We all know about the strain that sitting at a desk for hours can cause, so Roger Golten gives it to you straight when it comes to correct office posture
The common wisdom, that there is a ?perfect? posture that we can somehow achieve and stay in all day, is not correct. Humans do not have roots, we have legs, so there is no correct posture; there is only movement or lack of movement. The idea that you must park your body in order to apply your mind in study, work and any kind of creativity is severely flawed and the problem with the standard kind of chairs is that they are immobile devices that promote inactivity.
Recently there has been more and more research emerging that conventional sitting for long periods is more than not good for you; it?s positively harmful. In recent studies it has been seen that blood pressure and blood sugar are adversely affected by periods of sitting, as well as the more obvious increase in muscle atrophy and joint compression. Some studies suggest that more than six hours of sitting generates damage that cannot be undone, no matter how much time you spend in the gym.
The chair was originally an emblem of authority, hence committees, boards of directors, and academic departments all have a chairman and endowed professorships are referred to as chairs. Until the Enlightenment of the 16th century it was only the top echelon of society that got to sit down ? the pharaoh, emperor or king on his throne. Everyone else had to do with standing, squatting or lying, so although sitting has been around for 4,000 years, we have not adapted to do it well. Human beings were not designed to sit.
Sitting is in fact a relatively recent phenomenon in terms of human history. In Dickensian times it was common for a clerk to stand at his lectern filling in his ledger, while it is said that media mogul James Murdoch has no chairs in his office so that meetings are over more quickly. Modern attempts to dispense with sitting include height adjustable sit/stand desking and desks mounted on treadmills.
In a world where we are all sitting more frequently, not just at work but also while travelling, dining and relaxing, is there any hope? More specialised ergonomic inventions, such as the recently developed Limbic chair, are coming to the fore. Created by Dr Patrik Kunzler, this chair combines up-to-date research in neuroscience and ergonomics so that rather than treating the body as a separate and rather inconvenient appendage, it is integrated as an extension of the nervous system and the brain. Despite the $5,400 price tag, Dr Kunzler?s Swizz company Inno-Motion has received plenty of orders.
For those with a smaller budget there are alternatives. If you want to sit comfortably in the office when using a computer, make sure you have your knees lower than your hips, your keyboard and mouse are within easy reach of relaxed arms and shoulders, and the top of your screen is at eye level. It is very useful to have a height-adjustable desk too, otherwise a tall, long-legged person will be slumped and a shorter than average person will have the opposite problem.
A good chair is always a sound investment and should incorporate height adjustment, a forward-tilting seat and a degree of movement so that it responds to your body?s unconscious actions. The backrest of your chair is mainly for use when you are not working with the keyboard and mouse. There is nothing wrong with reclining and relaxing; it?s declining and collapsing that is the problem.
Roger Golten is a posture expert and runs private sessions in Hellerwork, a deep-tissue massage therapy and tension-relieving Zen swimming. See golten.co.uk for more details
