Is the office chair a hero or villain when it comes to healthy working? Sitting has had a lot of bad press in recent months – and it’s not surprising. Studies show that prolonged sitting can dramatically increase your likelihood of developing a wealth of diseases, including diabetes, some cancers, and cardiovascular disease. But if our office chairs are really killing us as so many headlines claim, should we try to avoid them altogether? Our lead ergonomic consultant Katharine Metters says: “The simple answer is no. Sitting is a posture that provides good support to the body, so it should be considered as a suitable position for various working and leisure activities. The trick is to adjust to a good sitting posture, and to alternate between sitting and periods of standing or walking.” There isn’t just one single ‘good posture’. Changing your posture regularly will help to stimulate the blood-flow to your muscles, sharing the load between different tissues and preventing you from feeling achy and sluggish.
A recent study by RH Seating and the Nobel Prize-winning Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that there really are positive health benefits to ‘active sitting’. You’ve probably heard of active working: using office design, policy and equipment to encourage physical activity — but what’s active sitting? Active sitting is when seating encourages the occupant to make small, regular adjustments to their posture. The idea is that flexibility and movement is beneficial to the human body when undertaking ‘sedentary’ activities, such as desk and computer work. Some of the world’s top chair companies – including RH Chairs, have developed seats that encourage active sitting. That is, chairs that can tilt and move with the user to boost oxygen and blood-flow through the body. The RH Seating and Karolinska Institutet study put HAG chairs, optimised for active sitting, under a series of tests to see whether they really can improve the health of their sitters.
Fifteen healthy office workers with long-term experience of using office chairs at their desks were chosen as participants. Various in-depth tests were carried out as they used HAG chairs with the tilting mechanism on, compared to with it off. The HAG chairs have been designed with a seat and back that tilt together, so that when you lean back or forward the whole thing tilts with you, stimulating movement in your ankles. The researchers used a 3D-motion capture system, force platforms and high frequency digital video cameras to analyse movement, while sensors were attached to body parts and the chairs to monitor activity levels. The results showed that when participants used the tilting mechanism during ‘dynamic seated office tasks’, 73% increased from sedentary to light physical activity levels. That’s compared to only a 33% increase experienced by those not using the tilt mechanism. Reporting on the study, RH Chairs said: “Office sapiens are an endangered species, broken by our own wealth and modern lifestyle.
We’re about to sit ourselves to death.” Posturite’s CEO Ian Fletcher-Price was keen to remind us that studies can be one-sided. He said: “The seat manufacturers advocate sitting, the sit-stand desk manufacturers advocate standing. “There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there and it’s important not to blow these small studies out of proportion.” “We know the healthiest way of working in an office is to move regularly between sitting, standing and moving about. We’re not saying abandon your chairs. Just make sure you choose the right one.” First off, it is important that all office chairs meet DSE regulations but, having achieved that, there are a few other factors to consider, including: For more help with choosing the right office chair, you can download our capability statement. We’re currently running an offer on our HAG H04 and H05 models for anyone needing to buy 10 or more chairs. To find out more about this, please download the flyer.
Download HAG offer flyer >> Or request a callback with one of our seating experts to discuss your requirements:As studies emerge classifying sitting for extended periods as bad to our health, wobbly stools and exercise balls are replacing office chairs, pedal sets are being installed under desks and everyone's talking about how to stay physically active while seated at their desk. But what can we expect from active sitting? L.A.-based trainer and martial arts expert Philippe Til weighs in on the facts and fables. Fact: Effective posture is the basis for active sitting, so if we start off slumped, we might not get anything out of it at all. "Doing exercises in a chair or on an exercise ball without taking posture into account is like stacking fitness on top of dysfunction," says Til. To get started, take what he calls the "horse ready" position. "Sit on the edge of your chair with your spine straight and your shoulders squared," he says, "And open up your thigh-to-trunk angle so that it's obtuse -- this part is very important.
Your feet will be directly under your shoulders." Fable: Active sitting is a good way to get in shape. Hardly, according to Til, who says that it should never be considered a substitute for whole fitness. "Active sitting is still sitting," he says. "It's not going to help you lose weight and it certainly won't increase your cardiorespiratory fitness levels. It will, however, get your blood flowing and can hinder some adverse long-term effects on the joints if done properly, starting with proper posture." Fact: Once good posture has been established, blood flow and oxygen intake improve. The simple postural adjustment that Til suggests can open the airways in your lungs. "I've had clients with frequently occurring headaches who have seen them stop once they changed their posture, which is most likely due to the increased oxygen intake and blood flow." Fable: Active sitting will make joint pain go away. According to Til, desk jockeys are prone to pains in certain joints.
Take the knees, for example, which weaken in the absence of a load. Active sitting might reduce the pain a bit, he says, but it won't replace actual exercise. Fact: Extended sitting is more likely the cause of joint pain than exercise. Indeed, says Til, when his clients complain of pain in, for exemple, the lower back, sitting is the culprit in most cases. The pain is the back's way of responding either to lack of use or poor posture, or a little of both. He advises keeping the thigh-to-trunk angle open during the day to avoid the tightening of the hips experienced by most desk jockies. Keeping up your regular exercise program, however, is essential if one is to benefit from active sitting. "Your joint pain will likely go away," he says, "and if it doesn't, it's best to see your doctor." Til suggests using a variety of tools, including barbells and exercise bands, that can add variety to your moves and perhaps even some calorie burn. If it's not possible to take equipment to work, start by using your desk, subtly placing your hands on the top and pushing down -- and the opposite -- to get in some isometric moves.