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We are regularly asked for advice on what
office chair is suitable for Back
Pain and as there is no single solution or office chair that
will suit everyone our advice is tempered by experience. First and
foremost it is very unlikely that any ergonomic or orthopaedic chair
can cure a back problem - what it can do is allow the user to adjust
the chair sufficiently to allow a correct posture that will not
make any back pain worse and, hopefully, ease the pressure that
is contributing to the ailment.
Where acute backache problems are evident
Qualified Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Osteopaths or Ergonomists
should be consulted In order to really assess ones needs.
15 Things You Should Know About Back Pain
1. Back pain is as mystifying today as it was decades ago. Despite
excellent tests and procedures, modern back specialists admit that
up to eighty percent of all cases have no clear physiological cause.
In fact, many pain-free people show bulging or herniated discs in
x-rays.
2. Also, despite everything we know about back pain, ninety percent
of us are going to have a disabling episode at some point in our
lives.
3. It is difficult to predict which individual person will develop
back pain. Strength, fitness, and back x-rays are not good predictors.
One major study concluded that the only predictors were 1) whether
the person has had back pain before, and 2) whether the person smokes
cigarettes.
4. On the other hand, job characteristics are predictors of back
pain. Jobs with heavy or frequent lifting are high risk, as
are jobs involving prolonged standing or sitting.
5. There is little agreement on how to do lifting with little risk.
Lifting with the legs is easy on the back, but hard on the legs
and muscles. Lifting with the back puts strain on the disks but
is less fatiguing.
6. So-called 'back belts' have not been proven to strengthen backs
or prevent back problems. On one hand, they may help remind wearers
to lift carefully. On the other hand, they may give wearers a false
sense of greater strength, encouraging them to lift more than they
should.
7. People who sit for long periods are at risk for back disorders.
The two greatest problems seem to be 1) sitting upright or forward,
and 2) not changing position.
8. An upright posture with a ninety-degree
hip position is actually unhealthy, from the perspective of the
intervertebral discs. For a number of reasons, the discs experience
more pressure - and the pressure is more lopsided - than while standing.
So it's a good idea to sit with the hip joints somewhat straightened.
Yes, this resembles a slouch, with your rear end scootched (a technical
term!) forward in the seat. A supported slouch may be healthy in
the long run. Forward-tilt chairs support this posture, but so do
chairs with level seats and reclined backrests.
9. Even if the hip joints aren't somewhat
straightened, sitting in a reclined posture is more healthy than
sitting upright.
This is because reclined sitting puts more of your weight onto the
chair's backrest. If the chair backrest holds up more weight, the
discs in the lower back hold up less weight. (Well-designed armrests
also take some of the upper body weight from the discs.) And reclined
sitting lets the back muscles relax.
10. All sitters should move around. In addition
to helping the muscles relax and recover, this alternately squeezes
and unsqueezes the intervertebral discs, which results in better
filtration of fluids into and out of the cores of the discs. Discs
stay plumper and, in the long run, healthier.
One implication: chairs should follow the sitter as he/she changes
posture.
11. The most important chair adjustments
are seat height from the floor - the feet should be able to rest
flat on the floor. (However, this doesn't mean the feet should always
be flat on the floor. Legs should be free to stay in different positions).
depth from the front of the seat to the backrest - sitters should
be able to use the backrest without any pressure behind the knees.
12. The 'proper' chair adjustments and chair
posture are greatly influenced by the rest of the work area. In
particular, the eyes can affect posture, especially if the work
material is too far, low, or high. Hand positions (especially working
far from the body) can also affect body position, particularly the
posture of the upper back and neck.
13. Upper back and neck discomfort is often related to upward viewing
angles (for example, monitors above eye height) or leaning, twisting,
or reaching (for example, looking down and sideways at a document
on the desk, or reaching for a mouse).
14. For people with existing, chronic, difficult
back pain: all the above rules are optional, because each back pain
case is different. Rules for prevention of back pain or treatment
of medium- level cases may be completely inappropriate for individual
cases of severe back pain. Before accepting any advice, trust the
"advice" of your own body's discomfort reactions.
15. Our final advice is this - Take regular
breaks from your desk
(at least every 40 minutes, walk around, stretch, do some filing,
change position and posture), Regular gentle exercise such as Yoga
keeps your joints and vertebrae supple.
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