Ergonomics: Help Yourself Heal

My neck is always bothering me. Nothing irritates it more than sitting in a car or typing at my computer for long periods of time. How could SITTING HURT me? I learned the answer (with the help of my physical therapist). Some simple changes in the ergonomics of my workstation will also help me. When I looked critically at my workstation, I found some good and some not so good things:

MY COMPUTER POSITION:
YEA-*My laptop is directly in front of me and an arms' length away. That is about the only good thing I can say about the positioning of my laptop.

NAY-*My screen is too low, and I do "find [myself] tilting [my] head forward to view the monitor (a common cause of neck pain)." Very true! This does cause neck strain and is not helping my sprained neck I acquired from a snowboarding accident last winter. One summer of physical therapy has been destroyed by a year of graduate school and paper writing! *ALSO, LOOK AT THAT GLARE FROM THE WINDOW!!

MY WORKSTATION IN GENERAL:
YEA-*I do have an adjustable chair so I can raise and lower the height, but I tend to keep it too high. *Everything I need is certainly in my "normal reach zone" meaning I do not have to bend or reach for anything I use often. *My mouse is also directly next to my keyboard among other things as encouraged by Cornell University.

NAY-*Other ergonomics websites recommend computer users to recline slightly while stagnantly sitting at desks. *I am always leaning forward, but try to maintain open angles which alleviates strain on your back. *However, because much of the work I do is analyzing students' work, I usually cover my floor, desk, and bed with student work that I must reference for my papers.