The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with MooreCo, Inc. announced a voluntary recall of the Spine Align and Posture Perfect Ergonomic Office Chairs.  Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

The legs of the chair can break, posing fall hazard to the user.  The company has received five reports of the legs of the chairs breaking, resulting in three minor injuries and in the aggravation of an existing back injury.

This recall involves the Spine Align and the Posture Perfect Ergonomic Office Chairs with model numbers 34571 and 34556 respectively. The base of the chair is made of hard plastic and the chair has no marks or labels. Chairs bearing marks or labels are not included in this recall. The model number is found in the packaging.

These chairs are sold through catalogs and online by United Stationers, Staples, S.P. Richards, and W.B. Mason from December 2007 through October 2009 for between $320 and $650.

Consumers should stop using the recalled chairs immediately and contact MooreCo for a free repair or a replacement chair.  For additional information, contact MooreCo toll free at (888) 446-5161 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit the company’s Web site at www.chairrecall.com

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Chairs made in China and sold by Office Depot Stores have been recalled due to fall hazard by Raynor Marketing.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

150,000 of the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mid-Back Multifunction Mesh Chair and Multifunction Mesh Chair with Headrest were sold through Raynor Marketing LTD, of West Hempstead, N.Y.  The manufacturer is Comfort Office Furniture, LTD, China aka Evergood Co. Ltd.

The bolts attaching the seat back on the recalled chairs can loosen and detach, posing a fall and injury hazard to consumers. Raynor has received reports of 33 seatback detachments and 14 injuries involving bumps and bruises.

This recall involves the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mid-Back Multifunction Mesh Chair SKU # 510830 and the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mesh Chair with Headrest SKU # 690690. The Realspace PRO™ Mesh Guest Chair is not involved in this recall.

These chairs were sold Exclusively at Office Depot stores nationwide and on the Web at www.OfficeDepot.com from May 2006 through August 2009. The mid-back chairs sold for about $300 and the chair with headrest for about $350.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled office chairs and contact Raynor to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information and to receive a free repair kit, contact Raynor toll free at (866) 244-8180 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.Quantumchair.com/recall

CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting: https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at:

www.cpsc.gov.

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Recently a colleague of mine was telling me that his neck had been really hurting at night.  He also mentioned that reclining back with traction had really helped.  When I asked him what he thought had been the cause of the pain he did not really know.  The focus was on how to get rid of the pain, versus what actually was causing it.  This is a common pitfall for many employees experiencing repetitive-use aches and pains.  What pill or stretch can I do to relieve the pain?  I think the more important question should be what caused the pain in the first place?

If the cause of the pain is not addressed, then eventually it will return (like when you stop taking the pain medication).  In the case of my colleague, we determined that his laptop computer was most likely the culprit.  It was positioned too low, causing him to bend his neck forward to view the screen.  A simple laptop riser alleviated his pain, without the use of traction or an anti-inflammatory.

So the next time either you or your employees are complaining of an ache or pain, look beyond the simple fix of just stopping the pain, to the root cause of it.  Once the cause is identified and fixed, the pain should be too!

Most of the time when you read an article on office ergonomics the focus is on adjusting your chair and computer. While these are two critical areas to adjust, if you miss correcting the other aspects of your desk you may still be experiencing pain and muscle tightness while working.

Here are a few areas I recommend you look at on your desk to insure a pain-free environment.If you use your phone repeatedly or for extended periods of time, then it should be close to the edge of the desk, in front of your body and within arms reach. Repeatedly extending your arm engages your shoulder and can cause fatigue and tightness. In addition, a headset should be utilized when talking on the phone for more than a brief conversation. Most of the time a person will tilt their head to the side to cradle the phone to multi-task. This posture can lead to both neck and upper back pain.  

Another area to evaluate is any paperwork you work from while typing on the computer. Often the papers are located on the desk surface to the side of the computer screen. This causes a craning of the neck from repeatedly bending and twisting your neck to look at the paper and then computer screen. An easy remedy is to use a document holder. Optimally the document holder should hang from the monitor so that they are on the same plane.

Take a look under your desk to ensure that the area where your legs and feet are positioned is clear of any items. If boxes, purses, unused files or anything else is in the space your legs will not have any room and will be in an awkward position. This awkward posture will cause a twist in your spine while sitting. So clear out anything under your desk (except of course your legs and feet) to ensure comfort for your low back and spine. Move all of your small pieces of equipment that you use on a regular basis within easy reach. A lot of times when I am evaluating an office there are nick-knacks, pictures and coffee cups on the front surface of the desk, while the staplers, hole-punches and pens are located at the far corner of the surface. From an ergonomic stand point, this makes no sense, especially when the person is complaining of upper back and shoulder pain.

When you add up every time you extend your shoulder to reach for a piece of equipment over the workday it can really accumulate. Also keep in mind, if your tasks require any kind of force (hole punching or stapling large stacks of paper) stand up to use both gravity and body weight vs. shoulder strength. I know a lot of this information seems like common sense, but you will be amazed when you really look at your desk how many little improvements you can make. Sometimes it is the small things that can add up to be a big pain, so take the time to do a quick perusal of your desk and do a little rearranging.

This article was provided by Laura Dietrich who is a Certified Professional Ergonomist based in our Louisville Kentucky office.  Laura can be contacted at (502) 240-6910 or ldietrich@AdvancedSafetyHealth.com.