Can an Ergonomic Chair Help Reduce Low Back Pain?

Ergonomic chairs are designed to support the sitting pose in a comfortable position for performing activity or work-based tasks.

They are important to use, because they will support the posture of your spine correctly, while you concentrate on performing the task required in the sitting position.

Low back pain is one of the most common ailments in our skeletal body, which is mainly caused by incorrect lifting of an object, poor sitting and standing posture, or a rapid increase in body weight. Any of these causes will put strain on the surrounding muscles and tissues of the spine, whose main purpose is predominantly protective.

An ergonomic chair will help to support your spine when sitting, so that you can concentrate on the productive task at hand, but also include some small movements in your spinal joints.

This may seem like a contradiction to move while sitting, but as a qualified Occupational Therapist, my advice is simple: you need to maintain small simple movements in your spine, for preventing your skeletal joints from "seizing up".

The human skeleton is a well designed machine, which operates on the principles of a mechanical object such as a bicycle. If any parts of the bicycle are not used, then components will stiffen and movement then becomes difficult.

Similarly skeletal joints will lose mobility without adequate movement, because muscles start losing their activation response linked through nerves and the blood supply that connect to associating joints within the spinal column.

An ergonomic chair will help support your back in the correct position, while the surrounding back muscles relax; you will feel safe and supported in a comfortable position.

However, the key to remaining comfortable when sitting in an ergonomic chair is not to remain still in one place.

If you position your body weight over your pelvic bones, when sitting in an ergonomic chair and let your vertebrae remain vertically aligned above the pelvic region. Then your back will remain erect, balanced and comfortable, plus free from pain; because there is no muscular tension used to support the spine in this position.

You can still create movement while sitting in this position.

There are three areas to consider:

1) Your legs - from placing them firmly on the ground, to tucking them behind the seat base (which changes your weight distribution).
2) Your pelvic bones - by lifting one pelvic bone and then the other (which alters the spinal weight distribution).
3) Your upper body - by breathing in and arching your spine, to breathing out and returning to the relaxed position (by stretching your spinal muscles and then relaxing them).

In essence, you have not moved your sitting position, but have created movement in your skeletal joints, simply by modifying the position of sitting on the chair.

In this way your skeletal joints are stimulated by movement through the surrounding muscles. Oxygen flows freely to the tissues, the joints are lubricated and your body continues to feel relaxed and comfortable, for continuing your productive activity.

Ergonomic chairs are therefore necessary for continuing provide safe activity in comfort. Purchasing an ergonomic chair is important, but only part of the equation, as a chair alone will not relieve your back pain. By questioning why you have back pain will help you understand how it can be resolved.

My background as an Occupational Therapist will help correct functional movements through the mission statements of:

• Protect your Joints
• Preserve your Energy &
• Promote your Safety, when using my ergonomic products.

In addition, to purchasing an ergonomic chair, I am offering a free 'Therapeutic Active Living Plan' that will empower safe functional movement through a therapeutic process for active living in daily life.