The Footrest

You need a footrest if your feet do not rest flat on the floor after your chair has been properly adjusted. Your footrest should be:

• Adjustable in height and inclination.
• Designed so it does not restrict leg movement.
• Easy to remove.
• As wide as your hips.
• Large enough to support the soles of both of your feet.
• Covered with a non-skid material to reduce slippage.

Several footrest models can move while your feet are resting. The slope responds to the movement of your ankle and alters slightly in height as your foot moves. This allows some leg and foot movement that may help counteract the effects of sitting.

As a quick temporary fix for a footrest, use old phone books or binders.

Working in a seated position can cause your lower legs to swell, how much swelling depends on both your activity and personal health.

• Too much pressure on the back of the thighs or knees can affect your nerves and blood circulation.
• The Weight of your legs will tend to tilt your pelvis, arching the small of the back.

If you refer to printed material often, keep them on a document holder (clip or copy stand) adjacent to the screen.

A document holder should be stable, but you should be able to adjust its height, position, distance, and angle of view.

• If the monitor is your primary focus, place the document holder either next to your screen at the same height, or between your screen and keyboard. This will allow you to look from the document holder to the screen with little movement of your neck and back and prevent frequent changes of focus. However, if you need to exercise your eyes, place the document holder at a different distance from the monitor.
• If printed material is your primary focus, place the document holder directly in front of you and the monitor off to the side.

Source: Creating the Ideal Computer Workstation: A Step-by-Step Guide - United States Department of Defense, June, 2000.