When people learn that I sit on an exercise ball at work, their reactions tend to be a mixture of disbelief, amusement and curiosity. And frankly, I don't blame them. Twelve months ago if you'd told me I'd be spending eight hours a day sat atop an inflatable ball, I'd have spat my Americano over all over the keyboard and told you to get lost. But now, I'm hooked. I feel the same kind of happiness sitting on my new-age chair as others do climbing into a bed of freshly-washed sheets or getting a hug from their child. It might seem weird that I am so enamoured by a piece of plastic. But the reason for my admiration is simple: it saved me. After just a few weeks of sitting on my magic ball something miraculous happened, my back pain - once the bane of my existence - had vanished completely. Let's rewind two years. Like the many British workers, I have severe back pain. My sedentary lifestyle, which is so typical nowadays - I sit at my desk for eight hours a day, fight for a seat on public transport and spend evenings sat in the pub or flopped on the sofa, even when I cycle to work (which is admittedly rare) I'm in a seated position.
Before long my lower back pain begins to rise up between my shoulder blades and before long is causing fitful sleep and painful headaches. Fuck this, I think, I'm only 25 - I shouldn't be having back problems at my age. And so I embark on a quest - a combination of massages, hot yoga classes and postural self-regulating (translation: forcing myself to sit up straight) - in a bid to ease my aches and pains. But these activities can only provide temporary release. And I soon realise I'm fighting a losing battle. Three or four hours of TLC per week can't possibly undo 40 hours of wrongdoing, I have to change the way I sit. So I tried sitting on an exercise ball, Technogym's Wellness Ball to be exact, and the rest is history. My colleague Daisy (L) on her beloved blue ball and my silver spherical life saver The ball encourages active sitting - the very opposite of passive sitting, which involves sitting in a fixed position on a chair. By sitting in this way your back and hips are forced to perform a series of micro-movements that will help you maintain the correct posture and prevent back pains.
It's also great for your core. You have to engage your abdominal and lumbar muscles to keep the ball stabilised, otherwise you'd roll off. And that could be embarrassing. The ball also allows you to effortlessly perform stretching, muscle strengthening, toning and elongation exercises in a small space. In short, regularly practising yoga has taught me to think more about my body. Stretching out my hip flexes in crescent lunge posture or deep hip-opening postures such half pigeon, has made me increasingly aware of how little we move our hips on a day-to-day basis. Our hips are ball and socket joints, not a hinge joints - yet most of us use them as if they were the latter. We walk, sit, walk, sit, walk, sit, lay down to sleep (and repeat). Our lack of movement is doing serious damage to our bodies. Humans weren't designed to be so immobile. It's time we did something about it. Active sitting may be a small step, but it's a step in the right direction. In addition to wiggling around on the ball throughout the day, Technogym prescribe regular exercise to aid core structural development - a must for the desk bound.
These exercises with help postural and structural strength, in turn supporting a better posture and reducing the risk of lower back pain usually associated to slouching in a chair over time. Single Leg Lift – Sit upright on the Active Sitting Ball. Raise one foot off the ground and hold 30 seconds. Repeat with the other foot. Dorsal Raise – Lie on the Active Sitting Ball with your stomach in contact with the ball. Straighten your legs and place your feet firmly on the floor shoulder width apart. Put your hands behind your head then lift your chest so your whole body becomes inline. Lower and repeat 7-10 times. Posterior Chain Exercise – Place one foot on the Active Sitting Ball and, keeping the knee straight, flex foot towards your head. Place both hands on the ball, either side of your leg and then lower your torso towards your knee. Rise and repeat 5 times before switching legs. Oblique Stretch – Kneel beside the Active Sitting Ball and bend your body over the top of the ball, keeping contact between the side of your body and the ball.
Support yourself using the arm closes to the ball. Stretch out our leg and arm furthest from the ball, keeping your whole body inline. Hold this position for 30 seconds before repeating on the other side. Crunch – Lie on your back with your feet raised on your Active Sitting Ball. Put your hands behind your head and tuck your chin to your chest. Tense your core to raise your head from the ground approximately 30cms. Lower and repeat 15 times. Alternatively you can sit on the ball, with your toes firmly pressed against a wall. Lean back as far as you comfortably can and then slowly bring yourself back to a seated position. Each Wellness Ball Active Sitting comes with a code that you can enter when connected to the Technogym app to access training programs specifically developed in collaborations with doctors and spine specialists. Available in two different sizes, can be purchased on Technogym's website for £230 or at Harrods. Alternatively, you can buy a cheaper Reebok one for just £24.99 here
Diet And Fitness Make Work Wonderful Fitspiration Back Pain ExerciseOne trend that come’s up over and over again in regard to healthier office seating is the use of a stability ball as an office chair. Producers claim that using a stability ball provides users with increased health benefits such as the strengthening of core muscles, more calories burnt and less back pain. But can these claims be substantiated? The New York Times says no. Using backing evidence from a 2009 British study their article concluded that using a stability ball as an office chair “led to just as much slumping and poor sitting positions as a desk chair”. In fact, it is almost impossible to maintain a neutral spine on a wellness ball over prolonged periods of time. Having a neutral spine means that your back is in its proper position: there is no pressure on your spinal discs and no feelings of discomfort or pain.Disturbingly, findings from another Dutch study also concluded that using a stability ball as an office seat instead of a conventional office chair led to significant “spinal shrinkage”.
So what is spinal shrinkage? Spinal shrinkage occurs when cushions between the spinal vertebrae lose fluid due to lack of movement. There are hundreds of office chairs that claim to be healther options for you than your standard office chair. We chose to compare sitting on a wellness ball with the Move, because the Move promises to do the same things that a wellness ball promises: it strenghtens core muscles, relieves back pains, and most importantly coaxes the body to balance at all times.The Move was specifically developed to continuously promote movement while maintaining a neutral spine. The continuous movement increases blood circulation and core muscle stimulation. Increased blood circulation through movement not only helps keep the brain in tip-top shape, it is also crucial to the process of increasing movement of fluid to the spinal muscles and cushions between the spinal vertebrae. Studies performed using the stability ball as seating actually concludes that using a stability ball as a seat is detrimental to spinal health (and general health for that matter)“The small changes in biological responses when sitting on a stability ball as compared with an office chair, combined with the increased reported discomfort while on the ball, suggests its use for prolonged sitting may not be advantageous.”
– US Library of Medicine, National Institute of HealthSo why do people still choose to use the stability ball as office seating? The price may be a factor as using a ball as an office chair is a lot more affordable than investing in proper ergonomic seating solutions. Others have been introduced to stability balls through misinformed physiotherapists.There are so many choices when it comes to proper office seating but when looking at the Move in comparison to the stability ball the choice should fall upon the Move, either as a “back-up” chair for intervals with your regular office chair or continuously. Physiotherapist Jacques Walg from the Netherlands who is a regular adviser to Varier and who champions the Move stool as well as the ergonomic concept of Active Sitting describes the benefits of the Move stool:“The spine retains its physical curvature in the same way as if one was standing. The load exerted on the spine is reduced and the intervertebral discs are supplied with blood.
Load on abdominal and back muscles is applied in a dynamic and alternating way. The blood circulation is not interrupted in the legs due to muscle pump action”.When using the Move stool, the core and back muscles are highly activated. When sitting on a wellness ball, there is a huge compression placed on the spinal discs and a shortening of muscles due to constant contraction. Prolonged compression can in fact by derogatory to spinal health.“The intent of the ball chair developers was laudable: to take an item that seems to be beneficial in an area of health care (rehabilitation and strengthening/wellness) and apply the same principle to the office. But just like a hammer might be a valuable tool for some tasks (hanging a picture), in others (washing dishes) it’s useless or may do more harm than good...The exercise ball might be great for strengthening and toning in the gym or at home, but it cannot compete with a truly ergonomic chair for long-term sitting in an office environment.”