Sitting up straight is not the best position for office workers, a study has suggested.Scottish and Canadian researchers used a new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show it places an unnecessary strain on your back. They told the Radiological Society of North America that the best position in which to sit at your desk is leaning back, at about 135 degrees. Experts said sitting was known to contribute to lower back pain. Data from the British Chiropractic Association says 32% of the population spends more than 10 hours a day seated. Half do not leave their desks, even to have lunch. Two thirds of people also sit down at home when they get home from work. The research was carried out at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen. Twenty two volunteers with healthy backs were scanned using a positional MRI machine, which allows patients the freedom to move - so they can sit or stand - during the test. Our bodies are not designed to be so sedentary Traditional scanners mean patients have to lie flat, which may mask causes of pain that stem from different movements or postures.
In this study, the patients assumed three different sitting positions: a slouching position, in which the body is hunched forward as if they were leaning over a desk or a video game console, an upright 90-degree sitting position; and a "relaxed" position where they leaned back at 135 degrees while their feet remained on the floor. The researchers then took measurements of spinal angles and spinal disk height and movement across the different positions. Spinal disk movement occurs when weight-bearing strain is placed on the spine, causing the disk to move out of place. Disk movement was found to be most pronounced with a 90-degree upright sitting posture. It was least pronounced with the 135-degree posture, suggesting less strain is placed on the spinal disks and associated muscles and tendons in a more relaxed sitting position. The "slouch" position revealed a reduction in spinal disk height, signifying a high rate of wear and tear on the lowest two spinal levels. When they looked at all test results, the researchers said the 135-degree position was the best for backs, and say this is how people should sit.
Dr Waseem Bashir of the Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Alberta Hospital, Canada, who led the study, said: "Sitting in a sound anatomic position is essential, since the strain put on the spine and its associated ligaments over time can lead to pain, deformity and chronic illness." Rishi Loatey of the British Chiropractic Association said: "One in three people suffer from lower back pain and to sit for long periods of time certainly contributes to this, as our bodies are not designed to be so sedentary." Levent Caglar from the charity BackCare, added: "In general, opening up the angle between the trunk and the thighs in a seated posture is a good idea and it will improve the shape of the spine, making it more like the natural S-shape in a standing posture. "As to what is the best angle between thigh and torso when seated, reclining at 135 degrees can make sitting more difficult as there is a tendency to slide off the seat: 120 degrees or less may be better."
E-mail this to a friendPosted by Dr. Chris Oswald on 2016-08-24 Work has the tendency to be a pain. Fast approaching deadlines, tough clients, and difficult co-workers are known to be a prevailing cause. However, if you aren’t watching the way you sit at your desk – the pain you experience at work can be more of a physical nature. Right now, lower back pain will affect over at some point in their working life. If you find that waking up on the right side of the bed and putting a good day of work is becoming impossible because of your lower back pain, then we urge you to take the following advice into account. There are many little things we do each day that negatively affect our posture. Most of them occur while we are on our computers, which is what of their work day in front of. It’s easier to keep a good posture if you are setup to do so. By following the right procedures at your desk, your lower back pain, as well as your overall health can become vastly improved.
Additionally, proper office ergonomics can increase productivity by an ! Slouching is the enemy of lower back pain. It’s important to keep your back at a 90-degree angle at all time. Adjusting the back of your chair to about 10 degrees further back should help maintain that posture. It’s important that both your upper and lower back be supported at all times. This step will likely require the most focus. Try to keep your head and neck right above your shoulders. Keep your head straight and keep whatever you are focused on (document, screen, etc.) in a centred position. In an effort to ensuring you’re not constantly slouching, you can start by pulling any essential equipment closer to your body. By bringing your mouse and keyboard in closer, your are limiting the amount of times where you are overreaching throughout the day. If you have a proper office chair, there are likely levers under your arm rests or the seat itself. It’s important to understand how to manipulate these levers in order to optimise your comfort.
First, push your hips back as far as they can go in the chair. You should adjust your chair so that your upper arms are in line with your torso. In addition, the forearm should become perpendicular to the upper arm as well as in line with the table. Your hands should also be in line with the forearm. You should also adjust the height of the chair so that knees are horizontal to the floor or they are slightly lower with respect to hips. VIDEO: Dr. Chris Oswald Explaining Proper Office Ergonomics Your office chair is something you are going to be sitting in for roughly 40 hours a week. Because you are sitting in it for a good majority of your life, an upgrade is something that can be well worth investing in. In fact, there are many that will greatly reduce the discomfort you are feeling. One of the best ways to avoid leaning in order to squint down at your laptop is to invest in a larger monitor. With a bigger monitor, you will have a better time seeing, and you won’t be tilting your head down to work on your laptop.
Additionally, when your screen is kept at eye level, they will become less tired throughout the course of the day. Investing in multiple monitors can even increase your work performance by as much as . Perhaps this is a good point to bring up to your boss at the next staff meeting. There are many reasons you should be taking regular scheduled breaks throughout the day. When you’re sitting down for long periods of time, all your muscles and ligaments tense up. To release the tension try performing some of the following stretches after long sessions at your desk: approved by a renowned licensed chiropractor! One way many office employees are relieving their left and right lower back pain is by applying MuscleCare and its formula directly on the site of the pain in their lower back. By proper stretching, taking breaks, using Musclecare’s advanced formula when needed, in addition to following some of the pointers outlined in this article, you will find the daily grind at work to be much less painful.