“Good posture is the most important way of preventing back pain.”
(Reference: “Back Care” by The Health Education Bureau).
Nowhere is this more applicable than in an office situation. The vast majority of people working in an office sit bent over the desk. This “C” position creates huge stress in the lumbar and cervical spine, eventually causing pain. Consider how you sit. Look at other people. You will realise the truth of this statement.
We were not designed to sit , we should move as much as we can by using the tilting mechanism on the chair to take the weight from the base of the spine to the back of the chair.We should take regular breaks and also work standing if possible.
Back Shop office chairs guarantee perfect posture, the “S” position. By following some simple rules this results, in the vast majority of cases, in pain free sitting throughout the working day.
These procedures are:
- Arrange the work around the person, rather than vice versa. (The monitor straight ahead, telephone to hand, etc.)
- Use a footrest. Most desks are approximately twenty eight inches high. This results in people of average height having to sit with their knees considerably below their hips, resulting in the lower body tending to pull the upper body forward, and thereby helping to bend the spine into the “C” position. A footrest raises the knees, resulting the spine being tilted backwards.
- Sit as close to the desk as possible. This is important, as it is another aid to preventing the “C” position. (It prevents having to bend forward to pick up the telephone, working documents, etc.).
- Adjust the height of the seatso that, with the elbows resting on the armrest, the forearms are gently sloping down to the keyboard/mouse. Avoid too steep an inclination.
- Correctly resting the elbowsresults in a large percent of upper bodyweight being taken from the spine and transferred down the arms, thereby relieving stress on the spine, including the cervical spine.
- Work at all times with the spine in its “S” position, fully supported from the lumbar spine to the cervical, and with the elbows supported. Working with the head supported removes all stress from the neck. People who must look down at the keyboard should support the spine at least as high as the shoulder blades. For hand writing/reading use a simple portable lectern, sloping from approximately four inches at the rear to half inch at the front. The objective is to bring the work up to the person.
In Engineering terms the spine could be regarded as a vertical flexible column that is prone to move out of position, and so develop a fault.
Back Shop chairs simply restore the column to its original “S” position, and so prevent pain.