Ergonomic Office chairs.  

• This work is intended to explore the bio-mechanical (ergonomic) factors that may determine spinal pathology  that results in spinal dysfunction which includes Backache, Low Back Pain & more serious breakdown of spinal components.   
• Once identified, corrective measures can be developed to be incorporated into both design & remediation for sitting safely in  any ergonomic chair.    The commonly misconceived views can be avoided.    
• A fully optimised design concept for an ergonomic chair is suggested as a complete solution.   
• It is  intended as a resource for the designers of ergonomic or office work chairs, whether of the conventional upright office chair type or more modern concepts. 
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• Correct ergonomics are the essential and  fundamental requirements for any chair design and also determine comfort.       
• Misconceived views can be avoided.   Designers seem to have difficulties with the science behind ergonomics judging by the surprising number of poor ergonomic chairs in the market.  ☛ Why?
• And the poor, even wrong, advice offered.
• Most ergonomic chairs are upright and only susceptable to partial remediations of the adverse effects of  The upright seated posture.
• Whether partial or full the basic ergonomic requirements for ergonomic chairs for Sitting safely is described under ☛REMEDIATION →
• The fully optimised concept involves a reclined work-mode and is the ☛The 2Tilt concept, the ultimate remediation →
• This fully optimised design concept, suggested for an optimal solution to Low Back Pain, provides a resource for chair designers of ergonomic chairs and, indeed, of any chair..
• It is also very relevant for manufacturers of retail office ergonomic chairs  if they wish to improve the ‘ergonomics’ of their ergonomic chairs with overwhelming health selling points.
•  And to Interior designers and architects involved with office design and not forgetting the ‘end user’ who has the ultimate benefit and may be suffering from Back Pain .

For navigation & overview of of contents…..

For New offices ‘Coolness’ is the word to  excite media interest for both the company and the Architect/Designer.   Most firms aspire to project this cutting edge image.    A 2T chair, or the derived 4M workstation, answers this exactly and in addition reduces LBP and increases productivity by lessened morbidity and stress. ( Also see  ☛ Ergonomics and office stress.→ )

Backache & chairs.   A number of systems are described.  Spinal bio-mechanics dictates that prolonged Sitting safely should be performed in a reclined position with frequent change of posture.  For a full remediation  a number of requirements are essential.   To be effective these are detailed in the 2 Tilt (2T) concept.

Science,  and some relevant topics

• Spinal anatomy includes a number of detailed studies of the more relevant component parts and an account of the paleoanthropology which resulted in the vulnerability of the lumbo-sacral junction.  ☛ Spinal Anatomy→
• Biomechanics in relation to sitting postures.   ☛ Spinal biomechanics→.
• How did we arrive here? ☛ Paleo Anthropology →
• In addition,The way we sit now, further explores present sitting including the comments (☛Why? Mandal explains…→), Gorman and others.  Comparisons are made with various existing chairs  (☛How do they measure up?→).

•  Ergonomic chairs – REMEDIATION

• • Partial solutions, the only option for an upright ergonomic chairs, include:-
    • ☛ Pelvic support→,
    •  ☛forward tilted seat→, & Ischial off-load →
    • & ☛Sit/Stand→.
    • ☛ Dynamic seating→Incorporating movement,
  • Full solution.   No chair yet in the market.
    • obvious, and perhaps only, solution was for prolonged work to be performed in a chair that has a stable, correctly supported, supine reclined mode.

  

  The big story here, however, is that it was found that a reclined mode is the only position that avoids all the adverse effects of prolonged upright sitting.    For a reclined office work-chair to be practical a number of requirements are essential.  

  Combining these requirements can be difficult to achieve but is possible in a suitably supported reclined mode at 40-45° which conforms to spinal morphology (configuration). This alone is impractical as a work position unless a number of secondary requirements are incorporated to make this simple concept suitable and practical for sitting safely in a work chair.

  1. A  reclined mode which has a correctly supported, supine, stable position  for prolonged work    ☛2T reclined mode→
  2. An upright mode required for certain jobs.    ☛2T Upright mode→
  3. An unstable intermediate mode to enable a quick, easy transition between the 2T modes.    ☛2T transition mode→     With the recognition that the transition movement has physiological advantages, this has been upgraded to a ‘mode’.   ☛dynamic seating→.     The 2T now becomes a triple-mode (3M) concept.

  These 3 modes constitute the basis of the 2T CONCEPT .

  A sit/stand facility can be incorporated to become a 4M version.    ☛SIT/STAND (& stools)→

• • ☛ Partial in use at present
  • ☛The 2Tilt concept, the ultimate remediation →
  • Also included are ☛Adjustments→, ☛comfort→, ☛ exercise and movemen→. The way things are going. ☛Special needs→, ☛the desk less office chair→, pods, school desks & chairs (See menu →).
• The office environment  it’s relation to physiological and psycho-social stress, ergonomics and remediation.
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