If you’re using a computer at home, here is how you can avoid the agonising and sometimes immobilising condition called computer related injury:

Laptops are best avoided for long-time use. But if you have to have one, keep an external keyboard at your desk. It doesn’t cost much, can be easily attached to the laptop and almost converts it to a desktop.

Don’t dangle your feet. Rest them comfortably on the floor or a footrest. Buy a foot machine (an electronically operated angled foot rest that costs around Rs 8,000) if you can afford one. It encourages blood circulation in the feet.

Make sure you have enough legroom ? don’t clutter the space under the worktable. Stretch your legs at frequent intervals.

Use the entire seat and backrest to support your body and distribute your weight evenly on to the chair. Support your lower back. Never slouch forward and never lean back too much.

Experiment with various heights of your adjustable chair, and choose the most comfortable level. Spend on an ergonomically designed chair.

Adjust your chair height or keyboard height so that your shoulders are relaxed.

Your upper arm should always be vertical and close to the body while typing, not raised to the front or side.

Make sure your elbow angle ? the angle between the inner surface of the upper arm and the forearm ? is at or greater than 90 degrees to avoid nerve compression at the elbow.

The elbow height should ideally be close to the height of the keyboard home row (The row that carries the G and H keys).

Keep your forearms, wrists and hands in a straight aligned position while typing. Adjust the keyboard slope to keep wrists straight.

Position the mouse immediately to the right (or left) of the keyboard and never at the level of the monitor. Get a wide-enough keyboard tray. Hold the mouse with a straight wrist, in a relaxed grip, and without contorting your fingers. Never rest your palms on any surface while typing or using the mouse.

The ideal monitor position is directly in front and facing you. The monitor distance should be optimised. Stretch your arms and mark the location of your knuckles. Place the monitor at that distance. Magnify the screen image if necessary. That’s better than sitting closer to the monitor.

The monitor height should allow your head to be balanced well over the shoulders, not bent forward or backward. Keep the top text line at eye level, so that the eyes need to look down marginally to see the centre of the screen.

If more than one person is using the computer, as is likely at home, get an adjustable monitor arm to make positioning flexible. This is a simple contraption that easily fits to the table edge.

The best monitor angle is when the screen and your face are parallel to each other. However, if you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, you would be naturally forced to tilt your head backwards to read the screen. Instead, tilt your monitor backwards, say at a five degree angle.

Minimise reaching out for papers, books, etc. If you type a lot, use a document holder ? a simple accessory that fits to the side rim of the monitor and works like a clipboard.

Keep your spectacles and display screen absolutely clean. Use glare filters. Position your monitor with its side facing the window.

Blink while looking at the monitor, to lubricate the eyes. At frequent intervals, look away and focus your eyes on a distant object. It is a good idea to then also stretch your limbs, take a deep breath and relax.

Plan your day so that you move around between your computer sessions. Else, leave your desk every one hour for a brief walk.

Be aware of physical tension in the clenching of muscles; instead, release tension. Be alert to all body signals.

The author is a senior faculty member at J.D. Birla Institute (Calcutta) where she has been delivering lectures, guiding research and conducting projects in the field of housing & interior design for over 20 years. An interior design consultant, she specialises in ergonomics at home and work. She can be contacted through kusumsmail@yahoo.com.