Recently I have been involved with the assessment and review process of a number of workplaces looking to implement sit-to-stand desks and I thought I would make the information that I found on the internet more visible to workers and their employers regarding the evidence behind prolonged sitting postures and the benefits from increasing general activity in the workplace.

Vichealth and Comcare have published a number of documents that discuss the health risks associated with workers spending more time sitting at work at being sedentary compared to those benefits that can be gained by creating a workplace that encourages more activity and less sitting.  Comcare have recently published the documents  “Stand up Comcare – Promoting health by tackling sitting as a risk factor for chronic disease” and “Benefits of movement – Be Upstanding!”.  In these documents they report that there is considerable evidence that shows that prolonged sitting increases your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and death.

They also report that the benefits of sitting less and moving more include:

• Reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
• Improved weight management
• Reduced risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders

Looking At Changing Workplace Culture

The role of changing workplace culture comes is the responsibility of both the company and the worker and from my personal experience of having consulted in occupational health and safety for many companies, this strategy needs to be a top down approach that is filtered through the entire company.  Simply putting up some posters outlining the risk of sitting for prolonged periods is not good enough in my eyes.  Companies need to get fully on board with making change and look at creative and innovative ways that encourage workers to increase general activity and reduce sitting times.

Comcare have suggested that companies can help promote increased activity levels and less sitting in the following ways:

• Promoting movement in the workplace through their policies and procedures.
• Raise the awareness of the risks of sitting with employees.
• Ensure a standing-friendly culture that is promoted and supported by all staff members.
• Encourage standing and walking meetings between individual and small groups.
• Review workers job tasks and workplace design to reduce job tasks that require sitting.
• Provide sit-to-stand workstations for workers to use.

Workers can also take an active role in reducing times spent sitting by:

• Walking over to talk to colleagues rather than use emails or phoning them.
• Using bins or printers that are located within a different area of the office.
• Drink more water so that the worker is required to walk over to the cooler and use the bathroom more often.
• Get outside for fresh air.
• Use the stairs instead of the lift.
• Use an active way of commuting to and from work.
• Get away from the desk at lunch time.

A trial conducted by Vichealth in 2010 of 10 staff members using a sit to stand workstation showed largely positive feedback.  Staff used the standing position when completing short tasks e.g. reading and responding to emails, web browsing and then resumed the sitting position for longer work.  All workers reduce their sitting time and some of the physical changes noticed by the participants included:  few back problems, more energy, quicker muscle recovery from regular activity.  Mental health changes noted by workers included feeling more alert during the day and worker also reported an improvement in productivity.

References:

Vichealth – Sitting Less Factsheet

Vichealth – Avoiding Prolonged Sitting Report

Comcare – Be Upstanding! Factsheet

Comcare – Stand Up Factsheet

Find out more about Principle Four Osteopathy & Corporate Work Health Australia

Osteopath Heath Williams is director of Principle Four Osteopathy and Corporate Work Health Australia.

Principle Four Osteopathy is one of Melbourne City CBD 3000 leading Osteopathy clinics.  Located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place (near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  Services provided include:  Osteopathy, Functional Movement Screening, Exercise Prescription and Rehabilitation.  The clinic is open Monday – Friday and appointments can be made by calling 03 9670 9290 or booking online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com.

Corporate Work Health Australia Pty Ltd is a national based company that provides corporate work health services such as ergonomic risk assessments, manual handling risk assessments and training, corporate wellness seminars and pre employment assessments.  All of our trainers and assessors are registered Osteopaths or Physiotherapists.  We provide services in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin. To find out more about our services, please go to www.corporateworkhealth.com.

Osteopaths Heath Williams and Abbas Din are available at Principle Four Osteopathy.  To read more about the Osteopaths at Principle Four Osteopathy, please click here.

Book An Appointment

Book an appointment online below or simply call 03 9670 9290.

Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000.

www.principlefourosteopathy.com

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1006/A_Twelve_Week_Power_Clean_Progression.aspx

This webpage is a great resource for anyone interested in exercise programming and strength & conditioning.

Osteopath Heath Williams is director of Principle Four Osteopathy, one of Melbourne City CBD 3000 leading Osteopathy clinics.  The osteopathy clinic is located at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne city cbd 3000 (near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  Check us out online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com.  Appointments can be made online or by calling 03 9670 9290.

Assessing The Lighting Within The Office Space

When it comes to assessing the lighting within the working space, it is important to review the following:

• External Light
• Internal Light
• Glare
• Poorly distributed Light
• Flicker and Contrast on the Monitor

Source: www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/lighting_survey.html‎

The amount of light required for the worker will vary depending on their job and tasks performed.  Workers who are required to spend a great deal of time working at computers with detail will obviously require more light than someone who is working in a public outdoor space.  In the below section I will take a look at reviewing the light within an office based setting.

External light – Depending on where the desk is situated with regards to the window, it is important to ensure that glare is avoided where possible.  This can mean glare onto the screen or off the desk.  In many situations this can be avoided by offices implementing blinds in the office area.  In situations where this is not possible, a screen filter may be required to reduce glare.

Internal light – Depending on where the desk is located to an overhead light, excessive light can cause glare and eye strain and a lack of lighting can cause the worker to also develop eye strain and fatigue.  These workers are also likely to find themselves moving towards the screen as the day progresses due to having to focus harder, therefore possibly leading to neck, shoulder and back tension.

Reflected Light – It is important to ensure that light reflected off walls, desks and equipment does not hit the worker directly in the eye.  Reflected light in the wrong area can result in an increased risk of injury and impact on work performance.

Contrast – Is the relationship between the brightness of the object and its background.  It is important to have the right degree of contrast within an office ergonomic set up or there may be an increased risk of injury and reduced work performance.

Flicker – It is important to ensure the computer is working correctly and there is no flicker.  A flicker can be distracting and also increase the workers risk of developing an injury.

It is suggested that the illuminance level of 500 – 1000 Lux can be seen as stress free within an office environment.  A more complex working environment may require a level of 750 – 1000 Lux (www.lightingdeluxe.com/workplace-lighting-ergonomics.html‎)

Reviewing Temperature & Humidity In The Office

The occupational health and safety act 2004 states an employer should provide as far as practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.  The compliance code for workplace amenities and environment goes into a little more detail and states that

In regards to humidity, if it is too high it will cause discomfort and if it is too low, it can cause respiratory issues.  Generally it is acceptable to have humidity levels between 40-60% (but kept within 30-70% in most cases) (www.ohsrep.org.au/faqs/workplace-and-amenities/offices…/index.cfm).

Measuring Illumination, Temperature & Humidity

There are a variety of hand held tools that can be used to measure the illumination, temperature and humidity within an office space.  For more information on such devices, please check out Instrument Choice in Australia.

Ergonomic Assessments & Measuring Of Illumination, Temperature & Humidity

Osteopath Heath Williams is the director of Principle Four Osteopathy and Corporate Work Health Australia.

Corporate Work Health Australia Pty Ltd is a nationwide company that provides the following services:

We provide services in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

Services include:  Ergonomic Risk Assessments, Manual Handling Risk Assessments & Training, Corporate Seminars, Pre-Employment Screening & Much More.  To find out more about our services, please go to www.corporateworkhealth.com.

Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne city cbd 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne city cbd 3000 (near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  Appointments can be made by calling 03 9670 9290 or booking online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com

For those of you who are too impatient to wait and find out about the Slingshot please click on the link here to read more.  I have also posted a YouTube video below that demonstrates it in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE2aSmCFCjg

Before I started training at Elite Sports Performance I had never seen and heard of the slingshot before.  Typically Saturdays at Elite Sports Performance is Max Upper Body Day and whilst I generally only join the lighter lifting brigade, I have seen it used in conjunction with a number of other training approaches that have helped those individuals increase their bench press max.  As a result of this, I purchased the Slingshot and have recently started training with it.

Taking A Look At The Slingshot

The slingshot is one large elastic strap that allows the individual to place their arms through each hole and forces the individuals arms closer to one another.  See the image below that I sourced from the internet.

How Does The Slingshot Work?

The slingshot requires the user to place their arms through the arm holes and due to the elastic nature of the strap, it naturally pulls your arms together.  My take on the slingshot and how it works is that encourages the lifter to keep their elbows closer together through the lift.  The other big factor that I felt it helped greatly on was the slight assistance it gave you as you moved the bar towards to bottom range of the lift (at chest level) and initiating the bar movement away from your chest.  It gave me a sense of stability and control and also aided in the movement of the bar away from the chest.  I have literally just finished a chest session now where I have previously required spotting for a 1 rep max of 115kg and I have just performed a 1 rep lift of 125kg without any spotting.  Now some might say I am being stupid for not having a spotter whilst lifting at my work gym, but the slingshot gave me the confidence the ability to lift this.  Now I suspect that I was going to try and up my weight limits towards 130kg plus or perform repeated efforts, I would definitely need a spotter.  I am very much looking forward to adding this accessory into my training program to vary up my current training approach.  I will post a further update on my development 6-8 weeks from now when I have given it a good go and see if it helps with my raw bench 1RM.

Getting Your Slingshot In Australia

For those wanting to find out where to purchase the Slingshot here in Australia.  I bought mine from Underground Elite.

There are currently 2 options with regards to the slingshot.  When purchasing the Slingshot, the guys at Underground Elite summed up the differences between the two as being that the traditional slingshot will allow you to bench 15-25kg more than what you normally can and the reactive slingshot will allow you to bench 10-15kg heavier.

Looking At Other Approaches To Increasing Your Bench

I thought I would put together a few paragraphs on my studies, observations and practices with regards to building a bigger bench.  For many years I have trained chest with the aim of hypertrophy and it has only been recently that have focused on varying up my training routine by training Speed, Power and implementing other accessories.  My traditional chest workouts prior to training at Elite Sports Performance was made up mostly of barbell and dumbbell bench work (flat, decline and incline) and db and cable fly work.  Since starting out at ESP I have since trialled and added in the following exercises.

Board Pressing

This involves using a board (width can vary) or foam to place on your chest to lower the bar to during the bench pressing.  Depending on where your sticking point is in the bench press i.e. just say it is at the lowest point of the lift (bar on chest), then a board can be used so that you can work a weight in those ranges away from the sticking point.  This can also be applied to workouts where you are working towards fatigue or failure on the last set, whereby you can start with a board that is perhaps one board thick, moving to 2 boards and then 3 boards (as demonstrated in this image below) to work to failure.

This image was sourced from fitness.stackexchange.com

Rack Pressing

Rack pressing allows the individual to set the rack bars at a point somewhere between lockout and chest position to allow working out within a set range.  This type of training can be useful for getting used to handling heavier loads with the security of knowing the rack is there.

This image was soured from www.muscleandfitness.com

Floor Pressing

Floor pressing with a barbell or dumbbell involves the individual lifting the weight from lockout to the point at which their elbows hit the floor.

Training With Chains Or Bands

Chains and bands can be used for barbell pressing in a number of ways.  As demonstrated in this image below.  The individual will be required to push a heavier weight as the bar moves away from them (less chain on the ground).  Compared to the position where the bar is on the chest and more chain is on the ground.  The same principle can be applied by placing the bands around the bar and attaching them to a point below the bench.  The opposite strategy can be applied by attaching bands above the lifter and then attaching them to the bar.  This means that the lifter will gain more assistance from the bands as they lower the bar.  This is another way to train the individual to get used to heavier loads towards the lockout phase of the lift.

This image was sourced from www.crossfitbreakthrough.com

Incline Or Decline Pressing

The incline and decline pressing movements allow the individual to work different aspects of their chest and can also create variety within a workout.

Varying The Grip Position, Bar Thickness & Bars

Hand position on the bar will vary the amount of work performed by the chest and triceps.  A closer grip bar hold will result in greater training of the triceps.  Wider grips will result in more chest work.  By changing up bars that have different hand holds (neutral grip) or bar thickness (accessories like the Fat Gripz can be used if you don’t have different size bars) to allow the individual to vary their chest training.

Don’t Forget To Work Your…

Triceps
Building bigger triceps will help with your bench press as it is not possible to bench press without the triceps.  If you hit a plateau in your chest training and have tried varying up the routine in many ways, then look at building those other muscles around the chest that are involved.  Close grip bench press, dips, skull crushers, tricep push downs are just a few different exercises that can be incorporated into the program.

Back
Most people I see in the gym often work their chest, biceps and abdominals more than any other muscle in the body.  Its funny how all of these muscles are the first ones you see when you look in the mirror and the ones that everyone wishes they had when strolling along the beach with their top off.  A big strong back is imperative if you want to build your chest strength.  When we take a look at the powerlifting style of chest pressing (shoulders squeezed down and back to create a big strong stable base), without a strong stable base, we are performing an inferior chest press.  Building a bigger back means working on the lats, rhomboids, traps and rotator cuff muscles.   I personally like to work at a 2:1 ratio of back to chest exercises and sets.  Back exercises can include:  Chins, Lat Pull Down (check out the Maximum Advantage Grip bars if you want to try something different), Seated Rows, Pullovers and Cable Row to chest or head.  Be sure to change up your grips (pronated, neutral and supinated) so that you work the back in all possible ways.  Bar sizes can also be varied to strengthen ones grip.  If you don’t have a range of different sized bars, be sure to check out the Fat Gripz atwww.ironedge.com.au

Some interesting articles to read from Westside Barbell and Strength & Conditioning Coach Charles Poliquin
http://www.westside-barbell.com/articles/bench-workouts/
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/707/Build_Up_a_Bigger_Stronger_Back_and_Chest.aspx
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/670/Best_Exercises__and_Tips_for_Building_Large_and_St.aspx

 
Osteopath Heath Williams is owner and director of Principle Four Osteopathy.  He has undertaken further education in Strength & Conditioning and has a special interest in exercise prescription & rehabilitation.  Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000 (near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  We offer the following services at the clinic:  Osteopathy consultations, Functional Movement Screening, Exercise Prescription & Rehabilitation Consultations & Workplace Occupational Risk Assessments & Training.
Book online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com or call 03 9670 9290.

The term “Corrective Exercise” has become one of those popular buzz words in the health and fitness industry of late, just like “Core” was 5 years ago.  Some health and fitness professionals will use the term corrective exercise in relation to correcting ones movement patterns, dysfunctions or more specifically related to an individuals injury status or ongoing recurring history with injuries.  These days we are seeing a combination of professionals (personal trainers, osteopaths, exercise physiologists, strength & conditioning coaches, strength & conditioning coaches, physiotherapists and chiropractors) prescribing so called “corrective exercises”.  So what is a corrective exercise?  When we break the two words down into their specific definitions, corrective can mean “tending or intended to correct” (sourced: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/corrective), exercise can be defined as “Activity that requires physical or mental exertion, especially when performed to develop or maintain fitness” (sourced: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/exercise).  I am sure that if I was practicing as an Osteopath 20  or 30 years ago, exercise prescribed that were related to ones injury or musculoskeletal dysfunction or complaint were probably just called exercise or rehabilitation exercises.

The What, Why and How

When it comes to prescribing an exercise that we have defined as corrective exercise, we need to firstly ask the What, Why, How?

1.  What is it we are trying to correct?

2.  Why are we trying to correct this?

3.  How are we going to correct this?

If we cannot answer those three questions, then I don’t think we as health and fitness professionals should be trying to prescribe corrective exercise.  As an Osteopath (and I assume this also includes Physiotherapists, Chiropractors and Exercise Physiologists who are working with similar clients), generally our clients are those who are currently in pain, have been in pain and have had some form of musculoskeletal injury and they are wanting us as professionals to help rid them of this pain or prevent further injury.  Part of our role should include prescribing the appropriate exercise to help correct any relevant dysfunctions are part of the clients presenting complaint.

A common example of this could be a client who injures their back and develops:

1.  Acute back pain that resolves within 0-2 weeks

2.  A fear avoidance of spinal flexion.

3.  A change in movement patterns that results in abnormal movement patterns developing from the initial injury and fear avoidance behaviour.

4.  Compensating movement patterns and behaviours resulting in some muscles overworking and others becoming inhibited.

5.  Some joints stiffening up whilst others over work.

6.  Resulting soft tissues and joints overworking and becoming part of the problem and presenting to the client as pain, stiffness, weakness and further dysfunction.

Our role as an Allied Health Professional (Osteopath, Physiotherapist and Chiropractor)  is to help the client return to normal everyday activity and general well being without any pain or underlying dysfunctions.  Easier said than done I must say.  So what and how does this relate to corrective exercise?  Well, following a detailed case history, assessment and treatment, hopefully the Osteopath, Physiotherapist, Chiropractor or Exercise Physiologist has been able to determine what, why and how these dysfunction developed and prescribe the appropriate soft tissue/myofascial release technique, stretch, strengthening and movement to correct these.  Like any form of exercise, it takes time to see results.  Often in the first 2-6 weeks the individual will see changes as a result of improved neuromuscular control and improved grooving of movement patterns and reduction in areas of stiffness or soft tissue or joint restriction.   Strength gains will start to be seen more clearly from weeks 6-12 if the program has been designed correctly and implemented with consistency.  Like any program, there needs to be the right amount of progressive overload to stress the body create change.  Rest is also a big part of this so to avoid over training.

What About General Activity & Exercise?

I have seen many clients who present to the clinic with various musculoskeletal complaints also find that their injury improves and recurrence of injury reduces when general activity levels increase.  This could simply mean adding some general activity to help improve cardiovascular fitness (walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, cross-trainer, rowing) and some form of stretching and strengthening program such as pilates, yoga or resistance training.  There are many clients who’s complaints improve greatly through regularly undertaking exercise 3-4 times per week.  The challenging thing for the client is knowing whether or not their injury or complaint will improve with general exercise or whether they require more specific assessment and prescription of specific exercises.  My advice to those clients is to go and see your Allied Health Professional (osteopath, physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or chiropractor) and have a consultation to find this out.

Osteopath Heath Williams is the owner and director of Principle Four Osteopathy, one of Melbourne City CBD 3000 leading Osteopathic clinics. At Principle Four Osteopathy we offer a number of different services, ranging from Osteopathy consultations, Functional Movement Screening consultations and Exercise Prescription & Rehabilitation consultations.  If you would like to find out more about these consultations, then please check out www.principlefourosteopathy.com.

The Osteopathy clinic is located at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000 (just near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  The clinic is open Monday – Friday and there are 2 Osteopaths available for appointments.  To find out more about the clinic, please go to www.principlefourosteopathy.com.  Appointments can be made by calling 03 9670 9290 or booking online at www.principlefourosteopathy.com

I have included a couple of images sourced from the internet as to the many different varieties of instruments.

The tools allow the user to address tightness in the soft tissues and fascia of almost any muscle within the body.  The FAKTR concepts as taught by Tom Hyde are more than just using the tools to scrape soft tissues.  The idea being that it can be applied in many different methods, such as long strokes, short strokes, friction rubs over a static soft tissue.  It can also be applied whilst the client is moving the muscle or performing a active resisted movement or a functional movement pattern.

Some of the musculoskeletal conditions that Instrument Assisted Massage can be applied to are:

• Plantarfasciitis
• Achilles Tendinitis
• Patellar Tendinitis
• Shin splints
• Soft tissue tightness to calfs, quadriceps, ITB, hamstrings, glutes, back, neck and shoulder muscles, forearm muscles
• Golfers and Tennis Elbow
• Back & Neck Pain

To find out more about whether you might benefit from trialling Tool Assisted Massage as taught by FAKTR for your injury, please contact us on 03 9670 9290 to speak to an Osteopath.  Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 @ 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD (just near the corner of Little Bourke & Elizabeth St).  To book an appointment, please call 03 9670 9290 or book online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com.

Click the link below to read the article

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/fashion/gyms-move-from-machines-to-fitness-playgrounds.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

Osteopath Heath Williams is owner and director of Principle Four Osteopathy and Corporate Work Health Australia. The osteopathic clinic is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000.  To book an appointment, please book online at www.principlefourosteopathy.com or call 03 9670 9290.

The 24 Hour Work Day – Is This Really A Healthy Way Forward

The creation of the smart phone and ipad and android tablet has meant that workers no longer just work 9-5.  Workers are now literally switched on 24 hours a day and given that majority of workers have one or multiple electronic devices, workers know that their colleagues or business partners are accessible and therefore expect an immediate response almost at any time of the day or night.  The issues with this is that workers find it increasingly more difficult to switch off and have down time.  People are now becoming slaves to their mobile devices and finding that they are literally having a mental breakdown if they realise they have gone out somewhere and have forgot to take their phone.  Surely this cannot be healthy long term.

Getting Active In The Workplace & Improving Workplace Culture

Companies are now becoming much more aware of the workers health and wellbeing and this is demonstrated by many companies now offering subsidies for gym memberships, fresh fruit in the office, comfortable rest areas in the office and many other “worker” driven special considerations.  Now for those conspiracy theorists out there, you would no double say that companies only offer this stuff so that workers will be more inclined to stay at work and therefore work longer and harder.  Whilst I somewhat agree with this idea, I also support any change in the workplace that encourages more healthy living through exercise, stress management and eating well.  Some of the great ideas that I have seen implemented in companies that I have consulted for have provided:

• Stress management seminars.
• Nutritional seminars.
• Sit Safe Ergonomic seminars.
• Exercise classes such as outdoor personal training, yoga and pilates during lunch time and before and after work.
• Specially designed and dedicated rest areas in the workplace.
• Walking meetings that encourage workers to get outside and get fresh air whilst they work.

The Hotdesk Office Environment – Is This Good Or Bad For The Worker?

The hotdesk is where workers do not have a specific designated working space and instead must be flexible from day to day with regards to where they work.  The benefit to the company is that many companies often have many more desks than actual workers and this means higher business costs due to greater business costs such as rent, office lighting and heating etc etc.  So what about the benefits for the worker?  Well the hot desk environment may well result in a change to how work is performed in the office.  More and more workers may well be given the opportunity to have flexible working hours and the option to work from home.  The big issue that I see as an Osteopath and Occupational Health & Safety Consultant is the lack of education and understanding of what needs to be done to set up a good working ergonomic environment.  Most workers will probably just sit at the hot desk without adjusting the chair and equipment on the desk to suit their needs.  This includes the chair, monitor position, keyboard and mouse.  This may result in an increased risk of developing musculoskeletal strains and sprains due to a poor work ergonomic set up.   It is my belief that all hot desks should have footrests, monitor holders and wrist supports to allow the worker to set up their desk to suit their needs.  The need for worker education regarding good ergonomics is a must for any workplace thinking of changing to a “hot desk” environment.

The Issues With Working From Home

More and more employees are being given the opportunity to work from home or combine both office and working from home.  The benefit of this is that workers avoid having to commute to and from work.  The negative is that many workers are often found to be working from a laptop at the kitchen table.  I have seen many companies encourage work from home, yet fail to provide the necessary equipment to ensure this is completed in a safe and ergonomic way.  Many companies also fail to realise their responsibilities with regards to home health and safety.  For those of you are contracted to work from home, be sure to chat to your HR or OHS rep about organising a home ergonomic assessment.

The Issues With Travelling And Work

Many workers are required to travel and continue their normal work duties.  For the vast majority of these workers, they are given a laptop and carry bag and told to get on with it.  The issue with this is that it is very difficult to actually create a sound ergonomic work set up if required to work from just a laptop.  It is especially important to offer workers the ability to adjust their travelling work set up if they are required to perform more than 1-2 hours of laptop work a day.  So how can this be done?  Simply investing in a laptop riser, separate keyboard and mouse, the worker is able to get themselves into a more healthy seated work posture.  I have attached some images sourced from the internet below that represent this.

Check out your laptop options by clicking on the link below.

http://www.ergonomicoffice.com.au/catalogue_view.asp?catID=25&prodID=391&nav=notebookergonomics

A Quick Look At The Sitting & Standing Workspace

More and more companies are getting on board the height adjustable desk.  The  height adjustable desk (either crank or electronic) allows the worker to adjust the desk environment to allow them to work in a seated or standing posture.

The great thing about this is that workers can vary this within a couple of minutes and this allows the worker yet another way to vary their posture so to avoid static prolonged sitting or standing postures for long periods of time.  The image below is one that I have sourced off the internet that demonstrates these two work set ups.

Osteopath Heath Williams is owner and director of Principle Four Osteopathy and Corporate Work Health Australia Pty Ltd.  Services include: Osteopathy consultations, Ergonomic & Manual Handling Training and Assessments, Functional Movement Screening and Exercise Prescription.  The osteopathy clinic is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000.  To find out more about Principle Four Osteopathy or Corporate Work Health Australia, please contact us at 03 9670 9290.  Appointments can be made by booking online @ www.principlefourosteopathy.com.