Fluto Blog

Why does it take time to get used to ergonomic office chairs? We always tell our customers that it can take time to get used to sitting on a new ergonomic office chair. This time will vary from person to person but can take up to several weeks. So why do people need this adjustment period?

The reason for this is actually quite simple. The body is very good at adapting to its environment. In the case of sitting, the body gets used to the position that it most commonly adopts, regardless of whether this leads to good or bad posture. Changing the chair will put the body into a new position that it is not used to. As a result, some muscles may be more stretched than they would be normally, whilst other muscles may have to work harder to maintain the new position. It is worth noting that the greater the change the more you will notice the transition. For example, if you normally sit on ergonomic office chairs with a back rest and move to a saddle chair without a back rest, you may initially get some aching in the lower back as the muscles get used to having to work more during the day.

When customers buy chairs from Fluto, we can offer you some excellent strategies to help make your chair transition as quick and easy as possible. Please visit our home page to see our range of ergonomic office chairs.

We are pleased to report that Salli have made some more improvements to Salli Chairs. In response to popular demand, Salli have shortened the length of the seat and increased the thickness of the seat padding for an even more comfortable experience. So far the feedback from our customers at Fluto has been fantastic and so we can`t wait to see what Salli have planned for us next!

What is the background to the article?

Neck pain is a common problem in office workers. Some researchers believe that a slumped posture may make the neck muscles work harder, which could lead to muscle ache. The aim of this study was to investigate how three different types of sitting posture can influence neck/head posture and muscle activity in some of the neck muscles.

What did they do?

Twenty healthy adults with no known neck problems were recruited to the study. Each subject was asked to sit in three different postures for 3 consecutive trials lasting 5 seconds each. The postures included:

•Lumbo-Pelvic Upright Sitting – in this position the pelvis was tilted forward to help keep the lower part of the spine curved backwards (lumbar lordosis). In contrast, the middle part of the back was kept in a relaxed position.

•Thoracic Upright Sitting – in this position the middle part of the spine was extended.

•Slumped Sitting – in this position both the lower and the middle parts of the spine were kept in a slumped position.

Whilst sitting in each of the positions mentioned above, the researchers recorded muscle activity in some of the muscles that extend the neck. In addition, they used a motion tracking device to measure the position of the head and neck in relation to the rest of the body.

What did they find out?

When the subjects were asked to sit in the slumped position, there was more head/neck forward bending, and an increase in activity in the neck muscles that extend the neck.
What are the implications of these findings?

Whilst more research needs to be done, this research does suggest that both lumbo-pelvic upright sitting and thoracic upright sitting may lead to more upright head and neck postures compared to slumped sitting. In turn, this position may reduce how hard the neck extensor muscles have to work during sitting. This finding reinforces the idea that postural re-education of the whole spine may play an important role in managing and reducing some forms of posture related neck pain.

What is the name of the article?

Joao Paulo Caneiro Peter O’Sullivan Angus Burnett Avi Barach David O’Neil, Orjan Tveit, Karolina Olafsdottir, (2010) The influence of different sitting postures on head/neck posture and muscle activity. Manual Therapy, Volume 15, Issue 1, February 2010, Pages 54-60.

What was the aim of the article?

Prolonged loading of the spine during sitting may contribute to back pain and back injury. To date, a direct measurement of spinal load has not been possible. Recently, however, a new spinal implant was developed, that is able to record spinal load during different sitting positions. The aim of this study was to measure spinal load, in the lower part of the spine, during sitting, using an implantable load detector.

What did they do?

Six subjects were recruited to the study. Each subject had suffered some type of fracture in the lower part of their spine (lumbar spine) and had been given a spinal implant, which are designed to replace damaged bone in the spine. The spinal implant had a load detector inside that enabled the experimenters to measure the load being placed on the implant. Each subject was asked to sit on a chair with a backrest positioned at different angles and the researchers measured spinal load in each of these positions.

What were the findings?

The key finding was that as the backrest was inclined backwards there was a reduction in load on the spine. Indeed, just a 10 % backwards inclination reduced spinal load by 19%. In contrast, as the backrest moved forwards from an upright sitting position, there was an increase in load being transmitted through the spine.

What are the implications of this study?

These findings provide more evidence that spinal load can be directly influenced by small changes in backrest position. Since prolonged spinal loading has been associated with an increased risk of back pain, it may be helpful to make full use of the adjustability of your back rest during the day. For example, when you are chatting on the phone, it may be worth moving your back rest to a more reclined position. Regular changes to backrest position may also help reduce loading on one specific part of your back.

When interpreting these findings it is worth remembering that this study was only conducted on a small number of subjects and will need to be repeated in a larger group. In addition, the spinal implant was positioned in one part of the lumbar spine only and so we cannot assume the changes in spinal load reported in this study will generalise to other parts of the lumbar spine.

What is the name of the article?

Rohlmann A et al Measured loads on a vertebral body replacement during sitting. Spine J. 2011 Sep;11(9):870-5.

What was the name of the study?

Wang P.C (2008) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Chair Interventions on Back and Hip Pain Among Sewing Machine Operators: The Los Angeles Garment Study. JOEM, Volume 50, Number 3, pp 255-262.

What is the background to the study?

Research suggests that there are over 11 million garment workers in the world. The majority of work chairs for garment workers are fixed height, non moveable and unpadded. Whilst it is not known whether poorly designed chairs directly lead to back pain in sewing machine workers, there is evidence to show that sewing workers have an increased risk of low back pain.
The aim of this research was to see if giving sewing machine workers height adjustable swivel chairs with a curved seat pan could reduce low back and hip pain. The researchers hypothesised that the curved seat pans would help the workers sit more upright and therefore be more effective in controlling hip and low back pain than non adjustable chairs.
What did they do?

Two hundred and sixty one researchers took part in the study. The subjects were divided into three groups.
• Group 1: Subjects sat on a height adjustable swivel chair with a curved seat pan for 3 months.
• Group 2: Subjects sat on a height adjustable swivel chair with a flat seat pan for 3 months.
• Group 3 (control): Subjects sat on their standard non-adjustable chairs.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of sitting on the different chairs, the researchers recorded each subject’s back/hip pain levels every month for 3 months.

What did they find?

Back and hip pain reduced in the groups sitting on the height adjustable swivel chairs compared to the control group. Notably, the curved seat pan was not more effective than the flat seat pan in controlling low back/hip pain.

What are the implications of the findings?

A height adjustable, swivel based chair with padded cushioning may reduce back and hip pain in sewing machine workers. More research is needed to determine the optimal shape of curved seat pans for different workers.

At Fluto we like to keep up to date with the latest ergonomic exhibitions in the UK and so here is a must visit event coming very soon.

Details on the event:
Workplace Ergonomics & Productivity: This free ergonomic event is being held on the 26-27th of October in London. The exhibition will cover a range of issues relating to improving ergonomics in the workplace and there will be an opportunity to visit a number of major ergonomic suppliers. The event is ideal for any professionals who are involved in Occupational Health, Physiotherapy, DSE assessment, Facilities Management and HR. For more information on this event please visit: www.wep2011.org.uk

At Fluto we make it our business to keep you up to date with back care events. Today we are pleased to tell you about a back care event that is taking place on the 26-28th September 2011 called the National Back Exchange Annual Conference: Inspiring change. This event which is being held in Hinckley, Leicestershire has been organized to help promote the exchange of ideas on improving musculoskeletal health and reducing musculoskeletal injury in the workplace. There will be a range of excellent speakers at this talk including Marill Poole who will be discussing how to teach better posture in practice. For more information on this back care event please visit: www.nationalbackexchange.org