PostureMinder
2008
Product view of PostureMinder by Beryl Kelsey
PostureMinder
Price: £29.99
Available online at: www.postureminder.co.uk
Reviewer: Beryl Kelsey
Probably the majority of people concerned with back pain know a lot about posture and how important it is to our health and, in particular, to our back health. If we know that, why is it that so many of us slouch? It is interesting to watch members at a branch meeting when the speaker mentions posture. People uncross their legs, lengthen their spines and engage their ‘sitting bones’. We know what to do, but we need someone to remind us. A little elf sat on the shoulder, giving us gentle reminders when we forget, would be fine. Well, there is good news for computer users. The little elf has arrived in the form of ‘PostureMinder’
This is a piece of software, working with a camera, watching how you are sitting, and giving reminders if you slouch. The camera and software are easily installed by anyone with an elementary knowledge of these things. Unfortunately that excludes me, but I availed myself of the telephone support, and soon the system was working.
First, ergonomic training is offered in setting up the workstation. I found that even the small changes I made to the position of my chair and monitor made an appreciable difference in comfort. The next step was to calibrate the image captured by the camera by simply dragging an ellipse on the screen so it coincided with my face. Apart from this process, your face does not appear on the screen again. This image is used as a reference and if you deviate from it significantly a pop up message tells you.
There are on screen exercises, designed to relieve the stresses and strains inherent in computer use, which I found easy to follow and very effective. Other features include reminders when to take a break, how to maximise the benefit of ‘mini beaks’ ie when you sit back for a short time and a hydration record. The importance of hydration is explained and a facility to record what drinks have been taken. A record is made of what percentage of the time is spent in an appropriate posture, and all the settings are adjustable, so you can have reminders as frequently as you require.
I used PostureMinder at a very basic level initially, and gradually increased my usage as I became familiar with the features. I am sure this process will continue as I develop my skill in adjusting the product to suite my particular needs. I will go back to the ergonomic training from time to time, as I feel I learn a little more with each training session and I will continue to revise the exercises until I can remember tem all.
I consider this product is a good investment for anyone who uses a computer and experiences back or neck pain.