NRF was privileged to be invited by the Principal of GD Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi to hold an Awareness Workshop for their teachers on the occasion of World Physiotherapy Day. World PT Day is observed every year on the 8th of September ‘to generate awareness about the crucial contribution
physiotherapists make to society, enabling people to be mobile, well, and independent’.
Considering the importance of postural health especially in teachers, who continually need to stand, bend, bear the burden of carrying books, etc., a session on Ergonomics was scheduled on 20 September 2022 in their premises.
Simply said, Ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems, so that they fit the people who use them. The coining of the term “ergonomics,” is derived from the Greek words “ergon” meaning work and “nomos” meaning natural law.
An interactive presentation was made by Team NRF to a packed hall of 100 teachers. Some of the salient points presented and discussed were –
Team NRF spoke about how ergonomic workstations could help them reduce stress. A simple example was to have their workstations adjusted to fit their respective heights; if it was a common workstation, height of individual seats could be adjusted. Thus, practice of simple, easy-to-follow rules while working can improve the health of teachers, by reducing work-related injuries, most often caused by strains and over-exertion. The team focused on the five aspects of ergonomics: safety, comfort, ease of use, productivity/performance, and aesthetics.
Due to work station limitations, repetitive prolonged activity, right and wrong postures, design of work place and insufficient rest breaks, teachers were likely to experience injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. All this trauma would naturally result in discomfort, fatigue, irritability and reflect on their quality of teaching. To overcome this stress, the NRF team taught teachers appropriate exercises, the right postures, how and what to avoid, etc.
The main objective of the workshop was to create awareness regarding Occupational Health hazards for teachers and supporting staff, by providing a hands-on session on stretching and specific strengthening exercises to create a balanced and healthy mind and body, as all this would go a long way in improving and enhancing workplace efficiency.
