EKOBOR Health Tips

尋日Kei Kei 去左電台分享佢既創業經歷 同鼓勵大家用升降枱既原因！佢仲帶出左Ekobor座右銘「預防等於治療」Prevention is the cure ⛑

原來Kei Kei 有高級體適能教練牌👍 同場加映佢照顧兩個boss baby 既tips! 想知道點樣注意同改小朋友寒背問題 ？快啲去Facebook重溫！

多謝新城電台邀請，期待下次再同大家分享!

Hello Everyone! Is Kei Kei here again! =)

Probably you have purchased a nice chair for yourself or your company employees, or maybe you are thinking whether you should get one or not. Is ok! regardless what your decisions are it is important to utilise the chair you have in a healthy way right? =)

Now that you have the proper chair, you need to use it properly: 

1/ Both feet should be flat on floor which helps organize the spine upward.

2/ Legs not crossed (helps protect pelvis).

3/ Knees should be lower than hip sockets (takes strain off lower back). 

4/ Pelvis should not be rolled back and creating a C lumbar curve. 

5/ Spine should retain natural curves, but appear straight overall (ears over shoulder, shoulder over hip).

6/ Chest should be open for better breathing and digestions rather than collapsing.

7/ Eyes should be able to look at work or people within a 15 degree zone, not forced to look too far up or down.

Photo Reference: Sofi Mesh 7500 by Flokk 

Sofi is the New Comfy 

Work from home no doubt has become a new trend since the onset of COVID-19. And this trend has now become a new lifestyle of this era. Nevertheless, it has also been a controversial topic whether WFH is efficient and productive versus working at office (aka 9-5pm).

I have recently heard from some clients that as COVID-19 is more under control now in HK, they are starting to resume back to normal working hours at their primary working location; but also there are increasing number of companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft these giant corporation and moving away from the traditional way of working.

For me? I never really experienced working from home as our nature of business cannot go under this type of working model. And I do not prefer WFH as well as it is seriously difficult to concentrate and work efficiency mainly due to 1) Hong Kong apartments are not spacious and often not in the right set up that you can concentrate. 2) Double the work - If mommy and daddies need to work from home then for sure the children wont be able to go to school.  

As a results, how is that possible to work effectively? probably working double of the hours than working at office alone.  

Zoom calls? if at office, I could have just walked to my colleague's seat and talk to him directly to get things solved than getting on a call. 

Most importantly, The chairs and tables probably will not fit for the correct set-up and ending up with bad backs and neck pains and all sort of physical and psychological stress. My Chinese doctor told me that she has much more clients now visiting her due to suffering back and neck pains from work.

All these pain comes out of a sudden without a reminder like "hey, i am coming to you now, you will feel the pain in 30 minutes so you better get ready for me!!"

No, that's not the case, when it comes to you, you will be frustrated and eager to solve it like right away to get that pain out of your body! However, once you do really start feeling these achy feelings and discomfort, it usually will start coming back on and off even you improve. And this recurring pain is not something you would want to deal with in the long run.

Many clients got this awareness due to this WFH experience and it is not a bad thing afternoon. Maybe you should start looking into your sitting and standing posture when you feel is not too serious yet. Start learning how to sit correctly and standing correctly, do the right exercises to relieve and of course, get a chair and table that fit your height and your stature. If you do not know how, visit an ergonomic furniture shop and get some free advice from them.  For sure and no doubt, little advertising here, EKOBOR will be here to give you that free advise. All you need is to call us and we will be there to help.

Take Good care =)

Kei Kei

Office Ergonomic Specialist

9 out of 10 person will experience some sort of low back pain no matter how healthy you are eating or how well you exercise in a regular basis.

Back pain can be really annoying and disturbing and stressful as well as interruptive to one's daily activities! No matter how you stretch, and those endless chiropractor visits;  at some point it seems like the pain has become even worse and stressful, leading to symtoms of depression and anxiety disorder. 

I cannot stress how important how the mind faces when back pain occurs, of which the treatment plan and preventive plan place a significant role in the "pain-free" treatment planning for the longer run. How we deal with such pain without letting it controls your mind is also something we need to be consciously aware of. Chronic Pain can eventually leads to fear and avoidance of doing healthy acitivites too if not being taken care of seriously.

No one likes pain and tensions, and frankly speaking, it does feel very disturbing though it is not something so serious like cancer but when there is back pain you get so frustrated and so upset that you just want it to be gone NOW, and this is something you can prevent early stage as young as a little child! Thus, it is so important to start incorproating yourself with ergonomic concepts and start applying them in your lifestyle!

Prevention Is the Cure!

Musculoskeletal disorders short form MSD are injuries or disorders of muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. And such conditions are usually caused under work conditions. 

To make MSD simpler to understand, it is actually a type of repetitive stress injuries as we always repeat the same motion over and over again such as when you using your mouse (causing stress to the wrist), or you have been in the same position for so long with a poor posture that causes stress and strains to the body muscles! 

Source from ergo-plus

Examples of MSD includes:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Tendonitis
• Muscle/ Tendon strain
• Ligament Sprain
• Tension Neck Syndrome
• Thoracic Outlet Compression
• Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
• Epicondylitis
• Radial Tunnel Syndrome
• Digital Neuritis
• Trigger Finger / Thumb
• DeQuervain’s Syndrome
• Mechanical Back Syndrome
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Ruptured / Herniated Disc,
• and many more.

MSD are often associated with high costs to employers such as absenteeism, low productivity, increased in health care and workers' compensations cost.  These cases cost even more than nonfatal injuries and disease. It is the largest category of workplace injuries and responsible for almost 30% of all workers' compensation costs  (source: BLS)

Most important is, Musculoskeletal disorders are preventable!

Basically, if the furniture and environment the worker is in is out of his body’s capabilities and limitations, he is at a higher risk in developing musculoskeletal imbalance or disorder, at the end, which means, medical expenses lie on both employees' and employers' shoulder.

 Three primary ergonomic risk factors:

1. High repetitive tasks: i.e Typing (without proper arm rest support/ shoulder stiffened while typing)

2. Forceful exertions: higher force mean increase in muscle effort which leads to increase risk of strains and sprains

3. Poor posture: results in excessive force on joints and muscle overload.

For the three points above, extensive exposure without proper evaluations and change will definitely lead to MSD. 

It is never too late to make a change to how we work. Prevention is The Cure.

COSTS Vs SUITABILITY: Is your work furniture helping or failing you?

Very often procurement decisions are often swayed by the outlook/aesthetics and cost rather than functionality, and that often leads to serious and costly problems for staffs.  

There was a financial organisation that had bought new chairs that matched the interior of their office but were too big for their staff who had to use them and as a result their postures were compromised.

Maximising potential and minimise risk

Ergonomics is originated in World War II as a formal discipline as many systems and products had been designed without consideration of human and environmental factors and as a result failed to be a safe and/or effective. 

Simply speaking, Ergonomics is about the person, the task, the systems and equipment and the work environment and as an employer or facilitates/ office managers, their role is to help identify the best ways of working to maximise potential and minimise risk to the individual.

Psychological and fundamental factors

At work, what matters to all of us is : to be EFFECTIVE and PRODUCTIVE and HAPPY! These are psychological and fundamental factors that could be affected greatly by the furniture we are using as we spend so much time with them at work. Thus, getting the right piece of furniture for yourself can definitely help achieve maximum efficiency while ensuring the well-being of yourself or your staff.

Definitely,Sit-stand Desk and a suitable ergonomic chair for yourself are the most important tools to get started on your journey to enhancing your overall well-being.

Is never too late to start now. 

Prevention is TheCure.

E-mail: info@ekpac.com

Buy Now @ www.ekobor.com.hk

For any enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us via 2555 5555 or visit our showroom at

Address:  Room 2803, Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Children need an ergonomic chair and height adjustable desk as much as an adult needs an ergonomic workstation.

The problem with conventional desk and chair at school or home is that they are not built to fit. Growing children's stature often differ in height and sizes and the misfit is one of a crucial factor that inhibits proper and healthy spinal growth.

Investing in ergonomic study furniture might not be a bad idea as kids grow rapidly, probably will be able to save off some expenses by changing new suitable furniture from time to time. 

The new Kidult Height Adjustable Desk we just launch is suitable for kids ranging from 4-15 years old; thus parents really do not need to worry about changing furniture year on year as we offer 10 years warranty for the motor and control panel. 

The great thing about adjustable furniture is that they increase muscle movement, joint range, and blood flow which provides children with comfort, physical dynamic movements, and a ready-to-learn mindset.

What is Ergonomics?

Here it comes, always start with the dictionary definition of what ergonomic means!

 Ergo- nomics

The Greek derivation of the word “Ergonomics” come from two words: “ergos” meaning work and “namos” meaning natural laws. So, ergonomics is meant to describe the natural laws of work.

 Today, there are many definitions of ergonomics that have been used by a variety of experts. Ergonomics is a branch of science that is concerned with the achievement of optimal relationships between workers and their work environment!

 In summary, ergonomics is  about fitting the job to the worker rather than fitting the worker to the job.

 Ergonomics is more than getting a new chair or keyboard tray. It is about more than physical fit of the workplace. Ergonomics is the field of study concerned with finding ways to keep people productive, efficient, safe, and comfortable while they perform tasks. The basic premise is to make the task fit the person, rather than making the person adjust to the task.  Ergo Web Inc. defines ergonomics in a way proactive sense:

            “Ergonomics removes barriers to quality, productivity, and safe human performance in human-machine systems by fitting products, equipments, tools, systems, tasks, jobs and environments to people.”

 Physical ergonomics:

 Physical ergonomics deals with the human body’s responses to physical and physiological stress. It takes into account characteristics of the human such as anatomy, physiology and biomechanics as they relate to physical activity. Physical ergonomics issues, primarily in the workplace, typically dominate the public view and understanding of ergonomics.  It is certain that when ergonomic principles are ignored in the workplace, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a potential outcome.  Decrease in worker’s compensation cost is actually one of the many goals within the study of physical ergonomics!

5 Key Benefits are the following related to Physical Ergonomics:

#Increased productivity:

Productivity can be increased by 10-15 percent. Studies have shown a 25 percent increase in output at computer workstations when using ergonomic furniture, while also improving employee overall well-being.

#Improved quality:

with increased comfort, errors and product defects are less likely to happen.

#Improved efficiency:

Able to complete a task with fewer motions, as a result, the task can take lesser time and also reduce the chance of muscular fatigue.

#Improved employee morale:

Ergonomics allows businesses to spread the “I Care” message to all levels of the company.

#Reduced turnover and absenteeism:  

When colleagues are more comfortable at their workstations, they are less likely to take time off from work or leave the company because of discomfort.

 There are number of workstation ergonomics assessment checklist which we all can easily refer to for self-check, here are some global recognised ones for download: 

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/checklist_evaluation.html

https://www.ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/Documents/Computer%20Workstation%20Ergonomics%20Self%20Assessment%20Checklist.pdf

Flokk's HÅG Capisco Puls is the perfect minimal addition to your home setup. Besides its full ergonomic features that brings you productivity and health, Capisco is the first and foremost a friend to the environment.

The Greenguard-certified Capisco Puls is specially built for minimal environmental impact: it’s 95% recyclable, made with few chemical emissions and 24% post-consumer recycled materials. During the production it incorporates used plastic parts, and its foam cushion is made from recycled car bumpers!

Why Capisco is such a good ergonomic chair option ?

Capisco enables you to sit in different positions to create micro movements for your body without sacrificing your good posture. Of course, sitting too much or standing much either way is no good. Any sedentary lifestyle will lead to pains and strains.

Capisco has a wide range of height adjustment which helps to open up your hip rotation and helps support the natural S curve you have. Which 90 degrees of sitting posture will actually accumulate pressure to your lower back and at the end leads to lower back pain.

We recommend clients sitting at an angle of 100-130 degree in a sit-stand/ or a Perch position which will help to support your lower back curve without the need to push your back up to maintain so, and what happens ? You feel great.

#recycling #sustainability #environment #circulareconomy #sustainabledesign