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Healthy Sitting – Exercises

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Girsberger, have put together this fantastically illustrated guide to office exercises for us.

Why not give them a try!

1 – Stretching backward
Lean back, and at the same time stay in constant contact with the backrest. Stretch your arms as far upward as possible. Stay in this position for the count of two or three breaths.
2 – Shoulder circles
Straighten your spine while keeping some distance between yourself and the backrest. Draw up your shoulders. Then move them backward, then as far downward as possible, then forward and finally upward again. This circling movement can be repeated several times, and duplicated in the opposite direction. Breathe in when you draw your shoulders up; breathe out when you let them fall. Note: Slowly increase the radius of the shoulder circles. Emphasize the backward and downward movements. As an alter-native, you can stand to do this exercise.
3 – Head movements
Turn your head to the right. Turn it back to the front, and then bend it forward. Turn your head to the left.
4 – Chest stretching
Bend your head and the upper part of your back forward, draw your shoulders forward, and turn your thumbs in-ward. At the same time, breathe out. Straighten up, push your breastbone forward and upward, push your shoulders back, and turn your thumbs outward. At the same time, breathe in.
5 – Neck stretching
One arm hangs down loosely, hand towards the floor, shoul-der relaxed. The other hand holds the head and draws it gently sideways. At the same time, bend your head forward slightly. The arm on the other side pulls in the direction of the floor. Hold this stretched position for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise 3 times on both sides.
6 – Reach for the stars
You can do this exercise sitting upright on your chair or standing. Stretch your hands toward the ceiling. Imagine reaching for the stars, and try to get taller and taller. Feel how your back stretches. Give more attention to stretching the right side, then the left side. As in all exercises, make sure your breathing is continuous and relaxed.
7 – Torso turning
Sit upright and towards the front of your chair. Put one hand on the other, and raise your elbows to the same height as your shoulders. Now slowly turn as far as you can towards one side, then turn towards the other.
8 – Pelvis tilting
This standard exercise is important for the lumbar region of the vertebral column. You sit upright on the front part of your chair. Tilt your pelvis forward and backward, allowing your buttocks to roll slowly over the seat bones. Try alternating small, light movements with larger, slower ones.

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Healthy Sitting – Keep Moving!

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Ergonomics is the laws of our working conditions

ergon (work)‏

nomos (law)‏

Or the adaptation of work conditions to human needs.

We’re quickly moving from Homo erectus to Homo sedens. Our day to day lives consist of too much sitting and too little exercise. Backache is one of the country’s biggest health issues, with 80% of the population claiming to suffer from it. Static sitting is one explanation.

Life is movement, man is made to move movement not only stimulates the metabolism but it also strengthens bones, muscles, cartilage and nerve cells. You could say “Use it, or lose it”.

Understanding the anatomy and function of the vertebral column, our spines, can help you to understand why movement, bending, stretching are all good complements to good posture in order to have a healthy spine and prevent backache.

Our spine consist of vertebrae and intervertebral discs. This structure protects our nervous system, which controls our body and helps report our sense of touch to the brain. The intevertebral discs contain no blood vessels and receive their nutrients purely via diffusion. In order to ensure the discs remain healthy and functioning properly to support our weight and protect our nervous system they must have pressure applied and released regularly. Staying still is not an option for a healthy spine.

If we stay still we suffer from muscular fatigue and muscular pain. So it is best to alternate between relaxation and tension

Your ergonomic chair is not simply there to make you comfortable. When the chair’s functions are used in the right way they are beneficial to health. Healthy sitting must be learnt.

The natural double-S shape of the vertebral column. The pelvis tilted slightly forward, the chest held upright, the neck section of the intervertebral column stretched. But most importantly remember to keep moving, do not allow any part of your spine and neck to remain static for too long, and avoid positioning your body in such a way that it applies excessive pressure on one section of your body. Leaning back isn’t prohibited!

Stay tuned for a guide to exercises you can perform at your workstation to keep your body healthy and pain free, courtesy of Girsberger.

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The Apprentice Summary From Our Point Of View

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

The Apprentice this year has had us, and millions across the nation, gripped for weeks now. But it was the business plan devised by this years winner Tom Pellereau that really caught or eye. An ergonomic chair!

Sir Alan was of course his usual ‘loveable’ self and ripped into the plan mercilessly, but since Tom won you can’t help but wonder if Sir Alan has actually seen something in his plan. Despite saying he’d rather give up and emigrate if he were told that he had to provide assessments for all his employees, we think that the the power of the show and the new awareness it will have just given for ergonomic products as well DSE assessments would be a hard thing for Sir Alan to pass up on. There’s no gimmick or fad to rely on, many people work with postural problems without knowledge of the government legislation that is there to help them and of course that ergonomic chairs really do work.

Image courtesy of Daily Mail

We’ve already discussed the benefits of ergonomic products at work in this post on the costs of absenteeism and also the effects of bad posture in this post so if the Apprentice has brought you here why not give them a read.

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The 5 essential ergonomic products you will need this term at University

Friday, October 1st, 2010

So the new university term has begun and whether you are a fresh faced first year or seasoned third year you will not be able to hide from the endless conveyor belt of assignments, projects, hand-ins and of course the life devouring dissertation, with all this work inevitable and unavoidable you will find yourself stuck in front of a computer for hours on end researching, referencing and refining your work. Spending more time in front of a computer than ever before and a more deskbound lifestyle may result in you to develop neck or back pain, a distraction from your work that you won’t enjoy.

However Posture People are here to help as we give you our Top Five Ergonomic Products that can offer increased support and movement to proactively reduce the risk of future problems.

1)    Chair- Axia Pro Chair

This sleek stylish chair offers an ideal combination of ergonomics and style fulfilling its purpose of providing exceptional comfort for hours and hours, especially when you are on the final stretch referencing your work whilst the dreaded deadline is drawing near you might be complaining about your time management but you would not be complaining of a bad back.

Price: £660.35

2)    Mouse – Evoluent Mouse

The Evo is like no other normal mouse you would have used before; this uniquely designed ergo mouse supports your hand in a comfortable handshake shape position, to eliminate any pain in the arm caused due to tension from unnecessary forearm twisting. The mouse incorporates a clever five key design making it easier to switch back and forth from page to page on your screen, extremely useful when multitasking and having multiple windows open at once.

Price: £79.90

3)    Laptop Stand – Posture Pouch

The Posture Pouch is the perfect ergonomic accessory for the student on the go. The posture pouch allows any student to have your laptop screen at the correct height were ever you may be, whether you’re in the library, on the train or in the park with friends the posture pouch offers extra protection around your laptop, it also allows you to comfortably place your laptop on your lap correctly and without it over heating on you.  The laptop and the stand can fold away as one, convenient if you’re a student on the go.

Price: £70.49

4)    Document Holder – Docuglide

Do you spend your days painfully huddled over your desk while surrounded by towers of books? If so the Docuglide could be what you have been waiting for, productivity and posture can be improved dramatically as the Docuglide allows you to complete tasks such a reading, writing and typing to optimise your work flow as the writing slope is elevated to allow you to maintain good posture but at the same time read and use the keyboard.

Price: £111.63

5) Keyboard – Microsoft Natural 4000 keyboard

So you have just been assigned your dissertation which is for most people a minimum of 10,000 words, now that is a lot of typing! Flat keyboards promote unnatural wrist and forearm pressure causing strain in those areas, this could result in you having a distracting discomfort when you need to be completely focused.  By incorporating the Natural 4000 your concentration will remain undiminished as this keyboard supports a natural position for superior comfort.

Price: £49.53

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How to stand correctly

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Standing in the incorrect way, or more specifically too straight, can be just as damaging to your posture long term as slouching over your desk.

You could argue that if you’re not sitting or lying down, invariably you’re walking and not standing static for hours on end. However, we’ve unearthed some rather interesting but alarming statistics that highlight how long we actually spend standing.

In an average lifetime we would have spent six months queuing, which is nearly three days a year, according to a survey by auction site madbid.com. For those who commute regularly, you may or may not be surprised to hear that 653 hours will be consumed waiting for your beloved train.

And, although a little controversial but completely legal within newly-designated areas, smokers in the workplace will spend approximately 160 days having cigarette breaks. We’re fairly sure that when employers see this staggering sum, they may re-think their internal policies!

A man waiting for a train

A man standing waiting for a train

So, it’s clear that we do in fact devote a significant amount of time standing up during our lifetime. These little, daily routines seem innocuous, but can so easily be taken for granted, and over many years potentially be detrimental to our posture and health.

Posture People acknowledge that millions of us have to endure such activities every day of the week, but we want to ensure that your back doesn’t suffer in the process. With the help of our quick and easy tips, waiting for your train or queuing at the Post Office hopefully won’t distress your posture, even if it can be a bore.

Making a stand

Sustaining a good posture is fairly effortless as we only use 14 out of 640 muscles for standing. Although bad posture is synonymous with slouching, standing up straight, protruding your chest and tilting the head back is actually just as damaging. You should also watch out for leaning down onto one hip, as well as pulling your shoulders back too.

Try to keep the majority of your weight evenly spread over all your foot as opposed to the heels or toes. Your arms should hang down naturally too. We appreciate that this posture is difficult to execute every time you’re standing, but by introducing it to your habitual routines when you can will certainly make a noticeable difference when you’re older.

Good posture can make you happy!

Bad posture can lead to your muscles shortening, and ultimately, you shrinking! If, for example, you’re anxious and stressed just before an important speech or presentation, then try standing with one foot behind the other rather than leaning down onto your hip. Your body will be more balanced, as well as you exuding more confidence. Remember that people who appear to be lacking confidence, irrespective of the situation, do look figuratively and physically down.

Seek professional advice and support

We should never self-diagnose posture complaints, so if you’re experiencing reoccurring or persistent back problems, then you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. Although we are experts in ergonomic seating solutions and office furniture, we know that comfort is important at all times – in the home or at work. Waiting for your train has never been so good for your posture!

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