Every day in our offices, we receive different patients. We must constantly adapt our posture, modify our gestures, in order to treat the patient in his individuality. This notion of ergonomics is very important because it will help the health professional to preserve his physical health throughout his career as a caregiver.
In the exercise of our profession as chiropodists, in order to guarantee our comfort and that of the patient, our offices must be designed according to very specific recommendations. Ergonomics is a science that attempts to adapt work to man.
In this article, My Podologie will give you some advice on choosing durable equipment and conservative posture.
Common occupational diseases
According to Ameli in 2019, 88% of occupational diseases are due to musculoskeletal disorders. This trend is on the rise since an increase of 2.3% was recorded compared to 2018.
These figures should make us think and push us to find solutions to preserve our physical health.
Podiatry is a manual discipline. As a result, the health professional is frequently affected by conditions related to the upper limbs such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinopathies of the elbow, shoulder, etc.
The modern-day illness: back pain; affects us too. We find a lot of lower back pain or neck pain in many of us. Our eyes and ears are not spared either. We can also find a decrease in visual acuity and a decrease in hearing capacity.
Tips for setting up a chiropodist’s office
To best arrange your workspace, you must first consider the most important furniture (treatment chair, practitioner chair) and then determine the optimal layout of the peripheral furniture (position of the unit, tables, etc.) in order to create an environment adapted to the structure of the office. This environment must allow the practitioner freedom of movement and, above all, economy of movement.
Various arrangements and advice:
The location of reserve equipment and daily activity equipment is not the same
They must be clearly differentiated. Daily use equipment must be located less than 1 meter and at a height of between 45 cm and 1 meter from the ground to avoid musculoskeletal disorders. Reserve equipment is stored in a separate storage area.
The organization of your space must take into account your work habits and your movements
To grab a blade or forceps or to move around the patient to better approach an area to be worked on without it being annoying for the practitioner and the patient.
Sliding doors are more energy efficient than swing doors
The patient's chair must move around in rotation to allow the patient to be properly installed.
It must also be able to be positioned in "Trendelenburg", i.e. legs in the air. It must also have adaptable armrests to facilitate the transfer of a person with reduced mobility to the treatment chair. During your home care, it is a good idea to get a foot support to adapt the patient's position to the convenience of the practitioner.
The ergonomic range of Ruck patient chairs , exclusively at My Podologie, will ensure your physical health throughout your professional life but also the ultimate comfort of your patients!
Discover the MOON Pedicure chair with Wifi electric lift . Also available with wired electric lift .
The practitioner's chair must be ergonomic
We spend a lot of time sitting down to treat our patients, a bad choice of seat can have long-term repercussions. The choice of an ergonomic practitioner's chair aims to allow a frequent change of position of the practitioner.
The ergonomic range of Ruck practitioner chairs will allow you to work in the best conditions. The Ruck range will bring real added value to your podiatry practice.
Lighting must allow the preservation of the practitioner's visual acuity
Visual discomfort can lead to irreversible damage over time. This is why it is important to have a bright and well-adapted treatment space. The brightness in the treatment space should be greater than in the room in general because it will require more visual attention than during a simple verbal interview with the patient.
The articulated and adjustable LID Led Lamps will preserve your vision in the long term. They are made in France. The LID Lamp range offers a homogeneous and balanced light, quality materials and well-designed fixings.
The choice of instruments must respect the physical health of the practitioner
Instruments should be chosen according to the practitioner's preference but also their shape, weight and size. Your instruments should be adapted to the shape of your hands but should also meet ergonomic criteria. If your hands start to hurt, the Akori ergonomic pliers will offer you comfort when cutting nails with its low spring and rubber branches (click on the image to access the products):
The ventilation of the office must be regulated
The air in your office is not healthy. Why? Because indoor air, whether in your home or in your office, is on average 8x more polluted than outdoor air. You are in daily contact with patients and their feet. In this context of health crisis, it is even more important to ventilate and renew the air in your office. Opening the window for a few minutes a day is a good way to renew the air. You can also decide to treat yourself to an air purifier that will ensure healthy air by treating the bacteria and particles present.
Our air purifiers will allow you to enjoy quality air while you work.
When you manufacture your patients' insoles, you may be faced with powerful solvents that can have harmful consequences on your health. Installing a hood allows you to filter the air in your workshop in order to preserve your health by sucking up the vast majority of harmful particles.
Discover a wide range of hoods and air filtration accessories on our website.
Cabinet noise must be regulated
The noise in your treatment room must also be regulated, just like the air. Beyond 75 Dba (decibel), noise pollution could damage your hearing aid in the long term.
Tips on working position Chiropodist-Podiatrist
Our working position is closely linked to the ergonomics of our podiatry furniture, but not only. The Chiropodist-Podiatrist has during his apprenticeship at school, developed his gestures and posture. We are not perfect, we all do things in our daily lives that can promote the occurrence of various pathologies. To avoid the appearance of these conditions. My Podologie gives you some advice.
Round arms during treatment
With a round arm position, you will save your arm and wrists. Check your posture again and again during treatment. Correct it and avoid having straight arms.
Arm height
Avoid having your arms and hands positioned beyond the shoulder area. This leads to tension and fatigue. An angle of about 90° is ideal.
Move!
The best preventive treatment for back pain is to move, to change position when the previous one no longer suits you. Ergonomic equipment allows you not to keep one and the same position over the long term. It is the equipment that adjusts itself according to you, and not you having to adjust yourself according to the equipment.
