounding with only one fist is unbalanced and
can put undue strain on your lower back.