Time to shelve that standing desk.<\/p>\n
New research<\/a> suggests ergonomic upgrades for the office<\/a> \u2014 from specialized chairs, desks and keyboards \u2014 do little to actually help workers with repetitive stress injuries.<\/p>\n Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney analyzed 20 trials involving more than 2,400 people with work-related complaints of the arms, neck and shoulders.<\/p>\n Compared with no treatment or usual care like medical advice, discussion or counseling, the ergonomic-friendly interventions showed little to no impact on pain, functionality or quality of life, or on workers taking sick leave.<\/p>\n Ergonomic-friendly office staples made for optimal health and performance may be a waste, according to new research. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n Ergonomic office setups were also less effective than posture-correcting exercises to treat pain or discomfort, though they may provide short-term relief when paired together.<\/p>\n \u201cThe certainty of that evidence ranges from low to moderate, so this is a clear signal that the case for these interventions is weaker than many people assume,\u201d lead author Dr. Poonam Mehta said in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ergonomic interventions mentioned in the review included specially designed furniture and devices, such as chairs, sit-stand desks, keyboards and computer mice.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a huge industry \u2014 ergonomic office furniture is valued at an enormous $16.5 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence<\/a>, and is projected to reach nearly $23 billion in 2031.<\/p>\n A caveat to the overall findings is that ergonomic setups may have small benefits for people with specific maladies, like rotator cuff injuries in the shoulder from repeated lifting.<\/p>\n Compared with no treatment or usual medical care, ergonomic interventions had little to no impact on pain or sick leave. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n Offices may want to reconsider how much time and money they invest into ergonomic-friendly workplace revamps like keyboards and computer mice. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n One study from the review suggests ergonomic treatment may reduce functional disability better than mobilization, strength and endurance training exercises.<\/p>\n However, other studies looking at those with carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrist from frequent mouse-clicking didn\u2019t see reduced pain using ergonomic keyboards or computer mice.<\/p>\n Some study results did suggest the office updates may improve quality of life, although the research team has limited confidence in the evidence due to mixed results.<\/p>\n For decades<\/a>, ergonomics experts have argued that bad desk setups could result in poor posture, aches, \u201ctech neck\u201d<\/a> and more, affecting employees and employers alike.<\/p>\n \u201cThe long-term cost of poor ergonomics far exceeds the upfront cost of proper design,\u201d board-certified ergonomist and Global Vice President of Humanscale Consulting<\/a> Jonathan Puleio previously told The Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n This new review challenges that conclusion, suggesting instead that offices reconsider their investment in ergonomic tools and costly refurnishing.<\/p>\n \u201cOur findings suggest that, on current evidence, these measures alone shouldn\u2019t be expected to reduce pain or sick leave in the short term,\u201d Mehta said. \u201cEmployers may want to weigh that against the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Time to shelve that standing desk. New research suggests ergonomic upgrades for the office \u2014 from specialized chairs,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[3048,376168,56001,97,134,16178,3284,673,15186,278399],"class_list":["post-897255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-computers","tag-desks","tag-furniture","tag-health","tag-jobs","tag-office","tag-study-says","tag-wellness","tag-work","tag-workplace-injuries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}