This is my first post. My name is Melanie Loomos. I used to be a court reporter (stenographer). I usually did jury trials because I didn't like to fight with the other court reporters for the good jobs. Good jobs were usually depositions with a lot of parties (lawyers) because we got paid per page; and each copy (lawyer) was an extra $2.50 per page. When I was in trial, I would just sit in whatever chair the bailiff told me to sit in; and I wasn't aware of ergonomics. I would write sometimes through lunch (for more than 8 hours without breaks); and when I got home, I had to run my hands under warm water for a long time before I could get started on my transcripts because I was in so much pain. I didn't know it but I was developing a upper extremity cumulative trauma disorder (carpal tunnel syndrome). Cumulative trauma disorders are musculosketal disorders (MSD's) caused by risk factors that include repetition and awkward postures (risk factors I could have reduced). I also didn't know at the time that there had been a checklist created by ergonomists ten years prior that could have identified the risk factors I was exposed to, which would have given me the option of minimizing or correcting those risk factors (awkward postures and repetition). Then came OSHA's Ergonomic Standard which became Federal Law in 2000 under the Clinton Administration. The Ergonomic Standard was repealed as a Federal Law in March 2001 by the Bush Administration. The Ergonomics Standard was not a good law. It mandated that every employer adjust every work station to every employee to reduce ergonomic risk factors even if they needed to cut the legs off desks. That gave me the idea for what I called "the Carpal Tunnel Chair"; I submitted it to the USPTO through an attorney to try to get a patent. I also submitted a patent on the Ergonomic Seating Cushion. After review of the boring Ergonomics Standard, I realized people could learn what ergonomic risk factors are and how to reduce or correct those risk factors themselves if it were put in a non-boring format. Ergosoft provides the sitting computer user with information from the boring repealed Ergonomics Standard either every half hour, every hour, or every two hours when the individual sets Ergosoft to remind them to take their Ergo-break. Ergo-woman, Ergo-man, or Ergo-doc (in cartoon format) appear with an Ergo-tip. Why am I telling everyone this? I didn't realize ergonomics was a verypolitical issue, and politics is coming in between people and ergonomics. The checklist that ergonomists worked on for almost 40 years is not being used in the United States; it is being used in other countries. You can't even copy it without permission, and you need to pay for it on online. The checklist which was used to develop the Ergonomics Standard gives an average person the ability to identify ergonomic risk factors and reduce them before cumulative trauma disorders are developed. I intend to give Ergosoft away as a free download to help people identify and minimize ergonomic risk factors that can lead to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD's) or Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD's). I am seeking a manufacturer for the OhPillow and the Ergonomic Seating Cushion. Today is 2/27/2017. I
Very interesting. This is information everyone should know about.
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